To avoid repeating history: learn from it

We have to keep talking about the Holocaust. The famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri said: “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”

It’s hard to imagine a more difficult topic to discuss; but keeping the memory of the victims alive is fundamental to the 21st century and beyond.

As we enter the third decade of our century, more and more survivors of history’s most notorious genocide are dying away. 

In the wake of their deaths, we must strive to keep their memory alive. Less living survivors means less new stories; more space for lies and deceit. 

Social media has made it possible for bad ideas to be disseminated.

There are those who say the holocaust was made up or otherwise exaggerated. 

If we are not energetic in our defense of the truth; such narratives may slowly but surely seep into mainstream debate.

The reason the truth is important is because a lack of proper knowledge of historical events may cause us to repeat the  mistakes of the past. 

The hatred which spurred the Nazis to brutal murder is an inherent and unfortunate part of the human condition; one that needs to be understood and kept in check.

And if the most famous genocide in history is in danger of being twisted; imagine what awaits lesser known events such as the Armenian or the Rwandan genocide. 

The same goes for the transatlantic slave trade, whicg still affects millions today.

By the same token, strengthening knowledge of the holocaust will shed light on these other forgotten episodes of human misery.

Soon, we will be the first generation that will not be able to hear their stories directly. 

That means it is our generation which will be decisive in determining whether the holocaust remains the world’s great reference on what not to do  amidst suffering and uncertainty. 

Born of totalitarian zeal, Hitler’s  regime offered simple solutions to age-old, complicated problems. 

This is one of our most important duties as millenials, as university students, and as human beings.

At our university, there are many who have been scarred by the holocaust. 

This makes us a prime location for preserving the great and melancholy memory of the victims. 

From remembering them for more than just their victimhood, to not relegating them to gray, forlorn statues.

In a sense, we should consider ourselves fortunate that we are the key generation in terms of holocaust remembrance. Because we are responsible, we are deeply privileged in our plight to be true to the quote sculpted at the Dachau Concentration camp memorial: “never again.”

Photo by FIU College of Business at FIU Flickr

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