I was really honoured to be asked to give a speech on behalf of our group at Schindler's grave. Our day had been spent studying and exploring the actions of the Righteous Amongst the Nations - a topic that I am really interested in as I am fascinated by the values and motives of people who, despite all the challenges facing them, decided to take a chance to help Jews when most people were bystanders. It is also one of the few inspiring topics that we touch on. We learned that 23,000 people have been recognised as having met the criteria of being a Righteous amongst the Nations. Criteria includes being a gentile, not receiving payment or any other rewards, and testimony from a survivor. Motives varied considerably and actions included hiding Jews, providing false papers, smuggling and helping Jews to escape and rescue of children. Thanks to Steven Spielberg, everyone knows about Oskar Schindler and his incredible actions in saving 1200 Jewish people. But we learned about many other people, communities, groups and also reflected on just what great risks they were taking. It was obviously much easier to turn a blind eye, but these people demonstrated true humanity instead.
We then watched the last 45 minutes of Schindler's List, to get us in the frame of mind to meet one of Schindler's children, Ewa Ratz, a lady who was 8 years old when she was placed on his list. We headed off to the cemetery to his grave site. It was a powerful moment - almost like stepping into the end of the movie.
Here is the script of the speech I gave:
"Elie Wiesel said 'To listen to a witness is to become one' and so we have all become witnesses during our weeks at Yad Vashem, and we are all very humbled and appreciative of the amazing opportunity that we have been given.
We have been reviewing the darkest period of history; of man's inhumanity to man on an unprecedented scale. We have continually been asking, 'How was the Holocaust humanly possible?' We've explored the human angle - from indifference to hostility; perpetrators, collaborators and bystanders; we have visited a world of moral collapse, of absolute evil - humiliation, exploitation, dehumanisation, brutality, and the ultimate evil, extermination- the very 'Heart of Darkness'. How could so many people actively and passively embrace such vilification and hatred?
And yet, the light at the end of the tunnel is our focus today - the Righteous amongst the Nations. This is where we can restore some of our lost faith in humanity- from small acts of kindness and compassion to the risk-taking and courageous acts of thousands of people who have been recognised and those who haven't been. They have created for us a way out of the horror; the will to go on and bear witness; to believe that each of us can, and no doubt will, make some small difference to other humans in need. These are examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. So we are grateful today that at a time when the world cared so little, some people cared so much. And as we were told today, 'May we resemble them, if only a little.'
We then watched the last 45 minutes of Schindler's List, to get us in the frame of mind to meet one of Schindler's children, Ewa Ratz, a lady who was 8 years old when she was placed on his list. We headed off to the cemetery to his grave site. It was a powerful moment - almost like stepping into the end of the movie.
"Elie Wiesel said 'To listen to a witness is to become one' and so we have all become witnesses during our weeks at Yad Vashem, and we are all very humbled and appreciative of the amazing opportunity that we have been given.
We have been reviewing the darkest period of history; of man's inhumanity to man on an unprecedented scale. We have continually been asking, 'How was the Holocaust humanly possible?' We've explored the human angle - from indifference to hostility; perpetrators, collaborators and bystanders; we have visited a world of moral collapse, of absolute evil - humiliation, exploitation, dehumanisation, brutality, and the ultimate evil, extermination- the very 'Heart of Darkness'. How could so many people actively and passively embrace such vilification and hatred?
And yet, the light at the end of the tunnel is our focus today - the Righteous amongst the Nations. This is where we can restore some of our lost faith in humanity- from small acts of kindness and compassion to the risk-taking and courageous acts of thousands of people who have been recognised and those who haven't been. They have created for us a way out of the horror; the will to go on and bear witness; to believe that each of us can, and no doubt will, make some small difference to other humans in need. These are examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. So we are grateful today that at a time when the world cared so little, some people cared so much. And as we were told today, 'May we resemble them, if only a little.'
We went back to the hotel where we had the privilege of listening to Ewa Ratz share her childhood experiences in the ghetto, and then her memories of Oskar Schindler and his wife. Very moving and quite surreal.
What a day!!
As it states on Schindler's ring, 'Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.' (From the Talmud)
No comments:
Post a Comment