When I was growing up, most of us knew certain dates and events. For example, my brother’s birthday was the day after one of the most important dates- 7 December. The day that President Roosevelt declared would forever remain “in infamy”. Or, the week before Flag Day (that’s 14 June, should you have fallen prey to the current ignorance) was D-Day, the 6th of June. (Do I have to tell you that this was the turning point for World War II, the day that the “Allies” launched a most audacious raid on Nazi-held France [Europe], with some 210,000 casualties during the battle to obtain a foothold in Normandy.)

My son has virtually no knowledge of Pearl Harbor Day (7 December). He and his (much) older siblings instead fixate on 9-11. The day of the more recent attack on American soil. (Brits remember 7-7 as the date of the attack on their soil) by Arab terrorists.)

Because it happened during their lifetime.

Which is why I bring this up now. Because Wednesday night and Thursday (yesterday) were among the sadder days in my calendar. Yom HaShoah. The day we are to remember the Holocaust, where Germans and Poles (the two larger offenders) murdered 6 million Jews- men, women, and children- with impunity. No, via torture and pain.

Yet, some 70% of Americans could care less. More importantly, 1 in 9 have no clue what the Holocaust was- and almost 1 in 4 (22%) of Millennials fall in that category. Which also explains why it was acceptable for the Parkland teenagers to co-opt the important phrase- Never Again- for the slaughter that occurred in their school. (Never Again has been the English phrase used to remind folks that wholesale slaughter of Jews or other people [like the Rohingya or Bosnia] would not be tolerated by the world.)

The above statistics were obtained via a survey effected by Schoen Consulting under the auspices of the Claims Conference (whose more formal name is the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany).  The other sponsors were the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, DC) and Yad Vashem (the Israeli museum, and the first such place, to teach folks about the Holocaust and its 6 million extinguished souls).

The survey further noted that about 1/3 (31%) of all those surveyed and 41% of Millennials who knew about the Holocaust thought it only killed 1 or 2 million Jews. (Those 6 million murdered Jews comprised 50% of all the Jews in the world; more importantly, it was more than 70% of the Jews who resided in Europe.)

While my son and I made our trek to Auschwitz last Summer (and then to the more uplifting flight to Jerusalem), 41% of Americans would have no idea why one would visit Auschwitz or what it represented. (More troubling, given the current fascistic trends in the US and Europe, is that half of the Americans surveyed were positive that Hitler took power in Germany by force. Nope. He did it via a minority vote. Ringing any bells for you yet????)

How these folks who know nothing about the Holocaust still feel that it is a subject that should be taught in schools is interesting. Yup. 93% of those surveyed had that thought. Which means, as opposed to the Arabs who deny the existence of the Holocaust (note: the Arabs were allies of Nazi Germany, since it afforded them the ability to kill Jews in their lands with apparent impunity), Americans are not among those who deny the atrocity occurred.

With less than 400,000 living survivors remaining in the world, most of whom are now over 80 years old, these results are not surprising. When I was growing up, it was typical for me to see 1 out of every 2 or 3 adults with the terrible tattoos on their wrist. (To commemorate their ability to murder and torture Jews, the Nazis  etched serial numbers on the wrists of each of their soon-to-be-victims. They were proud of the humans they extinguished- and were disappointed the totals weren’t higher.)

Below is the modern prayer written by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the retired Chief Rabbi of the UK. His newish sidur (prayer-book) is the one that I (and my fellow congregants) use daily for our ritual prayers.

But, since I was very little, my morning prayers included one of the 13 tenets developed by the famous medieval rabbi, physician, and scholar, Rambam (aka Maimonides). The very prayer that was on the lips of those 6 million murdered (and 2 million remnants of European) Jews most of the days from 1935 to 1945. Ani Ma’amin. I Believe.

The video has amazing footage.  To ensure we remember- and realize  that the only positive event from this was the formation of the State of Israel.

(If you wish to be bored, you can see my daily version of this important prayer here.)

Ani ma’amin b’emunah sh’leimah b’viat hamashiach.V’af al pi, shemitmeheya, im kal zeh achake lo, kal yom she’yavo.

I believe with absolute faith in the coming of the Mashiach (messiah), and, even though he may tarry, I still wait every single day for his coming.

 

Oh, my goodness!  Until 2 years ago,  I never knew that I had a special day.  National Scrabble Day!  (My son so informed me that the 13th of April was another Hallmark hallmark.)  Another reason to not fall prey to Triskaidekaphobia.  (Fear of Friday the 13th!)  Happy Scrabble Day.  I plan to play at least 20 times today.  (OK, that’s how often I play every day.)