Remembering the Holocaust

  • Published
  • By Capt. J. Scott Howell
  • 60th Services Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  April 27 will mark the beginning of the Holocaust observance week known as the Days of Remembrance.

Congress designates the week as a time to look back and reflect on the horrors committed by the Nazis against millions of people and remember those who suffered at their hands. Every year the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum designates a theme for the Days of Remembrance. This year it is "Do Not Stand Silent: Remembering Kristallnacht 1938."

The literal translation of "Kristallnacht" is "night of crystal," but in the context of the events that occurred Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, the word is translated as "night of broken glass."

The Nazi party organized two nights of vandalism, rioting and assaults against Jews and Jewish-owned property throughout Germany. The "broken glass" refers to the shattered glass from Jewish-owned businesses, schools and synagogues. Nazi leaders blamed Jews for the onset of violence and arrested an estimated 30,000 men between the ages of 16 and 60. These men were sent to concentration camps where they underwent torture at the hands of the Schutzstaffel.

If released, it was under the implicit instructions to leave Germany, their home, forever. These events were just a sign of what was yet to come for the Jewish people of Germany. Kristallnacht marks a pivotal point in the treatment of Jews by the Nazi regime; it marks the change from rhetoric to actual state-sanctioned violence. It is important to note that Kristallnacht occurred before World War II began.

The roots of hatred for Jews, Gypsies and other "undesirables" began long before the first shots were fired. To Nazis, the term "undesirables" encompassed millions of people, not just Jews. It is important to remember, especially during this week of observance, that even though 67 percent of Europe's pre-war Jewish population was exterminated at the hands of the Nazis, millions of others also suffered including Gypsies, ethnic-Poles, Slavs, homosexuals, disabled and the mentally challenged.

This week at Travis, we join the thousands of other Americans both in the military and civilian life to remember those who suffered, lost their families and lost their lives at the hands of the Nazi Germany. There will be several events held this week to commemorate the Days of Remembrance, to include a PowerPoint presentation running through the week at the Base Exchange, a "brown-bag lunch" discussion forum May 1 at 2:30 p.m., in the Chapel Center Annex and the film "The Pianist" will be shown, May 2 at 1 p.m., at the Chapel Center Annex.

The Mitchell Memorial Library will also feature a display with books and films centering on the Holocaust.

For further reading, visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at www.ushmm.org.