Today I went to see Holocaust survivor Henry Golde speak on campus at the urging of my girlfriend. I was not disappointed at his tale of survival through 10 different concentration camps. When finished with his tale I had the opportunity to ask him a question that had been in the back of my mind for quite some time.
The First Amendment of the US Constition guarantees the free exchange of ideas and this area of thought is protected. What can a teacher of German say to someone who denies the holocaust ever happened? Mr. Golde went into detail about a local Wisconsin librarian who attempted to remove books from schools mentioning the holocaust since it was a “hoax.” His account was poignant and even funny in how he dealt with the situation. The thing that stuck out most about his answer though was only a brief snippit. People may deny and/or refute the mountains of evidence, but what happened to Mr. Golde’s family?
Am I to understand that one day millions of people just decided to never see their family members ever again to support a radical conspiracy against the Nazis? Thank you for putting that into perspective Mr. Golde. Shalom.