Commentary: Why we remember the Holocaust – Palm Beach Post

Robert Tanen| Palm Beach Post

Each year, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., leads the nation in remembering the victims of the Holocaust and honoring the survivors during the Days of Remembrance, Americas annual national commemoration of the Holocaust established by Congress. Days of Remembrance this year takes place between April 4 to 11.

For the second year, the coronavirus pandemic prevents us from holding the ceremony in person. The pandemic is not the sole source of pain that has cast a dark cloud over the Museums canceled plans at the U.S. Capitol. The appalling January attack on the Capitol has compounded this profound ache, especially for Holocaust survivors.

The Capitol, a symbol of American democracy, has a special significance for Holocaust survivors. That they are joined annually by World War II liberators and government officials to remember the 6 million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust and to honor the bravery and sacrifice of American soldiers who fought to defeat Nazism, is a testament to Americas commitment to Holocaust memory.

Earlier this year, Holocaust survivors watched in horror as the Capitol was desecrated by individuals displaying neo-Nazi, antisemitic, and white supremacist symbols. In the aftermath of the attack, the Museum called out the pain this tragedy caused Holocaust survivors, quoting our founding chairman Elie Wiesel who once said, [W]e must remember for our own sake, for the sake of our own humanity.

These words resonate more powerfully today.

Prior to COVID-19, 1.7 million people visited the Museum annually to see the evidence of the Holocaust firsthand. With the Museums doors closed to visitors, the Museum has reimagined its educational outreach, pivoting to a digital-first approach. Given the rise in antisemitism; ongoing politicization of the Holocaust and efforts to distort or deny it; and group-targeted violence in Burma, China, Syria, and elsewhere, the Museums mission of Holocaust education and remembrance is increasingly urgent.

Holocaust education is important for all because it carries lessons on the dangers of unchecked antisemitism and hate, the fragility of societies, and human nature. Education does not exist in isolation. It happens within the context of society at large, and currently, a number of converging trends are cause for concern. A recent Claims Conference study shows a distressing lack of Holocaust knowledge among American millennials and Gen Z. (Almost one-half couldnt name a single concentration camp or ghetto.)

Indeed, history education as a whole is on the decline in the U.S. as school districts put increasing emphasis on STEM. All of this is happening just as the eyewitness generation is diminishingand the rise of social media makes spreading hate, antisemitismand Holocaust distortion much easier. This predicament yields serious challenges for Holocaust educations many stakeholders here in South Florida and nationwide, including parents, students, communities, school systems, educators and administrators.

Our focus has always been on not just learning the events of the Holocaust, but understanding how and why it was allowed to happen. We seek to understand what individuals, governments and institutions knew and did or didnt do as Nazi Germany and its collaborators perpetrated the genocide of Europes Jews.

Elie Wiesel said the Museum is not an answer, it is a question. The Holocaust raises many questions, and when done with rigor, Holocaust education can stimulate critical thinking and self-reflection as well as challenge assumptions.

Before COVID-19, the Museum had already been aggressively digitizing our collections and expanding our online educational resources. The pandemic significantly accelerated these efforts. After COVID-19 arrived, the Museum reached out directly to educators to learn what they most wanted from us at this critical juncture. During summer 2020, the Museums annual Belfer National Conference for Educators reached four times as many educators virtually as it had in-person. Demand was so greatthat we added a second training for new audiences, including administrators and librarians. The Museum also created new ready-to-use online lessons designed for remote and hybrid learning environments.

The Museums social media audience, especially our Facebook Live programs, has grown significantly to connect Holocaust history to global conversations and move beyond broadcasting information to spark interactive engagement. These interactions reached 14 million last year, doubling in comparison to the prior year.

We have also made our digital content globally accessible, with our Holocaust Encyclopedia the most visited section of our website now available in 19 languages and reaching 16 million people annually as we expand with new content.

In Florida, we tracked a marked increase in website visits to specific Holocaust educational resources. For example, website visitation increased to the following online resources from 2019 to 2020: the History Unfolded crowdsourcing project on how local newspapers reported on events of the Holocaust was up 70%; The Path to Nazi Genocide film up 92%; and the Holocaust Encyclopedia up 20%.

Through our expanded educational outreach and impact during this virtual era, the Museum is exporting the lessons of the Holocaust outside of its walls in Washington, D.C., to Floridians, Americans, and citizens across the world.

With fewer Holocaust survivors alive today to share their stories with us, including many who have been lost to COVID, it is imperative that we act now to ensure that Holocaust education and awareness do not suffer due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic.

This week, as we gather virtually as a nation to commemorate the Days of Remembrance, let us heed the warnings and lessons of the Holocaust to unite and say with purpose: Never Again.

Robert Tanen is the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Southeast Regional Office based in Boca Raton.

Read the rest here:
Commentary: Why we remember the Holocaust - Palm Beach Post