Holocaust Commemoration Ceremony
Neve Shalom Synagogue, January 27 2011
Opening Speech: The Necessity of Holocaust Education - Süzet M. Sidi

Everyone in my generation bears the mark of the smallpox vaccination either on an arm or leg.

However, our children no longer carry such a mark on either their legs or arms...
 
For smallpox, which was once a life-threatening disease, has now been defeated, wiped off the face of the earth and extirpated...
 
That’s why we no longer need to be inoculated against smallpox...

If only we could proclaim here and now that hatred, discrimination, racism, massacres, which threaten humanity, are diseases that have been wiped off the face of the planet and extirpated —just like smallpox...

If only we could say that’s why we no longer need to teach our children about the Holocaust...

If only we could proclaim that evil inside the Man, which is an affliction of which dimensions are beyond imagination, has been wiped off the face of the Earth, extirpated...

If only we could say that’s why we no longer need to emphasize on the importance of Holocaust education on every 27 January...

If only we no longer had to tell about the systematic atrocities carried out in the Nazi Germany and occupied countries on every 27 January, 66 years after the end of the war...

If the people of the world had drawn the necessary lessons from the Holocaust...

If only it could have been understood that the failure to accept diversity would lead to discrimination, and discrimination to racism, and that war could not solve problems but just delay them, as strived to be explained for years...

If only we could commemorate the six million Jews, who were slain during the Holocaust in the factories of death, solely with prayers and say within "you fell victim for the sake of a lesson to humanity, which can save the world and the humanity..."

If only we could claim that the Man has finally come to understand that diversity is not a cause for enmity but a source of wealth...

If only we could shout it out loud, "evil is dead, you killed it..."

However, this is unfortunately not possible...

And that’s why, aware of the increasing concerns regarding the future of humanity, we must emphasize on the reasons why Holocaust must be told about here and today.

Before all else, we must note that the killing of six million Jews by the Nazi Germany at the concentration, work and death camps they set up throughout Germany and in the countries they occupied during the Second World War in accordance with a certain plan, using unbelievably atrocious methods is not a matter of Jewish history but one of human history.

This bloodshed, which is called the Holocaust or Shoah, has been recognized as the darkest, lowest point of the "history of humanity". The Holocaust is not any genocide in history.

Although this term may at times be used irresponsibly in today’s world, what the Holocaust refers to is the systematic killing of six million Jews during the Second World War in Nazi Germany and the countries it occupied. Holocaust differs from all other mass murders seen throughout history in four main aspects.

Neither before nor since the Holocaust has it ever been seen that the architects, scientists, engineers of a country worked so meticulously, drafted feasibility reports and set up and run factories of death. The Holocaust, on the other hand, is the product of such an effort. This is the first difference.
- The second difference underlies the purpose of the Holocaust. It has been only in the Holocaust that the goal was to wipe a race, a nation completely off the face of the planet. The pain is the same in all massacres. No pain is comparable to another. No pain may be greater or less than another. The only thing that can be compared is the reason why this pain was suffered. What was the purpose behind it? The Holocaust is unique in this respect. The goal was to wipe all Jews and Judaism off the face of the planet.
- The third difference is that six million people were condemned to death solely because they had Jewish blood running in their veins. For the first, and let’s hope for the last, time in the history of humanity was a “biological crime” come into question. For instance, Jews had also been victimized during Inquisition but those who agreed to conversion could save their lives. During the Holocaust, however, anyone who had Jewish blood fell victim to Nazism.
- As for the fourth difference: Prior to the Holocaust era, Jewish people were not in a state of war against Germany. They were not seeking to found a state within state. They had not engaged in activities against the state. It was only during the Holocaust that a group was attacked and slain without any prior conflicts.

And unless one is aware of these differences, Holocaust shall be deemed in the same category as other mass murders, which will provide the prerequisite for its repetition. Here, when we say its repetition, I would like to underline that the victims and executioners next time may not be the same, and other executioners may choose other victims. Any one of us may fall victim to such an atrocity any moment for any characteristic we may have, because the desire to annihilate all the Jewish people in the entire world during the Second World War is just as inconceivable as the desire to annihilate all stamp collectors or all those who know how to ride a bike throughout the world.

Auschwitz death camp, the symbol of the Holocaust, was liberated exactly 66 years ago, on 27 January 1945 by the Soviet Army. That day, humanity witnessed barbarity, human tragedy on a scale it had never seen or imagined until then.

66 years ago...

To tell about the Holocaust over and over again despite the 66 years that has passed since then while we are experiencing enough human tragedy today... But why?

- We must tell about the Holocaust, because should mankind fail to learn or forget about this horrific fact from its history, other Holocausts will not hesitate for a moment to leave the caves they are hiding to take their place in human history.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, because today, those who seek to perpetrate new Holocausts are about to initiate the destruction of humanity by banalizing, refuting and denying the Holocaust. Should they achieve their goal and the world start to see the Holocaust as a lie, as a fabrication, and refuse to believe that the Holocaust is a human tragedy, that it is the greatest disaster that could be perpetrated by one human being on another as it has been tried to be explained to date, the first and greatest phase of a new Holocaust plan will have been completed. After all...

Then ghettos will be deemed harmless, concentration camps a necessity of war, deaths natural results of conflict; it will be underlined that the existence of death is an indisputable part of the nature of war and the death of millions of people will be considered a natural process within the pretext of war... Should the Holocaust deniers reach their goal, any one of us can be forced to live in the ghettos for any characteristic we may have that is disliked by the executioners tomorrow, and form there, sent off to concentration camps... I don’t think I need to tell about the rest.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, because the unbelievable dimensions of the evil deeds that may be done by one human being to another should the evil inside one is provoked and fed were unfolded before the eyes of the whole world in the Nazi era. Unless this barbarity and inhumane persecution, which has been unparalleled in the history of humanity, is told, mankind may well allow the evil within to be provoked once again. Both evil and unwarranted hatred are facts that exist in our world. Unless taken under control, the ability within people to commit infinite evil is a force that can destroy the world and it is our human duty to tell and teach about this.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, for today’s people must understand on time that something must be done in order to stop the destructive urge of totalitarian regimes and of paranoid dictators. It is only if people today had learned what could happen when it comes to state-sponsored atrocities that are not objected by religious institutions that they will act aware of the fact that it falls on their shoulders to stop this.
- We must tell about the Holocaust, for mankind should be aware that the failure to accept what is different and social prejudice may lead to discrimination, which in turn, may turn into racism.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, for today’s man should know that those who planned and implemented the Holocaust were no different than the very people we run into, greet, even talk every day. Holocaust was not the work of mad people, an army of crazies; it was created and carried out by those who were healthy in every aspect. And this should be known to realize the dimensions of the danger.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, because it should be known that the Holocaust was made possible with the cooperation of well-trained lawyers, architects, engineers, chemists sociologists, psychologists, medical doctors, and school, madrasah, university education will not prevent the Holocaust. It should be known that the Holocaust would not have been possible if it was not for the intellectuals.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, for science and technology today have advanced much faster than ethics and moral values, which poses an invisible, yet extremely high threat. Today more than what can be done with the advanced technology of which proportions will simply not be perceived in full scale by most of us, it’s important who is in possession of these technologies. As Einstein once said, the world no longer needs geniuses that can find that the nuclear fission is possible but conscientious hearts. The mankind, who is also responsible for the development of ethics and moral values, can weigh, reassess its ethical and moral values by learning about the Holocaust.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, for the Holocaust is an apocalyptic warning to the mankind, and a phenomenon from which one should take lessons.

- We must tell about the Holocaust, for the Holocaust was made possible as a result of the decisions made by the mankind, groups and nations on whether to react to the events unfolding before their very eyes, and when they opted for not reacting and apathy. Humanity must possess critical thinking and must be aware of the importance of its choices, aware of its responsibilities.

You surely know the story from Tanah of Job who had full faith in God, or the story of Ayyub in Holy Quran. Job was a very patient, pious man who enjoyed a rich and prosperous life with ten children including seven boys and three girls. However, as a result of an accord between the God and his angles, Job was visited by many troubles, losing all his wealth, home and all children, suffered horrible pains, on top of which his entire body was covered by ulcers... This is simply the story that brought along a host of questions along with it.

According to a Hassidic story, Job was one of the three counsels of the Pharaoh who lived in Egypt at the time of Moses. One day, the Pharaoh summoned Job together with his two other advisors Yitro and Balam. He was looking for a solution to the Jewish question. Yitro took sides with Moses and advised the Pharaoh to allow him to leave Egypt together with his people. Balam, on the other hand, was against this. Moses must not be permitted in any way. When Job’s turn came to express his opinion, he preferred to remain neutral. He said nothing. According to one account in Midrash, it was this neutrality that caused all the suffering that would visit upon Job later on.

At times of imminent or existing danger, humanity has no right to remain neutral. Neutrality is unacceptable when the life, rights of the members of a community are threatened, since neutrality always sides with the source of the threat and never with the one who is threatened, the victim...

And there is only one way to take sides; to learn... That’s why we must tell and teach about the Holocaust...

If we don’t know about the decision and implementation for a ‘final solution’ taken by the Nazis at a magnificent chateau in the Wannsee region of Germany in 1942, history of humanity may vanish into the darkness of the final solutions. This is the extent of the threat...

That’s why a Holocaust education should be given... Such a program shall educate humanity in five important topics:
- 1: One should expend every effort for the continuity of democratic institutions, continuously nurture and protect them.
- 2: Those who are provided with power through democratic means may abuse this power, at which point, it becomes imperative to act as a responsible individual.
- 3: The Holocaust is not a historical accident. Holocaust was made possible not solely because individuals, institutions and governments resorted to discriminatory behavior but also because they allowed prejudice, hatred, and finally, to mass murders.
- 4: For a humane world, one should start dialogue first and foremost with himself, for it is impossible for those who fail to engage in a dialogue within to engage in a dialogue with another. In the Holocaust education, humanity should initiate an internal dialogue in light of two major issues: ‘What would I do had I been a victim at that time?’ and ‘How would I act had I been an executioner at that time?’
- 5: Remaining silent, indifferent, apathic to the suffering of others and to the violation of their human rights is extremely dangerous. Indifference shall only multiply the suffering and transgressions.
Holocaust education is a test of the fundamental moral and humanitarian values. Holocaust education is a mandatory class that should be taken in order to transform the simple individual into one that carries responsibility. The Holocaust is a historic phenomenon that we must learn and pass on from one generation to the next.

Esteemed guests,

Some members of the generation before me bear on their arms the mark of the desire of Nazi Germany to transform them into a mere number.

Our arms don’t have such a mark.  However, the reason for the lack of this mark is unfortunately not that the hatred, discrimination and massacres that threaten the entire humanity has been wiped off the face of the planet or extirpated…

Alas! We don’t have such a mark only because the very forces that will feed into the evil that is present in human nature are waiting in their dark caves for the right time to come…

And it is us who will either create the right time or prevent the right time from ever coming…
The choice is ours...                                                    
Thank you