FORT DRUM, N.Y. (May 7, 2015) -- Members of the Fort Drum community gathered April 28 at the Commons to remember the millions of victims who lost their lives during the Holocaust, to honor those who risked everything to liberate Jewish men, women and children, and to recognize that every person has a responsibility to respond and react to incidents of violence and discrimination.
The theme for this year's Days of Remembrance observance, hosted by the 10th Mountain Division Equal Opportunity Office, was "Learning from the Holocaust: Choosing to Act."
Sgt. 1st Class Jason Sabatke, Equal Opportunity adviser and narrator for the observance, said the importance of remembering the 6 million Jews and countless millions of other innocent victims could not be underscored enough. He also reminded those in attendance that simply honoring their memory is not enough.
"While this is a time for mourning and reflection, it is also a time for action," he said. "On this day, we recall the courage, spirit and determination of those who heroically resisted the Nazis. … Like these courageous individuals, we must commit ourselves to resisting hate and persecution in all its forms."
Sabatke introduced Sarah Baldwin, lay leader at the Degel Israel Synagogue in Watertown.Baldwin, who lived with her family in Israel for a year during her childhood, spoke of Yom Hoshoah, the Jewish Holocaust remembrance day.
"In Israel, when the sirens sound in the morning, people stop their activities -- including cars driving on the highway -- and all stand in remembrance," she said. "Now, as the population is made up of more people who did not witness the Holocaust or even know a survivor personally, there is still a nationwide commitment to remember."
Baldwin also spent part of her childhood living in a suburb of Hartford, Conn., and she attended a predominately Jewish school district, where everyone knew -- or at least knew of -- someone who had survived the Holocaust. A friend of hers was the daughter of one such man.
"He was the lone Holocaust survivor in his family," Baldwin said. "He would never speak publicly, but he did share his memories with his wife and children. There is a unique responsibility on the shoulders of the second generation, who carry a parent's hopes and dreams for the entire family."
As a teen, Baldwin visited Dachau, a former concentration camp that now houses not only some of the original buildings, but several memorials as well. She said she was stunned at what she witnessed.
"I could not truly imagine what it had been like for my friend's father."
While remembering the horrors of the Holocaust is extremely important, Baldwin said it is equally important to remember the rescuers and liberators who risked everything to save the lives of the persecuted.
She spoke of Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories; Nicholas Winton, who arranged for the transport and adoption of 669 refugee children; and Ruth Gruber, a journalist who accompanied refugees as they were transported to the U.S. and chronicled their stories, ensuring doubters in the United States understood that the horrors they denied were indeed real. She also spoke of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower's efforts to spread knowledge about the atrocities of the Holocaust.
After visiting a sub-camp of Buchenwald, Eisenhower, then a WWII general, issued a statement to his staff. He ordered every American unit not fighting on the front lines to visit the concentration camps. He was quoted as having said "We are told that the American Soldier does not know what he's fighting for. Now, at least, he will know what he is fighting against."
Baldwin reminded attendees that persecution and genocide did not end with WWII. They have occurred in places like Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur.
Looking toward the ceremonial candles, she said, "May the light that we see here today remind us that we can never forget what has happened -- choosing to act against genocide and discrimination."
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