Craig and I were talking on MSN afterwards, and I mentioned to him that Gampa and Nagyi (my paternal grandparents) are Auschwitz survivors. Of course Craig knew that, but I think it just registered for him for the first time that his great-grandparents are among those few who are still among us, who lived through the horrorsof the Shoah, and they lived through it as adults. They are among those few who can still giv eus first hand accounts of what life was like in Europe before anyone heard of Hitler.
My grandpa is 94, my grandma is turning 90 in a month. They were young adults then and now they are a dying generation.
Soon everything that happened will completely become history: something that we learn about in schools but no one remembers.
The experiences of survivor Corrie ten Boom were mentioned in Sunday's sermon. Her books are very well-known and I think they are one of many records that will keep memories alive. We must never forget. What a wonder and a treasure that your grandparents are living still. Years ago, I had the honor of taking my homeschooled kids to a women's luncheon when the speaker was a Polish forced labor camp survivor. This is not "ancient history!!"
ReplyDeleteThank you for this reminder of our recent history. My uncle is a Polish survivor and as a child I had no idea wht that meant. Now as an adult, I am reminded that he went through some horrific experiences. Again, thank you for doing your part to educate the future about this.
ReplyDeleteMichal Ann, I always believed that something becomes history when no one is there to remember it. We are actually very lucky to have documentation like the Auschwitz Album, documenting the process of elimination of a group of Hungarian Jews from arrival to all but the actual killing. Yad Vashem is doing a great job to keep the memory alive.
ReplyDeleteCindi, thank you for your comment. I think my son is in the same position, or rather was, as you with your uncle. He knew, but didn't understand.