Holocaust history must be ingrained to ensure the Jews' future - opinion

“Six million of our people were murdered barbarically in the Holocaust not only because of Hitler and the Germans but because of the passive collaboration of the free world.” This sentence has been ingrained in me since long ago when, as a newly recruited member of WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization) UK, I attended a lecture given by a World Zionist Organization (WZO) emissary.

He spoke these words when addressing a group of WIZO Aviv – the youth division of WIZO. He went on to state that many who perished in the Holocaust would have survived had countries opened wide, rather than firmly closed, their gates at a time when it was still possible for Jews to leave Hitler’s Europe.

For today’s younger generation to fully appreciate the significance of a Jewish state, it is of increasing urgency to ensure that the Holocaust is not something buried in history. The barbaric mass murder of Jews simply because they were Jews, plus the reality that many might well have survived had they succeeded in finding a country of refuge, give a clear message.

Poland, Holocaust history, and distortion

These thoughts were evoked by the current debate on Israel’s future Holocaust education trips to Poland. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is proud that he has reached an agreement with the Polish government. The new itinerary includes visits to places that, while acknowledging that Jews were victims, also emphasize that many Poles suffered under the German occupation.

Yes, there were righteous Polish Christians who risked their lives to save Jews and, for sure, they can be considered exceedingly brave. However, the historic fact is that many more Poles assisted in the murder of Jews than the number who helped protect them.

Yad Vashem issued a statement on the new itinerary, noting that this list of sites, compiled without Yad Vashem’s input, includes problematic venues that should not be visited in an educational context. While the agreement does not mandate visiting these sites, it does not state they should be excluded, which leaves this as an open question.

Yad Vashem stated that it will not be involved in group visits to any site suspected of distorting the events of the Holocaust or presenting a historically inaccurate narrative. It believes that all future visits will be conducted accordingly.

However, there can be no doubt that the new agreement with Poland necessitates that those participating in future trips must be fully briefed before leaving Israel. In addition, the time has come to ensure that every teenager has the opportunity to visit Poland. Hitherto, if parents were unable to cover the cost of the visit, their child could not participate.

POLAND WAS not alone in helping Hitler assist the Germans in their annihilation of Jews prior to Germany occupying their countries. France and Hungary, too, had willing Hitler helpers.

My late husband John’s maternal grandparents lived in Hungary. His grandfather, Rabbi Dr. Michael Guttmann, headed the Rabbinical Seminary in Budapest. He participated in the opening of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1925 and later became a visiting professor of Talmud at the university.

He was responsible for John, his sister and parents remaining alive. While the Katten family, residing in Bamberg, Germany, had the necessary documentation to enter the United States, the date for permitted entry was November 1940. It became clear, by the beginning of 1939, that time was running out.

It was Guttmann who contacted his friend Rabbi Joseph Hertz, then Britain’s chief rabbi (who himself was a native of Hungary), asking if he could obtain a temporary visa for the family to enter Britain and remain there until November 1940 when their US papers became valid. Fortunately for the Katten family, Hertz managed to obtain these temporary visas.

Tragically, there were thousands of others, with permission to enter the US with documents post-dated September 1939, whose lives were terminated in an extermination camp.

Fast forward to 1993, when John and I traveled to Budapest on a roots trip. The idea was to see his grandparents’ home, where John had spent his summer holidays, and to visit the Rabbinical Seminary where, up until today, a portrait of John’s grandfather hangs on the wall of its library.

The head of the Rabbinical Seminary offered to take us to the cemetery where John’s grandparents are buried. While standing at their graves, John was made aware, for the first time, that while his grandfather had died a natural death in 1942, his grandmother had committed suicide in 1944 when her son, daughter-in-law and grandson were initially rounded up – by the Hungarians – and then deported to Auschwitz. John’s uncle survived, since he was sent to a labor camp, but his aunt and young cousin were murdered in Auschwitz.

THE SIGNIFICANCE of what happened to Jews from the 1930s until the end of World War II should be ingrained in today’s younger generation. Antisemitism is on the rise at an unprecedented level – to the point where President Joe Biden is looking at ways to stop this ever-increasing Jew-hatred within the United States. Yes, we are talking about America, where European Jewry viewed the country as the Goldene Medina (the golden land) for Jews.

Combatting antisemitism worldwide

Perhaps one of the most disturbing realities coming out of an AMCHA 2022 report is that the prestigious Harvard University ranks top for campus antisemitism in the US. In the 1930s Harvard, together with Yale and Columbia, legitimized antisemitism by welcoming Nazi leaders to address students at these premier universities.

In spite of an unprecedented rise in antisemitism worldwide, the United Nations is having difficulty accepting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by more than 1,000 global entities. Apparently, there is an objection to the clause that says that antisemitism included the targeting of the State of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity (correctly understanding that Israel is home to the largest number of Jews, in contrast to most other countries, where the Jewish communities are in decline).

Back to the beginning and the words of the WZO emissary. The connection to our tragic past should give specific validity to the relevance of a Jewish state to every Jew, wherever he or she may reside. As the American poet Robert Frost said, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

And, in this 75th year of Israel’s statehood, we can be justifiably proud of our little country, which is often the first to provide practical help to countries suffering from nature’s devastation – even those not as friendly toward us as we would wish.

Our R&D has developed the PillCam which, when swallowed, takes an instant photo of a person’s interior in place of a hitherto invasive procedure. ReWalk enables those who are paralyzed to walk. Planes can be powered by electricity alone, plus so much more. And we are a cultured people, with Israel boasting the most museums per capita in the world.

Am Yisrael chai!

The writer is the chairwoman of the Israel, Britain and the Commonwealth Association.