In speaking with my mother, a Dutch survivor of the Holocaust, I have learned that Holocaust Remembrance Day is like any other day set aside for commemoration of an event. In some ways it’s not really necessary. Every day is, to some extent at least, a day in which the Holocaust is remembered. For those who honor their parents as they should, who really needs Mother’s Day, right?
Maybe not. Yes it is something that sticks with so many of us on a constant basis, but the question we really need to ask is what is the real purpose of a Holocaust Remembrance Day? Especially one sanctioned by the United Nations of all things. An organization that has repeatedly shown disdain for, and prejudice against Israel and the Jewish people has a day in which they are saying everyone should remember the victims of the Holocaust during the reign of Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Party. Is this day a day designed to strengthen world morality in order to see to it that no similar atrocity ever happens again? Consequent actions and behaviors by the UN over the years certainly wouldn’t back that up. Is it a satisfaction of guilt for a so-called world organization that does far less than it should to protect innocent people? Or is it part of the farce that is the United Nations image that allows it to continue its worthless existence in which it does more to make corrupt people rich and powerful than it does to care for the weak and persecuted?
Whatever it actually is, if the results of this day set aside to remember does indeed increase awareness somewhere and with someone, who knows what type of positive ripple effect it could have. I wrote a book about what my parents went through in the time of Nazi occupation. Was this something I did as a totally selfless act? The honest answer to that question is no. Any success or achievement I have or will get out of the book certainly satisfies me on a personal level, but that does not negate the fact that nothing is more satisfying to me than inspiring or enlightening someone when it comes to the events that took place. Now magnify this and imagine how many people may never have known that 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis if it were not for a Day of Remembrance. If any of these people are inspired to the point that they actually do something to make a difference in the future, then no matter how disingenuous the formation of a memorial may be, it does some good, and in a world with so much bad, and in a world where hating Jews is becoming more and more in fashion, we need all the help we can get. Even if it comes from a reluctant source.
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