Exhibit 1

Why remember the Holocaust?

by Dr. Susanna Kokkonen

GABOR NOBEL

HUNGARY

YAD VASHEM |NO: 10077229

GABOR NOBEL

HUNGARY

AVRAHAM ADOLF

Poland

Yad Vashem

Germany

DINA JANKOLOVITS

POLAND

YEHUDIT ERLICH

POLAND

SONIA JURKOWSKI

GERMANY

DOV KARDOSH

HUNGARY

TIBOR KERENY

YUGOSLAVIA

MISHA MINSK

BELORUSSIA

SARA KARDOSH

HUNGARY

DUSHKO COHEN

YUGOSLAVIA

YOSEF VALDMAN

POLAND

KLARA CHISINAU

ROMANIA

MERIAM KOK

NETHERLANDS

ISAAK CHISINAU

ROMANIA

DAVID ECKSTEIN

BROD CZECHOSLOVAKIA

ZWI HERSH WEISS

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

MUKACEVO

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

WOLF AND MARA VISHNIAC

GERMANY

NEELTJE SCHIPPER

NETHERLANDS

RUTH AND HANA

POLAND

YEHUDA ZVI WEISS

YAD VASHEM

ISRAEL HAZAN

GREECE

SARA

POLAND

SARA

POLAND

GROSSE HAMBURGERSTRASSE

BERLIN

GABOR NOBEL

HUNGARY

YAD VASHEM |NO: 10077229

GABOR NOBEL

HUNGARY

AVRAHAM ADOLF

Poland

Yad Vashem

Germany

DINA JANKOLOVITS

POLAND

YEHUDIT ERLICH

POLAND

SONIA JURKOWSKI

GERMANY

DOV KARDOSH

HUNGARY

TIBOR KERENY

YUGOSLAVIA

MISHA MINSK

BELORUSSIA

SARA KARDOSH

HUNGARY

DUSHKO COHEN

YUGOSLAVIA

YOSEF VALDMAN

POLAND

KLARA CHISINAU

ROMANIA

MERIAM KOK

NETHERLANDS

ISAAK CHISINAU

ROMANIA

DAVID ECKSTEIN

BROD CZECHOSLOVAKIA

ZWI HERSH WEISS

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

MUKACEVO

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

WOLF AND MARA VISHNIAC

GERMANY

NEELTJE SCHIPPER

NETHERLANDS

RUTH AND HANA

POLAND

YEHUDA ZVI WEISS

YAD VASHEM

YEHUDA ZVI WEISS

YAD VASHEM

ISRAEL HAZAN

GREECE

SARA

POLAND

SARA

POLAND

GROSSE HAMBURGERSTRASSE

BERLIN

Foundations of Faith: Biblical Beginnings

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” Genesis 1:1, 3. Having created all the necessities for human life, God created man.

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:26-27

Man’s immeasurable value comes from the fact that he was created in the image of God. God Himself confirmed this “Whoever sheds blood by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” Genesis 9:6

The first question of the Bible was asked by the serpent. The serpent came to the woman questioning God’s word.“And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
‍Genesis 3:1

The serpent convinced the woman “You will surely not die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:4-5

This is true to the extent that we do know the difference between good and evil. This is what -ultimately- makes man responsible for his choices. Man has a God given ability to remain silent or to speak up. If there was a ‘veil of silence’ before creation, God broke it when He spoke the world into existence. People, who lived throughout WWII could speak up or remain silent. Many chose to remain behind a veil of silence.

The second question of the Bible was asked by God following the sin that had been committed. “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
‍Genesis 3:9.
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‍There came another question asked again by God following human history’s first murder. “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
Genesis 4:9

And, finally, there is a question asked by Cain. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) God created everything perfect, but it was distorted. It was man’s choice, which led to his expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Are there lessons to be learned from the mistakes of the past? How do these lessons apply to our world today? How will these lessons apply to you? “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

George Santayana, writer and philosopher.

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The serpent convinced the woman “You will surely not die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

The second question of the Bible was asked by God following the sin that had been committed. “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) There came another question asked again by God following human history’s first murder. “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” (Genesis 4:9)

George Santayana, writer and philosopher.

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WORLD WAR II

Took place from 1939 to 1945, when an estimated 20 million military personnel died, in addition to over 50 million civilians worldwide who perished by massacres, bombings, disease, starvation, and genocide. The Holocaust happened during this period of time.

Holocaust

As we enter the universe the Nazis created, let us understand what we mean by the Holocaust. The word “Holocaust” comes from Greek and refers to “burnt offering”. It is a word that is commonly used to describe the mass murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany during WWII.

Note that both these terms are religious. This alone shows us that what happened to the Jews of Europe was unique; despite the Nazis murdering millions of others too, the murder of the Jews was something so unprecedented that ordinary words could not describe it.

shoah

In Hebrew, another word Shoah is used. This word too is Biblical and means “destruction” and catastrophe”. We find it used in the story of Job, also an allegory to the Holocaust: “Because of want and because of hunger, they sat in solitude; they would flee to desolation, to the darkness of waste and desolation.” (Job 30:3)

Job 30:3

Nazi policies led to the death of six million Jews of Europe. It is estimated that another five million others died too. Among the victims were 1.5 million Jewish children. Of them we have only little evidence: some letters; some photos; some diaries and some artifacts. They were forced to leave behind their belongings: teddy bears, dolls, cars, drawing tools, musical instruments, and schoolbooks. Life changed in the blink of an eye.

Throughout our journey, we will be encountering three main categories of people

perpetrators

Perpetrators

Perpetrators are people who commit atrocities or enable them by various actions. They may be engaged in shootings or propaganda or acts as medical personnel or guards. Perpetrators are to be found in different levels of the society including at the top of the command chain but also in many smaller roles. In countries occupied by Nazi Germany we find in this category collaborators, who choose the side of the Germans and aid them in different roles.

rescuers

Rescuers, sometimes also called upstanders, are the smallest group in these situations. These are ordinary men and women willing to take risks to save someone’s life. Their actions could be in networks, such as a resistance movement or as individuals privately hiding someone. They might use their professional abilities, such as a diplomatic cover or a doctor’s training, to help someone.

Rescuers

silent bystanders

Silent bystanders is the largest category in any human rights violation situation. For a variety of reasons, such as fear, or perceived lack of means or information, bystanders do not get involved one way or another. Their main concern is to preserve their lives and lifestyle despite the atrocities going on in the wider society.

Silent bystanders

Marked for Destruction: Groups Targeted by the Nazis

Jews were targeted for complete destruction based on their racial and religious identity. Other groups also faced severe persecution.

First they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialists

And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists

And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.

Pastor Martin Niemöller

Then they came for the Me

And there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Counting the Lost:
Victims of Nazi Persecution

Roma, Jehovah’s Witnesses, disabled individuals, Slavic peoples, LGBTQ individuals were all targeted.
‍

"For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time."

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel

Voices of Liberation:
Witnesses of the Holocaust

Allied officers and soldiers were the first to witness the horror and tragedy of the concentration camps upon liberation.

Early History of Anti-Jewish Attitudes

Jesus was born a Jew. His parents gave Him the Hebrew name ישוע Yeshua, which refers to salvation. His earthly existence centered around the Second Temple in Jerusalem – in other words not only was He a Jew but he practiced Judaism. Apostle Luke narrates the Jesus’ early life’s events in and around the temple (Luke 1-2). Jesus preached and taught at synagogues (Luke 4) as well as the Southern Steps where rabbis commonly taught. Jesus referred to Himself, as the fulfillment of the Scripture (Luke 24:27). Jesus predicted the coming destruction of the Second Temple and the Jewish dispersion we know as the Diaspora. The mighty Roman Empire fought against the Jews and, indeed, the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD.

When Jews were dispersed in the Roman Empire conditions for their discrimination and persecution were ready. Throughout the Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1400 AD), Jews were persecuted in various parts of Europe. Often the Church was the driving force. This happened despite the church saying it was following Jesus’ teachings. Jesus’ Jewish identity was ignored by many Church Fathers who from the beginning favored Greek over Hebrew.

Ritual Murder Accusation is one of the most enduring accusations. Accordingly, Jews would kidnap a Christian, often a child, to use their blood and body in their baking of Passover bread, Matzah. This myth was repeated with slight variations around Europe and actually survives until today.

Sadly, reformation for the most part, did not espouse better views on the Jews. Martin Luther (1483-1546) initially had a good rapport with the Jews. Luther emphasized the Jewish roots of Christianity. He believed that Jews would embrace his new brand of Protestant Christianity. When this did not happen, he grew embittered. His “The Jews and Their Lies” from 1543 advised to burn synagogues, destroy Jewish houses, take Jewish prayer books from them and to expel Jews.

Tragically, this happened, as history moved on. Indeed, during the 1946 military trials, Julius Streicher (1885-1946), publisher of the antisemitic Der Stürmer Magazine, specifically mentioned Luther who in his words should have been a co-accused.

Replacement Theology (known as the Supersession Myth) claimed that Jews no longer have any role in God’s purposes. Even today this theology ignores the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Even though Christian values are based on Judaism, there existed an attempt at ignoring the connection. From early on, there was anti-Judaism at the church. This attitude influenced the Church’s discriminatory relationship with the Jews to the extent that traditional Antisemitism is understood to be Christian in nature. It could be argued that the church in Germany (and other parts of Europe) was ready to receive Hitler’s murderously anti-Jewish ideology because existing theology had prepared the ground.

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From Genesis to Genocide: The Path to racism

“Every genocide – Armenian, Holocaust, Rwanda, and so many others – began with words.”

Deborah E. Lipstadt

In an oft repeated quote by Holocaust scholar Raul Hillberg (1926-2007) there was a progression through centuries of history:

“The missionaries of Christianity had said in effect: You have no right to live among us as Jews. The secular rulers who followed had said: You have no right to live among us. The German Nazis at last decreed: You have no right to live.”

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Man could not succeed in his fight against God’s creation principles. Admittedly, Adolf Hitler managed to take the world to the brink of destruction. Clearly, he changed first Germany, then Europe into a dangerous and unpredictable place. From his ascent to the Chancellorship of Germany in January 1933, the threat to human civilization was clear and present.

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Post-war Germany has carried much shame and guilt. Generations born after 1945 still carry the trauma of WWII and the Holocaust. This is equally true both on the side of the perpetrators and the victims. There is a trans-generational trauma, which remains even when the last eyewitnesses are no longer with us. It has been suggested that certain behaviors and alliances were transmitted from parents to children.

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“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt…”

(Deut. 25:17-19)

“Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, And their children another generation.”

(Joel 1:3)

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Echoes of History: Listening to Witnesses

We invite you to listen to actual witnesses. There is a Biblical commandment to remember: זכר (zachor in the Hebrew language). The memories of these witnesses will connect you with the past and empower you to stand up for others now and in the future.

Explore Exhibit 2 →

Why remember the Holocaust?