Ashley Karelitz, Green High School Remember Remember. Remember the eleven million people that died in a mass genocide less than sixty years ago. Remember their pain and their suffering. Commemorate their deaths if only for the purpose of remembering them. But also inform; let other people know about the Holocaust. Knowledge is power. It is the greatest defense that anyone will ever have to prevent another Holocaust. The future is at our mercy, so let us reshape it. The world has been scarred with the remnants of the Holocaust. People from several different countries were affected by this genocide. The millions that died were the mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters of people all over the world. The survivors, in other words, those who were sent to work camps but did not perish at the whim of the Nazi soldiers, have also been marked forever by the Holocaust. The numbers tattooed on their forearms are not the only reminders of their time spent in Auschwitz or Dachau. These survivors will carry with them the memories of their time in the concentration camps; this period of their life will haunt them forever. Being the target of hatred and contempt are not things that are easily forgotten. Since the Holocaust, these people have been forced to pick up the pieces of their lives. Out of respect for the people that have suffered, it is important to pay tribute by remembering. Teach others about the Holocaust as well. Encourage them to read Elie Wiesel’s Night or watch Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. These are sources that depict the lives of those that were involved in the Holocaust and help to explain exactly what occurred. Let other people know that a future holocaust could be prevented by remembering the one that already happened. There are many people in today’s society that don’t understand the harm that stems from prejudice and injustice. The Holocaust is a prime example of a group whose philosophy of their own cultural superiority resulted in the extermination of millions that just didn’t fit the mold. It is vital that everyone understands that discrimination based on gender, race, religion, or ethnicity is unacceptable. The crimes of injustice committed against the Jewish people are unfathomable, and no other group should be subject to the same treatment. By unearthing and understanding the causes of the Holocaust, the probability of another one occurring will greatly decrease. The knowledge that people hold is their most powerful weapon. Don’t allow the Holocaust to have set a precedent that will determine the fate of other minority groups. As a Jew, I feel as though I am obligated to help others commemorate the deaths of the victims of the concentration camps. The Holocaust involved the persecution of millions of people, my people. In Jewish culture, it is customary to light a Yarzheit candle on Yom HaShoah, the Day of Remembrance. This is how my grandmother remembers, this is how my parents remember, and this is how I remember. I will continue this tradition for the rest of my life, and I, like my parents and grandparents, will pass it on from generation to generation. This is my way of remembering, what’s yours?
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