h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"While not all victims were Jews, all Jews were victims."
--Elie Wiesel

Thursday, April 13, 2000 is a day I hope to remember for quite some time. On that day, I had the privilege of attending a special Student Awareness Day seminar organized by the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, Inc. and my school, Lynn University. It was entitled "Bringing the Lessons of the Holocaust into the Millenium". To those of who are unfamiliar with this point in history, the Holocaust, perpetrated by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945, was one of the most heinous events in recorded human history. Six million Jews were murdered -- over one million of whom were children -- only because they were Jews. Millions of others were killed because in various ways they did not fit the Nazi "ideal." Two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe were murdered, an entire once-vibrant culture erased from the face of the Earth. Through this seminar, I've learned that the enormity and brutality of the Holocaust staggers the imagination; its horror cries out for explanation. The Holocaust challenges Western civilization's fundamental commitment to scientific and technological progress and its claims to ethical advancement. I've learned that it reminds us to what depths humanity is capable of sinking and pushes each of us to examine our own conscience and our relationship with our fellow human beings. But above all, I've learned that the Holocaust tests our courage, our faith in a moral universe and our resolve to find meaning in human existence. The event took place at Lynn University's Student Center and started off with a welcome speech by Dr. Lorna Shaw, Dean College of Arts and Sciences. After that was a speech by the Vice President of the HDEC. Later, we viewed a compelling videotape entitled "Children Remember the Holocaust", a film hosted by Keannu Reeves of all people! Fortunately, Keannu had a limited role in the film. Technically, the journal entries of the children provided most of the narration. It was so moving, in fact, that the Holocaust survivors in attendance had to leave the room since it was too painful for them. And yes, Holocaust survivors were there. After the videotape, the survivors came back for a Round Table discussion. That's when I had the honor of speaking to Stanley Glogover, a man who was taken to a concentration camp when he was only 14 years old. After three weeks, he was separated by his father. Later on, a Nazi struck him on the side of the head so hard, he bled out of one ear. Soon after that, he lost all will to live, and was scooped up indiscriminately with a lot of dead and dying bodies and tossed into a big truck. I'm already starting to forget some of the details, and Stanley spoke with a bit of an accent, but from what I understand, Stanley somehow made it out of the truck and wound up with some Nazi doctor named Bruno. Stanley must've made quite an impression on Bruno, because not only did the doctor treat Stanley's wounds, he kept him hidden until his wounds healed. Soon after that, Stanley was sent back to the death camp. Then the war ended, and Stanley started to search for any family members who survived the Holocaust. In Munich, he came across a positive lead. A Glogover was in the death camps there! After that, he smuggled himself half-way across Europe and was reunited with his father in Italy. Later, they took a boat to America. What an inspiring story! After the Round Table discussions were over, we heard a speech entitled "The Cambodian Experience" by Sophal Leng Stagg. Stagg's story of her survival during the Pol Pot regime reminds us that the Holocaust wasn't the only example of genocide in the Twentieth Century. As the event closed with a candlelighting ceremony, I realized that it's up to every one of us to ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust never happen again. All we have to do is remember.