RED CLOUD GARRISON, Republic of Korea - The idea of brotherly love was cast about the audience attending an observance remembering the Nazi Holocaust inflicted on more than four million Jews during WWII April 16 in the Red Cloud Garrison Commanding General's Mess.
The idea was not to promote brotherly love only to Jews of the time, but to all who may regard differences in race, sex, religion or skin color as a mark of inferiority.
Col. Jacob Goldstein, Army chaplain, was the keynote speaker for the event and recalled the stories told him by his parents who lived through the Nazi death camps and concentration camps of WWII.
"My mother always told me the painful stories of what she had to endure in the concentration camp," Goldstein said.
"She said there were numerous times in which she had come close to death by guards who would shoot and burn prisoners, but her 'concentration camp sisters' would hide her in the barracks until she was safe."
Goldstein's father came to the land of the free after the war only to find symptoms of hate in the greatest society surviving the war.
"When my father told me the story about how African-Americans were treated when he came back from the concentration camp, he said it made him angry and startled him to the point he wanted to move.
"He said if people were looking down on a person because of their race or just because they feel that they're better than a certain person, who's to say they won't do it to a Jewish person.
"He also said if a person can believe he or she is superior to someone it can lead to concentration camps and murder," Goldstein said.
As a young man Goldstein grew up in Kentucky and experienced, in one form or another, the type of bullying, hatred and racism, which his father had mentioned.
"Growing up in this environment brought me to a conclusion that no matter where you live there are hateful people," Goldstein said.
"The only way to overcome this hate is by love. Love yourself and your neighbor and the world will become a more peaceful place."
Other speakers invited to address the audience included Pvt. Catherine Rakowiecki of the 2nd Infantry Division and Gosia Wroblewski, wife of John Wroblewski, Casey Garrison postmaster.
As a person experiencing a 'hate act,' Rakowiecki had a special viewpoint to give those listening.
"The Holocaust plays a big role in the lives of many people in today's society," she said. "I personally have Family members who are affected by it still today. Overcoming hate can be difficult.
"If everyone can get over their differences and widen their horizons about how they view different people, we can make a big difference by not discriminating against people because of their race or culture."
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