“Never forget …”

Yet, it seems many Americans have done just that.

Jan. 27, 1945, is the date that Soviet troops liberated Birkenau and Auschwitz concentration camps in Poland. On Nov. 1, 2005, Resolution 60/7 was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to establish the 27th of January as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This past Monday marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation, and what many predict will be the last major milestone anniversary with many survivors present, a likely scenario considering the age of the few survivors remaining.

As the survivors’ voices perish, it is feared that the lessons learned/stories of the Shoah (Hebrew term that literally means “catastrophe,” which is used in place of the term “Holocaust”) will be either forgotten — or, even worse, denied.

In 2020, the results of the first known 50-state survey on knowledge of the Holocaust of American Millennials and Gen Z (people ages 18 to 39) were unsettling, to say the least. To be more precise, the findings are startling and gut-wrenching.

The survey found the following:

∫ (Only) 90% believe the Holocaust happened

∫ 63% were unaware that 6 million Jews were killed

∫ 48% of respondents could not name one single concentration camp

∫ 20% believe that Jews caused the Holocaust

(Source: NBC News, Sept. 16, 2020)

And those results are now four years old.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel and waged the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Ultimately, 1,200 Israelis were murdered by Hamas, and 251 civilians (including the elderly, women, and children) were taken hostage. As of this writing, more than 15 months after the deadly rampage, Israel believes 87 hostages are still being held, 53 of whom are believed to be alive (the New York Times).

I remember watching the news break on that Saturday morning in disbelief.

My first reaction was horror and disbelief, followed closely by an unsettling feeling of what it would mean for Jewish communities all over the world. What I did not envisage was the disquieting surge of antisemitism in America.

Antisemitism is a word that has proven itself to be hard to precisely define. However, as of May 26, 2016, the U.S. Department of State has adopted the following working definition: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

On the U.S. Department of State’s website, there are 11 “contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life” that include, “Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.”

The last lines on the State Department’s website regarding antisemitism is the unequivocal statement that, “Antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law.”

Strikingly significant in the contemporary acts of antisemitism as laid out by the State Department is “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” and, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.”

What makes those two examples notable is that those were statements heard on many college campuses across the United States after the Oct. 7 attacks. Mass demonstrations of students condemning Jewish students were held on campuses across the country, which included chants and signs promoting the “from the River to the Sea” agenda, which is the rallying cry for anti-Israeli contingents that seek Israel’s total destruction through violent means.

Many Jewish students were forcibly kept from attending classes/events, and many decided to leave campus completely. According to the Anti-Defamation League, more than 13% of Jewish college students in 2024 withdrew from campus and social activities (as compared to only 2% of non-Jewish students reporting the same), 83% of Jewish college students in America have faced some form of antisemitism, 41% felt the need to hide their Jewish identity, and one in four were compelled to take security precautions.

Finally, and perhaps most profoundly disconcerting, according to the 2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, there were 8,873 antisemitic incidents in the US (up 400% from 2022).

I wholeheartedly believe that a large percentage of antisemitism comes from a lack of education/ignorance, not simply hatred.

It is incumbent on us who do understand the important lessons from history to educate — not to hide.

As Elis Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate asserted, “To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”

It is said that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I fear we are not stepping into a future haunted by history.

In spite of my fears, I hold onto the perhaps naive hope that we all believe what Anne Frank wrote in her famous diary on July 15, 1944: “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

Shalom.

Written by Monika Ehrlich, and originally appeared in The Alpena News “Everyday Faith” column:
https://www.thealpenanews.com/opinion/editorials-and-columns/2025/02/never-forget/ 2/1/25