I vividly remember the moment when the classroom lights dimmed and a television on a cart was rolled in. It was always an exciting sign that we were about to watch a film. Yet, more than three decades later, I still can’t shake the haunting images that followed: grainy black-and-white footage showing a bulldozer pushing mountains of bodies into a mass grave, treating them like mere earth. This film was Night and Fog, a documentary focusing on the Holocaust.
Last week, Charlottesville, Virginia, became a battleground as white nationalist groups gathered, chanting phrases like “Blood and soil” and “Jews will not replace us,” while parading confederate and Nazi flags adorned with the swastika. These symbols are glaring reminders of one of the most horrific genocides in human history, and the white nationalists embrace them as emblems of hatred and violence directed at those they wish to eliminate. They embody the neo-Nazi ideology.
The term “Holocaust,” derived from Greek, means “sacrifice by fire.” In essence, the Holocaust—or “Shoah”—refers to the organized, bureaucratic, state-sanctioned persecution and extermination of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany in 1933 brought with it a belief in racial superiority, painting Jews as inferior, deceitful, greedy, and traitorous to the so-called “master race.” Laws were instituted to segregate Jews from society, eventually leading to the confiscation of their property and lives.
The Nazi regime systematically herded Jews into ghettos, enforcing laws that mandated the wearing of yellow stars to mark their identity. Soon, mass transports began, cramming Jews into cattle cars bound for concentration camps like Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Upon arrival, meticulous records were kept. Some were assigned to labor camps, while others—such as the elderly, pregnant women, and children—were deemed unfit for work and sent to their deaths in gas chambers, where they were exposed to Zyklon B instead of water. This method enabled the mass execution of hundreds at a time. When crematoriums became overwhelmed, mass graves were dug to handle the bodies.
In 1933, Europe’s Jewish population stood at nine million; by 1945, only three million remained. The Nazis and their allies had managed to wipe out two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. While U.S. and Soviet troops liberated the camps at the war’s end, they were unprepared for the staggering scale of death and the dire conditions faced by the survivors.
The Nazis targeted not only Jews but also other groups they considered inferior. At least 200,000 Roma, 200,000 individuals with disabilities, and many Slavic people, communists, socialists, political dissidents, and homosexuals were also murdered.
In reckoning with its past, Germany has provided reparations to Holocaust survivors and pursued Nazi war criminals. Today, displaying Nazi symbols is illegal, and Holocaust denial is punishable by law. Unlike in the U.S., where monuments to Hitler exist, Germany is filled with memorials honoring victims of the regime. Many significant concentration camps have been preserved as museums, such as Auschwitz in Poland and Dachau near Munich, serving as educational resources.
While discussing the Holocaust and genocides may be uncomfortable, it is crucial. On the same day that white supremacists rallied at the University of Virginia, the world lost its oldest man, Israel Kristal, a 114-year-old Holocaust survivor.
Time is running out, as the number of Holocaust survivors continues to dwindle. Soon, we will no longer have their voices to recount the harrowing tales of loss and survival. Projects like Steven Spielberg’s film archives and documentaries are working to capture these stories before they fade away.
Unfortunately, many Americans lack a basic understanding of the Holocaust. Although I learned about it in middle school, currently only eight states mandate Holocaust education (California, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island). If we ignore the past, how can we prevent history from repeating itself?
The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect has launched a nationwide initiative to promote genocide education, making strides to ensure that students learn about the Holocaust and other genocides. As Louisiana Representative Mark Thompson remarked, encountering students who question the relevance of such history underscores the urgent need for education.
White nationalists in America are not merely holding different political views; they harbor violent aspirations for the eradication of anyone they perceive as a threat to their ideology. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and our communities about the Holocaust’s history—not only to remember but to actively combat hatred and violence. We must commit to saying “not here, not now, and never again.”
Check your state’s requirements for Holocaust education. If your state does not mandate it, reach out to your legislator to advocate for change. For more information on this topic, visit this resource.
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In summary, it is essential to revive and reinforce our understanding of the Holocaust to foster awareness and prevent the resurgence of hate-driven ideologies.