The aspect of the March of Remembrance that impacted me the most was to hear the impact and trauma the Holocaust had on its survivors and their descendants. Learning about the history of the Holocaust gave me a deeper level of understanding, appreciation and compassion for the Jewish community. I respect their yearly Marches of Remembrance that are held in honor of the survivors, the descendants of those who lost their lives, and those who were separated, or disappeared as a result of the Holocaust. Hearing about the testimonies of those who survived, their strong faith and their ability to live on after this traumatic event gave me a greater sense of purpose and passion for my future aspirations in social justice.
My response to the March of Remembrance will affect my actions and responsibilities as a future American social justice attorney. As I reflected on the Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony held on May 1, 2022 at Creekwood Middle School, the video referenced many spiritually, legislative, and emotionally perspectives within its movement. For example, President Ronald S. Louder, President of the World of Jewish Congress, stated “The movement should take to the streets” for a cause to bring attention of speaking out in remembrance of the Holocaust. Rabbi Lord Johnson stated, “We cannot change the past, but by keeping the memory alive we can change the future”. An emotional perspective was given by Holocaust survival Edith Yarbrough who was three years old during World War II, when the Nazis invaded Poland. According to Edith, her life changed overnight. She spoke about genocides, starvation, the massacres, diseases and lack of medical attention, and the trauma experience watching her family members suffer. This was the first time Edith publicly shared her story. Hearing her testimony, and witnessing her courage to share her story not only provided knowledge but also further inspired my motivation for advocacy work.
While watching the video I learned about the Yom ha Shoah Holocaust Memorial Day, which starts on April 17, at 10 am, everything in Israel stops to honor the memories of the tragic event. Seeing how the traffic on the expressway stops, people get out of their cars and stand in place to honor this day added energy to my aspirations, hopes, compassion, motivations and dreams of one day becoming a social and political justices advocate for all marginalized groups and individuals in America. Becoming a social justice advocate will bring awareness to four major interrelated principles of concentration; equity, access, participation and rights for all.
The March of Remembrance video has given me a greater understanding of the purpose and its movements that are performed around the world as a result of the Holocaust. Watching the video is shaping the effects of my actions and thought processes for my future endeavors. The video has given me an understanding of the mental effects of traumas, not only from a victim level perspective, but a societal and group level perspective. Watching the Marches of Remembrances has also given me a determination for fighting for the future rights of the Jewish community. My goal is to continue to share educational and historical events of the Holocaust, its causes and effects, as well as the mental traumas of casualties, whether alive or as a descendant within the Jewish community.
In this conscientious democratic society, we as Americans have a responsibility to respect, honor, and attempt to understand each other’s individuality, culture assemblies, historical events and cultural ideologies even if they do not fit within our belief system or experiences. Regardless of one another’s personal belief system or opinions, the Jewish community deserves our protection from harm, antisemitism, prejudices and biases. This protection can come through social advocacy, and educational resources.
Hearing Abbey the Holocaust educator who was flown in from Israel to speak about the physical and spiritual resistance of the Holocaust and bring recognition to the victims and the courage of survivors to share their experiences touched the core of my soul and its humanity. Survivor groups and their human rights should be physically and psychologically safe and secure. Just as the rights, and histories of other marginalized groups are respected so should the Jewish community have the same equity. No group should be devalued or slaughtered based on someone’s ideology, religious beliefs, or social economic status. The greatest command is to love.
The world needs to learn to coexist with one another without violence. The Remembrance of Marches is a prime example of how things happened, the causes and effects of the Holocaust. The Marches are and will forever be a good educational and historical part of information that should bring awareness to all of humanity. Watching the Remembrance video left me not only with a further understanding of the catastrophic events during the Holocaust, but also opened my eyes to the negative treatment of Jews even after the fall of the Nazi regime. Hopefully attending future Jewish advocacy events can assist in my growth and development as an individual and a leader in my future endeavors. We as a democratic society must learn from the historical events, and their individual group and societal impacts. We must also evaluate their harmful effects and make the necessary changes so that history does not repeat itself which coincide with most of the speakers in the video.
Thank you for making this assignment part of the requirement for scholarship funding. It has brought me to a greater awareness, insight and deeper understanding of the Jewish community, the Holocaust and the legacy of these Remembrance of Marches. I have gained a greater level of respect, humility, mercy and grace for the Jewish communities and its historical background.
