International Holocaust Remembrance Day:Have you ever been to a Concentration Camp or met a survivor

[Behind the Aegis]

On November 1, 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 60/7 to designate January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The date marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and is meant to honor the victims of Nazism. The same resolution supports the development of educational programs to remember the Holocaust and to prevent further genocide.

Resolution 60/7 not only establishes January 27 as “International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust,” it also rejects any form of Holocaust denial. The resolution encourages member states of the UN to actively preserve sites that the Nazis used during the "Final Solution" (for example, killing centers, concentration camps, and prisons.) Drawing from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the resolution condemns all forms of “religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief” throughout the world.

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26 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I have met a Holocaust survivor and have been to a concentration camp.
	5 (19%)
	I have met a Holocaust survivor, but have never been to a concentration camp.
	16 (62%)
	I have been to a concentration camp, but have never met a Holocaust survivor.
	4 (15%)
	I have never met a Holocaust survivor nor been to a concentration camp.
	1 (4%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[Solly Mack]

1. Yes, to both. More than one survivor.

[DFW]

2. Though I knew several survivors, one stood out in particular

He was a teenager in Den Haag when he was rounded up, and eventually landed in Auschwitz. He carried the tattooed number on his arm for the rest of his life.

He was quite a character, married an Austrian gentile who learned to speak Dutch without losing her thick Viennese accent. It took some getting used to. He was also a soccer fanatic, supporting the Dutch national team when and where possible. One time, when they went to Poland to play the Polish national team, he went with them to see the game. He took an extra day to go back to Auschwitz.

I asked him afterward, "why in the world would you want to go back THERE of all places?"

His answer (typical of him) was, "I wanted to stand before that gate again and gloat that I am still here and you're just a dead relic."

[True Blue American]

3. My Husband helped liberate

One. I have Brownie Kodak pictures I will donate, along with a German Luger with a note giving permission to take it out of Germany.

He was on Omaha Beach, second wave at Normandy. Wounded there.

The Germans welcomed them into their homes, shared what little they had.

[Docreed2003]

7. Wow...such an incredible life story. Thank you for sharing

[True Blue American]

9. This all happened before I met him

But it was honestly like pulling teeth to get him to talk about it.

About ten years ago they were given medals of Freedom. Many accepted by their children. There were around 250 on stage. The Chaplain, who had been with them told the story of the trip from Omaha to Germany and the liberation.

Watching those men on stage with tears running down their cheeks told me much about what they suffered.

He was an MP. My Dad was an Engineer building bridges for the Infantry.

[Behind the Aegis]

22. That is really special.

Thank you for sharing your story and the items.

[GentryDixon]

4. I've been to Dachau.

I also worked with a survivor. Lovely gentleman. He did not like to talk about his time in, & if he told us which camp, I have since forgotten. His tattoo was visible when he wore short sleeves.

[Hortensis]

5. We used to live in West Hollywood, near the "borscht belt."

No accident, my husband's parents were Jewish, as were their friends who'd emigrated from Europe and eventually made new lives there. I was very young when we arrived, but I've never forgotten actually seeing the concentration camp numbers tattooed on the wrists of some.

I was pregnant at the time, and a much nicer memory is that everywhere I visited with my MIL I was petted and admired, and usually promptly sat down and fed whether I was hungry or not.

[oberliner]

13. The "borscht belt" is nowhere near West Hollywood

It was in the Catskills in New York.

[Hortensis]

15. :) I don't keep count, Oberliner,

but to my general observation your pattern is striking for its overall consistency. In good weather I sometimes pushed a stroller to our favorite butcher's and other shops on Fairfax Boulevard.

[salin]

28. Perhaps googling - before discounting - is a good idea?

Terms for areas of a region... are often used in different parts of the country. Here is what I found in googling the term and Los Angeles:

https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/citydig-like-colorful-map-jewish-los-angeles-latke/

Which includes this description:

(snip)

By 1940, Los Angeles had the seventh largest Jewish community in America, and by 1950, the population had increased to over 300,000, with many families moving from Boyle Heights to the West Side, the Valley, and the Fairfax district (affectionately known as “the Borscht Belt”).

(snip)

My comment:

You often seem very adept at looking for a broader narrative before jumping onto a particular telling of a story. This seems to be one of those cases where a quick search finds an alternative explanation. And one that doesn't completely dismiss another person's post/experience.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

6. My mother was a Holocaust survivor

And I have been to Auschwitz. My wife and I went there, and after I had prayed for my grandparents and other members of my family who had been killed there, my wife asked to leave since the place was really creeping her out. As we were leaving, she said to me, "Dante got it wrong. What is written over the gates of Hell isn't 'Abandon all hope, you who enter here'; but rather, 'Arbeit macht Frei'."

[The Truth Is Here]

8. I am a 2nd generation of a Holocaust survivor

My grandfather survived Auschwitz and had the aformented tattoo to prove it. And grew up around survivors so yeah....

[Cold War Spook]

10. I had, they have since died, 2 friends.

My niece, as a senior in high school, was doing a paper on the Holocaust and my friends talked to her about it. It really upset her, but her paper was good and she won a trip to Denmark and Anne Frank's home.

[mnhtnbb]

11. My first trip to Europe in 1983

my boyfriend (Jewish) and I went to Dachau. It was an incredibly difficult experience to take in the horror of what happened there and to know it was only one of many camps.

I lived in Los Angeles for 20 some years and met several people during that time who were Holocaust survivors.

Right now I happen to be reading the Jenna Blum novel, Those Who Save Us. It's about a German woman and her daughter who come to Minnesota after WW II.

[mucifer]

12. My childhood best friend's father was a teenager in Auschwitz. My

parents had a good friend who was a survivor. My childhood Rabbi got out of Austria to the USA after the nazis invaded but before people were sent to the camps so just in time.He was a child then. His family was allowed in the USA only because his father was a Rabbi.

[Maeve]

14. Met survivors, never been to mainland Europe, but took the kids to the Holocaust Museum in DC

That was before 9/11 and it was one of the few high-security buildings at the time, where you had to go thru a checkpoint at the entrance. They have had too many violent deniers.

[UniteFightBack]

16. I would like to go to visit a concentration camp. I still can't wrap my mind around what the

hell happened. I feel that high school kids should be required to view all the evidence. It's something you don't forget. It's something you just can't dismiss.

[Bettie]

17. When I was in high school

we had a speaker come and talk to us about his experiences.

I went to more than one similar talk when I was in college.

I still can't fathom how anyone could have willingly been a part of any of it.

[Beringia]

18. As a teenager, I worked at a cleaners

and the owner's wife was a survivor and one of the workers was a survivor. Also I worked at a dental school and one of the professor/chairman was in a camp as a child. He was from an aristocratic family in Hungary. He was very snobbish and did not like my behavior at all because I did not act as a proper underling and grovel. I thought being in a camp would have changed that kind of mind set. Luckily I didn't get fired by him because a couple of other high up professors really liked me.

[whistler162]

19. Polish Catholic neighbor

and her eldest children survived Auschwitz. Her husband made it from Russia to fight with the Polish II Corps in Italy. Always remember the Holocaust was not about just one ethnic/religious/orientation group.

[Behind the Aegis]

20. Thanks for the reminder.

[Hekate]

21. My husband's parents were Holocaust survivors. One of his elderly cousins leads tours of Auschwitz

...which he survived. He particularly wants to reach Polish youth.

[smirkymonkey]

23. I have not been to a concentration camp, but I have been to many Jewish graveyards,, memorials and

sacred sites in Europe and here in the states. They were just heartbreaking. I was in tears. I sometimes wonder if I could tolerate a visit to a concentration camp, but I know if I had the opportunity to go that I would. I feel like all people should have that education no matter how much it pains them.

[Wounded Bear]

24. I haven't knowingly met a survivor...

I may have met some without knowing it.

[Takket]

25. never for either but........

Have been to the Holocaust museum in DC

[EX500rider]

26. The one I met was a old Greek lady, had the tattoo on her arm..

....she was one of my fuel customers for heating oil. Another of my customers was one of General Patton's drivers.
The camp was Dachau, outside Munich, "Arbeit Macht Frei"-Works Make Free, written over the gate.

[FakeNoose]

27. I've seen the movie Schindler's List at least 5 times

Does that count for anything?

Also I've seen The Diary of Anne Frank, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Life is Beautiful, and Jakob the Liar.
(Probably several others too.)

[Ilsa]

29. A friend's father helped liberate survivors

in a concentration camp in Europe.

I have heard second-hand stories from people who have either worked with or had long discussions with survivors years later.

I think I have met only one survivor myself.

[GulfCoast66]

30. Both.

I remember going thru Dachau with the Wife. We were both trying not to weep.

When I told her, ‘our families helped put an end to this shit’ I lost it and started crying. And I’m a big southern guy. Not the crying type. But there is a time for everything.

Weeping now remembering it. Damn you!! Kidding of course.

[tammywammy]

31. When I was in elementary school a survivor came to talk to us.

I don't remember what he talked about, we were pretty young. I do remember his tattoo.

I've never been to mainland Europe.

[Danmel]

32. My father was a survivor of Auschwitz

His mother was killed there, as was his sister, for whom I am named. His brother survived, but his wife and 8 year old son Jonah perished. I grew up with many holocaust survivors, both family and friends of my family, many of whom lived in Brooklyn, where I was raised.
My father was from Zawiciere, Poland . He never wanted to return there. His memories were not good. The anti semitism survived the war even though almost no Jews survived.
Two years ago, my husband and I were in the Czech Republic and visited the Theriesenstat death camp, which the Nazis cast as a model "arts" facility. Of course, most arts camps don't have crematoriums. I haven't been to Auschwitz or my father's hometown, though I think I might go one day. Just not sure how I will be able to process it. My father was a quite remarkable person. Though clearly traumatized, he remained hopeful and taught us always that all groups of people have good people and not so good people and to always be kind and open to all people. Although i miss him terribly, i am grateful he did nt live to see trump and that at least he did nt die afraid for his children and grandchildren.
His number was #157815

[Maru Kitteh]

33. My favorite uncle brought his bride, a survivor, home from WWII

She told me about watching her grandfather's murder at the hands of a German officer he had called a swine.

[Greybnk48]

34. As a surg.tech. student (70's), I worked with two surgeons, both had arm tattoos.

They were a husband and wife and had met in a camp as children. It was jarring and shocking to see the tattoos every time I gowned and gloved them.

I worked with them a few times after I graduated when they came to my permanent hospital to assist another doc in surgery. They did not talk about their experience, other people told me the little that I know. I'm not sure, but I believe they were in Auschwicz. I know they were somewhere notoriously vicious but can't say with absolute certainty.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. My husband (now my ex) is Jewish, Ashkanzi.

All four of his grandparents emigrated to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century, just as my own Irish grandparents did.

We married in 1980 and went to Europe for our honeymoon. Vienna, then Budapest, then Krakow, Poland. I insisted we go to Auschwitz. In the end he was glad we did.

Here's the other interesting thing. He is not obviously Jewish, and in this country, fellow Jews rarely recognized him as one of them. In Poland, we'd be wandering somewhere and someone would come up to us, start speaking to him in English, and when he looked confused, would say, "Aren't you Jewish?"

They never even looked at me. I was so clearly not one of them that I was invisible.

The most memorable incident was in Borzencin, one of his ancestral villages, when we were dragged to an attic where they wanted to show us records they'd saved from the Nazis. It was a humbling experience.

We must never forget.

[KitSileya]

36. The whole family went to Dachau.

My grandfather (whom my father never met) was a German soldier of the Wehrmacht.


We must never forget how easily the Germans, and too many other Europeans went along with this genocide (in France and Norway and many other countries, it was the local police who diligently rounded up their Jewish countrymen for transportation.)