It’s not only what we remember; it’s how we remember
Today, January 27, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day 73 years ago, the notorious German death camp Auschwitz, in Poland, was liberated by the Russians.
Our survivors remember the days of liberation as if it were yesterday. How does the community, and indeed all people of good will, remember this day? And what about those too young to remember? How can we continue to hold up this day of remembrance, recalling that more than 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Roma, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and political prisoners were murdered during what we call the Holocaust (Shoah in Hebrew), the Final Solution to the Jewish Question by the Nazis.
For the Germans, the goal was very clear: Total annihilation of the Jews of Europe. What awaited the Jews deported from their homes, villages and cities was starvation, beatings, concentration camps and brutal deaths. The Holocaust remains unparalleled as man’s greatest inhumanity against man. It is therefore imperative that the story of the Holocaust not only is remembered, but also that it is shared.
Today, there are many in our community dedicated to making this happen. They teach about racism, antisemitism, genocide and hatred in addition to the Holocaust.
In 1984, a small group of Holocaust survivors and local leaders joined together to develop in Miami Beach a permanent memorial to the 6 million Jews murdered at the hands of the Nazis. Today, the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, a Committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, welcomes more than 100,000 visitors annually — including 10,000 students — to its outdoor educational experience, which also serves as a sacred site of remembrance. Holocaust survivors are among the volunteer docents on site, providing firsthand testimony.
The Holocaust Memorial hosts commemorative and educational events throughout the year, partners with local schools and educators, and uses technology to ensure that the experiences of survivors and the murdered victims are easily accessible. The Holocaust Memorial’s app — available in eight languages through HolocaustMemorialMiamiBeach.org — enables viewers to access survivor testimony and the historical narrative of the Holocaust from anywhere in the world.
Florida is one of eight states that mandate the teaching of the Holocaust in its schools, and throughout a variety of initiatives are underway to educate new generations. The Task Force on Holocaust Education works throughout Florida to create curriculum and workshops for teachers. The School Boards of Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties each have a dedicated Holocaust curriculum specialist to assist classroom educators with materials and workshops for teaching this important event and what can be learned from it. Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University and University of Miami are all engaged in Holocaust Studies programs and initiatives and Nova Southeastern University has a Holocaust Studies room in its library. The Holocaust Documentation and Education Center will soon open its doors in Dania Beach.
The tools are available to each of us; it is our responsibility to seek out this information, to synthesize this knowledge into our lives, and to share it with others. We must try to understand how such hatred of the “other” became the norm in German society.
How can we work together to make sure that this never happens again? How can we talk about this in our homes with our children, families and friends? How can we speak out when we see an individual or a group is in trouble? How can we create the courage in ourselves to stand up and not be a bystander?
Sharon S. Horowitz is executive director of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach.