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As people read about #holocaustrembranceday, I want you to take a moment and imagine what it is like to learn about the Holocaust for Jewish children. I learned about it at about 4 years old. It changes you.
Jewish kids learn early about genocide. We learn our history, and we learn it early and often. It is deeply entwined with how we move through the world and how we relate to others.
We learn that there were people who saved our lives and people who took them away. These weren’t just soldiers, they were neighbors and friends and teachers. This affects how we respond to anti-semitism in our communities and our movements.
I bring this up today, because so many people don’t understand the weight of Jewish history. The atrocities of the Holocaust are still tangible to us, and we still often feel otherness. This can be hard for Americans to understand, especially when many of us have prospered here.
Jews strive to be honest with each other about the terror and violence we have faced. We strive to be honest with those outside of our communities not just so they remember, but so they may understand who we are.
I sometimes think about the Holocaust when I see my daughter playing with unbridled joy. I am enjoying watching the brief period life where she doesn’t know any of this. Soon I’ll have to tell her. Think about what that does to parents.
My point is, dear gentile reader, the Holocaust May seem long ago. It may seem irrelevant. I want you to understand that it is deeply relevant in the lives and nightmares of the Jews you know. It is a part of us. It never goes away.
