Every generation needs to hear stories such as the Holocaust

Jan. 27 marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland by the Soviet Red Army. While 1,500 survivors had attended the event 10 years ago, only 300 survivors, most very elderly, were able to make the trip this year.

Recent worrisome antisemitic occurrences in Paris, Budapest and London make it more important than ever to teach those too young to have known the horrors that hatred can foster, the lessons of past history. As Roman Kent, a survivor said, while fighting back tears, “We do not want our past to be our children’s future.”

I watched some heart-breaking footage from a never-released film taken by British soldiers at the camps and also listened to speeches by Prince Charles and David Cameron of Great Britain. Prince Charles said, “The Nazi killing of 6 million Jews was an act of evil unique in history and a warning and a lesson to all faiths for all time.” Cameron called for “Britain as a nation to stand up and say we will remember. We will not allow any form of prejudice to disrupt the multifaith democracy we are so proud to call our home.”

Why do I think it is important that our children visit the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and see films like “Schindler’s List,” “The Pianist” and “Twelve Years A Slave”? I believe there is a direct connection between today’s problems of Internet harassment in the form of sexual embarrassment, physical threats and racial and religious prejudice. They both stem from a need to feel superior and a lack of empathy.

Grandparents, who so often now are also called upon to be part-time caregivers, need to forcefully speak out whenever they see any signs of bullying, sibling teasing or hurtful remarks by children about others. They also need to speak out when other adults make unthinking or snide remarks about any racial or religious group.

We need to encourage and praise the thoughtful and considerate behavior and be very firm in our disapproval and indeed our rejection of behavior that is unfair, unkind, or underhanded in any way. And do it in no uncertain terms.

My own daughter, Marianne, was extremely close to, and influenced greatly by her grandmother Hettie, who made history come alive with stories of the women marching in London for the right to vote and why unions came into being after the tragedy in New York of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. She made life lessons from her own past experiences and to this day, in her work and in her private life, I am proud to say, Marianne remembers and lives those lessons by being involved wherever she sees disadvantage or injustice.

What better tribute could any grandparent wish for? I would like to end this column with a memorable threeline anonymous poem scratched on a wall by a victim of the Holocaust:

“I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining

“I believe in love, even though I don’t feel it

“I believe in God, even when He is silent”