Fort Jackson remembers Holocaust victims

By Fort Jackson Leader staff reportMay 1, 2014

Days of Remembrance 1
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Command Sgt. Maj. Michael McCoy, commandant of the Drill Sergeant School, lights a candle during Fort Jackson's National Days of Remembrance ceremony April 25, 2014, at the NCO Club. Dr. Lilly Filler, the guest speaker, and Brig. Gen. Bradley Becker,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Days of Remembrance 2
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (May 1, 2014) -- The Fort Jackson community came together Friday to remember the victims of the Holocaust during Fort Jackson's National Days of Remembrance ceremony at the NCO Club. As part of the event, which was hosted by the Drill Sergeant School, military and Jewish community leaders lit six ceremonial candles. The names of victims were read during a roll call.

The guest speaker was Dr. Lilly Filler, who is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. She serves as cochair of the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission, as secretary of the South Carolina Council of the Holocaust and as chairman on the Holocaust Memorial in Columbia.

Filler recalled her parents' stories, both of whom survived incarceration in several concentration camps. She reminded the audience to continue to remember the scope of the Holocaust.

"The Holocaust was not simply a throwback to medieval torture or archaic barbarism, but a thoroughly modern expression of bureaucrat organization, industrial management, scientific achievement and technological sophistication," Filler said. "The entire apparatus of the German bureaucracy was marshaled into the service of the extermination process, pulling resources from front lines when needed."

Filler also emphasized the uniqueness of the Holocaust and encouraged listeners not to use the term out of context.

"Equally as important, we must remember what the Holocaust is not. It is not a term for all evils of the world. It is not a term for any tragedy of great magnitude or widespread death and destruction. It is unique, this tragic event."

National Days of Remembrance week is the nation's annual commemoration of the Holocaust.

This year's Days of Remembrance week is April 27 through May 4.