Holocaust Remembrance Day

According to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Instagram page, "The USHMM inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity." So good. I encourage you to follow them on social media if you haven't yet. I believe the missions of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (and many other institutions similar to it) are vital to our society today and for future generations to come.

My grandfather Reinhard was born in Germany. He moved to America in 1959 when he was 9 years old with his parents, who were living in Germany during WWII. I don't know many details about Reinhardt's parents. But one detail I learned about them was that after the concentration camps were liberated, Reinhard's parents made clothes for the survivors and spent a few years helping people rebuilt in post-war Germany. I was aware of that family history as a young child, and that led me to the desire to learn the language and travel abroad.

I'm reminded each year on January 27th of the millions of lives lost during WWII, those who fought, those in the Holocaust, and all others who were involved. I take the day, known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, to reflect, honor, and study the history.

I believe that the world has no place for racism, genocide, or dehumanization of any kind. The Nazi Party emphasized such things. They held extreme nationalist views and antisemitic beliefs. They wanted to expand the Third Reich and be 'the ultimate race.' Their hatred toward people who were non-Aryan or non-supporters brought about the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a time in history in which Nazi Germany committed genocide against millions of people by taking them to concentration camps and extermination camps. This included abuse, torture, mass murder, and maltreatment. Prisoners were faced with extreme forced labor, dehumanization, starvation, torture, experimentation, disease, murder, etc.

I encourage anyone reading this blog to check out the testimonies from survivors and learn more about Holocaust history. It's important to know what really happened.

After I studied four years of the German language throughout high school, I traveled to Germany as an exchange student through Friendship Connection Inc. in 2013. One place I visited was the former Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, located North of Berlin just outside the city of Oranienburg. In the place was a memorial and a walk-through museum. In remembrance of Sachsenhausen (and the thousands of other camps), I posted a photo below that I took during my day-long visit to the memorial site of Sachsenhausen. It is the famous picture of the Arbeit Macht Frei gate that can be found all over the internet. The words translate, "Work makes freedom," which wasn't true at all for these inmates.

As a side note, the reason why I love Germany so much (not just because I love the language) is because Germany has changed enormously since the collapse of The Berlin Wall. They have a beautiful and rich culture that I absolutely adore. Just as I love America so much (I'm American), I truly admire how far both countries have grown from a troubling and painful past. And I always hope the best for both countries and hope the relations will always be strong. I believe both America and Germany have great goals and aspirations toward a better and brighter future.

We learned from history that we should fight against issues such as racism, genocide, and dehumanization of any kind. And I know many people agree. These issues are important, and we must tackle them together.

Let's focus on making the world a better place.