Days of Remembrance brings history to life

By Derek Gean (Fort Wood Community Editor)May 1, 2014

Days of Remembrance brings history to life
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Monday was a solemn reminder of the lessons history can teach a society, as Fort Leonard Wood community members gathered to observe Holocaust Remembrance Day at Lincoln Hall Auditorium.

The Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood National Days of Remembrance observance was hosted by the Noncommissioned Officers Academy and the theme was "Confronting the Holocaust: American Responses."

Following a performance of "Dachau Liberation Song" by the Waynesville High School choir and a video presentation, Command Sgt. Maj. Curtis Johnson, MSCoE Noncommissioned Officers Academy commandant, welcomed the large crowd to the day's observance.

"Today we pause to remember and honor six million souls who were murdered, not because of what they may have done, but because of who they were," Johnson said. "We celebrate the enduring strength of the Jewish people who overcame this tragedy and built a strong and vibrant Jewish state of Israel." He also gave tribute to the strong Jewish communities in the United States and around the world.

Johnson then welcomed the day's keynote speaker, Hedy Epstein, a Holocaust survivor.

Epstein was born in Germany and lived with her parents in Kippenheim, Germany, at the time Adolph Hitler came to power.

Silence gripped the auditorium as Epstein recounted her story of how life fell apart for the Jewish people in her village during Kristallnacht (a Nazi program during which Jews were killed, arrested and their property was destroyed). She said she went to school that day and, as one of only two Jewish students, was told "get out, you dirty Jew," by her school principal.

Epstein recounted how her father was arrested after she went to school that morning along with all the other Jewish men and boys over age 16. Over the coming weeks, her Family struggled and looked for ways to escape. Unable to escape together, Epstein was separated from her Family and went to England as part of a children's transport. Her parents were sent to concentration camps, and overtime she lost contact with them.

In 1948 Epstein immigrated to the United States as her only living relatives were an uncle and an aunt that had immigrated to the United States in 1938.

After surviving her ordeal, her ultimate message to the audience was "hate is destructive."

"If you think you need to hate someone because they are different from you, have a different culture, speak a different languageā€¦stop and make an effort to get to know that person," Epstein said. "There is a whole lot that can be learned from people who are different than you are. There is nothing to be learned from hating. Hating only destroys.

"Think about your choices. If you think if may be detrimental to someone else or maybe even to yourself, rethink it and hopefully you can make a better choice," she said.

With the audience seemingly gripped by the stoic confidence in Epstein's voice, she encouraged everyone to help see her ultimate goal through.

"Each and everyone one us, not only can, but must make a difference in this world. Each and everyone of us can in someway contribute to the goal that I have --that we can all one day live in peace and harmony with each other," she said.

Following Epstein's speech, she, along with members of the Fort Leonard Wood Jewish community, lit memorial candles that was followed by a poetry reading.

Related Links:

Fort Leonard Wood on Flickr

Fort Leonard Wood Guidon Newspaper

Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonad Wood