Luke 19:43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
The 70th year since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp was marked with a solemn memorial by almost 300 survivors of the camp.
A million people were killed during the Holocaust at Auschwitz.
The event was an uneasy gathering for the survivors who say they see similar anti-Semitic violence in Europe and warn that it is still on the rise.
“We survivors do not want our past to be our children’s future,” survivor Roman Kent told the BBC.
“Once again young Jewish boys are afraid to wear yarmulkes [skullcaps] on the streets of Paris, Budapest, London and even Berlin,” added Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress.
Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, who directed the Academy Award winning Schindler’s List, spoke at the event about how making that film and speaking to survivors changed his life and made him understand his Jewish heritage. He also spoke about the rising anti-Semitism around the world.
“The most effective way we can combat this intolerance and honor those who survived and those who perished is to call on each other to do what the survivors have already done, to remember and to never forget,” Spielberg said.
The survivors said they will keep speaking out about the horrors of Auschwitz and the Holocaust until the day they die.
“I’ll do it for as long as I can. Why? There are still a lot of Holocaust-deniers the world over and if we don’t speak out, the world won’t know what happened,” said 85-year-old Renee Salt.
Once when I was in 4th grade in 1981 a man who was a Holocaust survivor came to my school and talked to my class about what had happened. He showed us pictures and he said he had lost his entire family there. I remember the tears rolling down his face and painful sad look he had. I wish I had gave him a hug. But I will never forget him.
that was horrible what happened at Auschwitz. what country has the most jew haters? connie
That would be a toss-up among Muslim nations. Don’t know about others.