On Friday pupils gathered in the Cathedral to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. The poem and address given by Amber Scott, with a prayer led by Rev Corin Child...
‘DO NOT ASK’ BY AVRAM SCHAUFELD
This poem was written by Avram Schaufeld, who survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. The poem has been published with the permission of Avram’s wife, Vera Schaufeld. Avram sadly passed away in 2017.
Do not ask
How did you survive?
Because this is a question that causes me pain
and brings back memories…
I know that you mean well and are sympathetic
and would like me to talk to your youth group
or your son who is writing a paper on the Holocaust
and I could help him with the subject which is part of his exams.
You add with a smile, that no amount of reading is the same
as talking to a survivor.
From your eager expression I can guess
what you expect me to tell him.
About our bravery and how our faith in God
helped us to survive.
I lie and say I am too busy
that I have other commitments
and quickly take my leave and turn away
So that you cannot see the hurt in my eyes
Do not ask me why…
Today marks Holocaust Memorial Day, an annual event which remembers the six million Jewish people murdered during the holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution of other groups and during more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The theme of this year is ‘ordinary people’. About the theme the Holocaust Memorial Trust says:
Genocide is facilitated by ordinary people. Ordinary people turn a blind eye, believe propaganda, join murderous regimes. And those who are persecuted, oppressed and murdered in genocide aren’t persecuted because of crimes they’ve committed – they are persecuted simply because they are ordinary people who belong to a particular group. Ordinary people were involved in all aspects of the Holocaust; they were perpetrators, bystanders, rescuers, witnesses - and ordinary people were victims.
In every genocide, those targeted faced limited choices – ‘choiceless choices’ (Lawrence Langer) but in every genocide the perpetrators have choices. Ordinary people were the ones who made brave decisions to rescue, to hide or stand up. But ordinary people also made decisions to ignore what was going on around them, to be bystanders, and to allow the genocide to continue.
Holocaust survivor, author, Nobel Laureate and political activist Elie Weisel speaks to the importance of action in the face of injustice. He says:
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
All of us can all make decisions to challenge prejudice, stand up to hatred, and to speak out against identity-based persecution. As you leave today take time to reflect on the impact you can have as a single person- as although we are ordinary people we have the power to be extraordinary in our actions.
Prayer for Holocaust Memorial Day
Loving God, you care for each and every human life.
All people are cherished as your beloved children,
no matter how ordinary or extraordinary their stories are.
Today we come before you to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
We lament the loss of the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust,
the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution,
and victims of all genocides.
May our minds be clear and attentive to their memory.
Help us all to turn away from hatred and division,
and to build a world where genocide is no more.
Strengthen us so that we, in our own ordinary ways,
may show extraordinary love in the world today. Amen.