Today we remember the six million Jewish people, as well as millions of other minorities and disabled people, killed during the Holocaust during World War II

 

Today we remember the people that were ruthlessly torn from their homes and transported to concentration camps in an effort to eradicate them.

We remember that 1.5 million children were among them.

We remember the parents, helpless to protect their children. We remember the old, young, sick, healthy, teachers, doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers, and so many more that were killed for fear.

Fear.

People turned against neighbors for fear of the other. For decades, the chant has been never again

. Never again will we allow children to be separated from their parents. Never again will we allow people to be locked away for wanting to live free.

Never again.

And yet, we are here. We are witnessing the rise of hatred and fear.

We are watching as families are torn apart. As we fail to reunite these families.

And we are forgetting the stories of those people who came before, that tried to help us to learn how never acceptable this is.

This year’s theme is “torn from home”. While it is unlikely that any of us lived through the Holocaust, it is very conceivable that at least one or two among us has been torn from the only home we’ve ever known and thrown into the terrifying unknown.

Today, we will honor the stories of those who came before us and lived long enough to tell us about it. Love and light today and every day.

#weremember   #USHMM