30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 108
SUSTAINING
THE IMPACT
We feel very fortunate
that our families came
to the United States
before the war,
because otherwise, it very well
could have been us in Auschwitz.
Although we did not lose anyone in
the Holocaust, the fact that we were
spared such losses did not allow us to
stand by and let this history—or all
those who were lost—be forgotten.
That is why we became founding
members of the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Being there for the Museum’s
opening was an extremely poignant
experience. As we sat outside in a
bitter cold rain, all we could think
about was how much our temporary
discomfort paled in comparison
with the relentless suffering endured
every day during the brutal winters
in Auschwitz and elsewhere by those
survivors we were there to honor.
Who could imagine that, over the
next two decades, 35 million visitors
would come through the Museum’s
doors, and millions more would
be impacted through its outreach
106 l UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM LEGACY OF LIGHT GUARDIANS
programs? Or that it would become
so respected and influential around
the world? We will never forget being
in the German ambassador’s home
in Washington as he acknowledged
Nazi responsibility for the Holocaust
and apologized on behalf of the
German government. He led
the effort to bring the Museum’s
exhibition Deadly Medicine: Creating
the Master Race to Dresden so it
could educate the world and all
Germans on what had transpired.
Attending the exhibition’s opening
and hearing the German chancellor
speak was simply indescribable.
We want to see this institution’s
enormous educational impact
continue so that future generations
will understand what horrors can
happen if you do not remain vigilant.
That is why, on the occasion of the
Museum’s 20th anniversary, we
made this legacy gift to the Museum
endowment. People will forget a
war. People will forget a battle. But
because of the Museum, they will
know what happened and never
forget the Holocaust.”
