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Erasing history is dangerous. Yet, people still do it. Some to erase the lessons of it. Others to avoid pain. However, it is the action of erasing and not the
reasons that are dangerous.
But why is erasing history wrong? How can it be dangerous to forget the Holocaust or places like Auschwitz? What is the importance of Holocaust education?
Join us as we learn why we need to remember the Holocaust, not only on Holocaust Remembrance Day, but ALL year round! Discover why we say, “Never Again!”
How “Kindly Meant” Desires Can Be Dangerous
A while ago someone made a comment. One innocently written, but filled with idle thought. A thought that, if put into action, or even spread, could become less than innocent…
In reply to another person’s trip to Auschwitz—the Nazi camp where approximately 1.1 million Jews were murdered—this person stated that if they went there, they would be overcome with emotion. A response that is quite normal. Yet, it was their ideas on what should be done with Auschwitz that held a dangerous edge…
They wanted Auschwitz burned to the ground! They wanted it removed and replaced with a beautiful memorial garden so people could travel there, sit, and remember the horrors… but with the evidence of the atrocities destroyed.
They did not understand…
- that the Nazis also WANTED and saw to it that MANY of the other extermination camps were burned to the ground to cover their tracks
- that by burning Auschwitz to the ground today, they would be helping Nazi and antisemitic causes
- that many Holocaust survivors actually travel with their families to the site, as it holds great meaning to the Jewish people
- that if the evidence of Auschwitz ‘dies,’ many MORE people could one day die in the same way
They did not understand…
- that out of a study of over 10,000 Americans aged 18-39, over 10% believed that Jews caused the Holocaust, while 23% thought that the Holocaust was a myth or exaggerated
- that out of a study of over 10,000 Americans aged 18-39, 48% could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto
- that 66% US millennials did not even know what Auschwitz is
- that antisemitism is pushing the rapid growth of antisemitic acts: a 12% increase in antisemitic incidents in America between 2018 & 2019 with a 56% increase in physical assaults—causing at least five deaths; a 56% increase in antisemitic acts in Australia between 2018 & 2019; a 74% increase in France between 2017 & 2018
- that research released in late 2021 said that one out of four American Jews had experienced antisemitism within recent months
- that the education of children regarding the Holocaust is not something that happens in every country and that, even in America, the education provided is not always complete or accurate
They simply did not understand. Yes, their comment may have been written from a place of believed compassion… but the ideas behind it were dangerous!
The erasing of any history or historical evidence for the sake of lessening the emotional impact on those who would otherwise see it sadly takes away an important, if not the most important, part of history.
The concentration camp known as Auschwitz is one of the few remaining places—the primary visual statement—that Holocaust deniers would have a hard time disputing. Because, if they can somehow deny the truth of the film reels, the documentation, the witness statements, the dead bodies, and families destroyed… then maybe, just maybe, having to walk the place where so many of the 6 million murdered Jews met their end, might make an impression.
As counterintuitive as it might sound, Auschwitz lends hope to the remaining survivors. Hope that their suffering was not in vain. Hope that not only their descendants will learn from it, but the world! Because, as long as Auschwitz still stands, at least someone will remember what happened.
At least someone will say, “Never Again!”
What Do We Mean When We Say, “Never Again!”?
The saying, “Never Again!” serves as a key goal not only to the Jewish people, but to all who oppose the Holocaust. It is a promise that those who say it will do their utmost to see that the Holocaust will never again take place. That it will not be on our watch!
This “Never Again!” view stands firmly in the minds of many who serve Israel. Particularly for those who, like the IDF—Israel Defense Forces—defend the nation of Israel. It is one of the reasons why all who serve are so highly trained… determined… and selfless.
Israel is situated in the middle of a sea. Not wholly physical, but real. They have enemies trying to destroy them on all sides, with few allies to help. Every Israeli knows that if they do not fight to keep their land and their lives, both will be taken by force.
So they say, “Never Again!”
The reclaiming of Israel was not easy. It was a hard-won return to the Promised Land! Yet, it is more than a place of biblical prophecy fulfillment. Israel is a place of safety in an increasingly antisemitic world. A key in achieving a difficult, “Never Again!”
Why Holocaust Remembrance Day & Education Are Important
We do not have to look at statistics to see that, despite information being more readily accessible than ever before, recent generations do not generally know much about the Holocaust. In fact, those who do possess some knowledge of the Holocaust are often without even basic information—why it happened, how many people died, the actions of the Nazis, major concentration camps, etc.
This lack of understanding not only risks future violence, but increases opportunities for oppression. Not only amongst the original victims of the Holocaust—primarily the Jewish people—but among others as well!
Further, it threatens all Believers, all Jews, and even the Promised Land—Israel!
Yet, Holocaust Remembrance Day or dry teaching of the Holocaust will only do so much. It takes more…
- it takes the stories of Holocaust survivors and victims
- it takes the stories of soldiers, spies, and those in the resistance
- it takes the confessions of Nazi’s who served in places such as Auschwitz
- it takes the artifacts that survive—mountains of hair, suitcases, shoes, clothes, glasses, crutches, canes, etc., taken as Jews entered camps such as Auschwitz
- it takes the photographic and video evidence of the Holocaust
- it takes the places where Jews hid that remain
- it takes the surviving sections of ghettos
- it takes the gas chambers Nazis did not manage to destroy
- it takes Auschwitz, and the crying, and the emotional pain the site brings
Just as when God asked Cain where his brother Abel was after Cain had killed him—Abel’s blood crying out from the ground—the Lord remembers. He has not forgotten…
The pain of the Holocaust may be something many want to erase. The blood that cries out from the ground is something that can be felt the moment one sees Auschwitz…
But that helps silence any who might wish to repeat it… raising up those who refuse to let it happen again!
It is no wonder that someone might want to burn Auschwitz down in an effort to quiet the noise… but just as Cain could not deceive God, neither can we. All those moments are buried in the walls of places like Auschwitz. They cry out, causing those who pass through their gates to cry out as well.
And God uses this.
It is like when someone touches a lit stovetop. They should—if wholly healthy—experience pain. That pain is what tells them to pull their hand back instead of leaving it on the burner to be consumed.
If we do not know the pain of the Holocaust—of places like Auschwitz—then when people are slowly dehumanized, degraded, and eventually slaughtered… how will we to know the signs? How will we be able to enact change before time runs out?
It is the pain that teaches us not to place our hand on the burner again and the same is true for the Holocaust. Some may learn with a word and do not require the action that brings pain… but better the pain of studying the Holocaust or even visiting Auschwitz than to repeat history! Because it starts with a lie, shifts to an unkind word, an unkind deed… building in intensity until not only they themselves are burned by the stovetop, but others as well!
Why Does Auschwitz Need to Be Protected?
Belief in the Holocaust does not automatically mean belief in the sovereignty of Israel. Yet, even if it did, it acts as more than a shield of protection for Israel alone. It is a shield of protection for Jews the world over. For minorities, religions, and any other people group who could easily find themselves selected for mass genocide.
Jews were not the only victims of the genocide in WWII. Yet, of the 11 million who died, 6 million of them were Jews. Six million Jews who were systematically dehumanized, degraded, and slaughtered. And for every one of them, hearts were shattered… they ache to this day.
Whole families were destroyed in an instant. Relatives were left to wonder and hope for letters of their safety… letters never to arrive. Children were forced to slave and live off of indescribable ‘food.’ Infants and pregnant mothers were shot down or gassed. The elderly discarded as if their years of wisdom were a hindrance instead of an asset.
Of all the places where such atrocities were perpetrated, the concentration camp known as Auschwitz played the worst part…
Of the 1.3 million Jews sent to Auschwitz, it is calculated that at least 1.1 million of that number died there! Yet, many Americans cannot name a single concentration camp—not even Auschwitz—and with every year and every generation, fewer remember…
Approximately 1/6 of Jewish Holocaust victims died in Auschwitz, yet over half of 18 to 39 year-olds in America have no notion as to the total number of Jews that died in the Holocaust, much less Auschwitz. Worse still, nearly 1/4 of those surveyed believed that the Holocaust was exaggerated or did not even happen!
These numbers are one of the many reasons we NEED places like Auschwitz to be protected, not to showcase or honor antisemitism, but to fight it! Because it is the sights left behind in places like Auschwitz that leave the greatest impact…
The mountain of shoes taken from infants, children, men, and women who were sent to gas chambers. The piles of glasses. The mounds of hair. All the things taken to use, but more so, to sell, to pay for the gas, the guards, the trains. To pay for their Holocaust.
The memory of the millions who died—Jew or otherwise—in the Holocaust must never be forgotten.
Our children need to be taught. Our brothers and sisters. Our parents and grandparents should they not already know. And we need to continue beyond Holocaust Remembrance Day.
If schools avoid the Holocaust, we need to teach about it in our homes. Not to glorify it, but to remember the lessons. To raise up a generation who will not be silent in the face of oppression—in the face of things contrary to God. To uplift and impart the power of our God in ending the Holocaust and fulfilling biblical prophecy… restoring Israel.
We need to support Holocaust survivors while they are still with us with prayer and action.
We need to support IDF members who defend the Promised Land.
We need to say, “Never Again!” this Holocaust Remembrance Day and every day to come! Because no one deserves to be on the receiving end of a Holocaust, and no one should stand idly by when they, or others, are forced into one—on either side.
Never Again!
Never Again.
Never. Again.
The statistics provided within this blog have been primarily sourced through Holocaust museums, Holocaust educational sources, and some news articles. These statistics were not found by any study we have personally done or been involved with and therefore we cannot guarantee that the methods used in each study have resulted in unbiased or replicable statistics.
