Remembering and Wondering

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Last Sunday, I attended the annual Commemoration of the Holocaust at Temple Emanu-El in New York. I watched, as I have for so many years, my Mother light a memorial candle with other survivors. We remembered.

During the ceremony, survivors were honored and as I listened to their stories, a theme resonated. The majority recounted how they fled and crossed borders or were hidden by those who risked their lives in doing so.

And I wondered again as I so often have wondered in the past. Would I have fled? Would I have crossed borders? Would I have hidden? Would I have found someone to hide me? And for the first time, I asked myself, would I have hidden others?

Comments

Submitted by Anne_Kleinman on Wed, 04/26/2017 - 22:45

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Anne Kleinman

I remember going to the memorial when I was in high school when our school choir sang as part of the program. It is a very moving event.
As the child of American born parents, I didn't often think of those questions. As the daughter-in-law of a hidden child and a survivor of Siberia and Tashkent, when my children were younger I often thought about who I would hide them with and how as I truly believe it can happen here.
Cayce Crown

I wonder too. And thanks to ALL the people who chose to go above and beyond, sometimes sacrificing their own lives to let others live. Without that woman who grabbed Esther's hand, would we have Ben? And if Ben didn't pal around with Fred, would there be Gotham? As always, there is an endless supply of things to be grateful for.
Fred Klein

I have a recurring dream that I'm on the line before Dr. Mengele and I'm agonizing over whether to tell him that my mother was a Christian

Submitted by MarilynGenoa on Thu, 04/27/2017 - 11:38

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Marilyn Genoa

Many friends are children of survivors. Never again means never again for anyone. I hope and believe that I would do whatever I had to to stop the persecution of others, it would be intolerable to believe otherwise.

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