Monday, January 30, 2006

The Holocaust half a century on

Those of us born after WWII and live now comfortably in America have little understanding of the events in Germany and eastern Europe now more than 70 years ago. This was brought to my mind again by a Holocaust observance at our church in Uppsala on 25 January. Sweden has made a strong attempt to make sure that the generations following WWII do not forget.

The mind cannot really comprehend the senseless murder of six million humans whose only crime was to be descended of Abraham. It is impossible for me to fathom the thousands of large and small dehumanizing brutalities that attended these deeds.

And today there are those who deny that it ever took place.

But even more concerning is the re-emergence of anti-semitism in Europe. Anti-semitism in the Middle East is the norm: it is literally an article of faith where the Qur'an calls for the death of Jews. But Europe? What happened to the collective memory of Europeans that they have allowed this evil to rise again among them?

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