30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 161
ENSURING THE
RELEVANCE
I remember watching
television in my house
while just seven or
eight years old and
seeing the old black-and-white film
clips of Hitler ranting and raving.
Afterward, my mother and father
told me about the Holocaust, which
I couldn’t even comprehend. As I
got older, I understood more and
more, particularly in talking with my
grandparents. They had come to the
United States much earlier, around
1910, but many of their sisters,
brothers, and family members had
remained in Russia and Ukraine and
perished in the Holocaust.
When plans for the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum
in Washington, DC, were first
announced 25 years ago, we
hosted a gathering in our home
to help support its creation and
construction. Since then, I have
visited the Museum no fewer than 15
times because, to me, this story must
never be forgotten.
The Museum’s impact transcends
religion, race, background, and
culture. I remember vividly a dinner
with an African American friend
who had just visited the Museum.
He shared how profoundly the
experience had affected him.
Without dismissing the horrors
of slavery, he saw a subtle but
extraordinary message in how
it differed from the Holocaust:
American slave owners did not want
their black slaves to die; they just
wanted them to be slaves. In the case
of the Holocaust, there was a man
and nation intent on murdering
every Jew—eradicating an entire
people because of its religion.
As I get older and see my children
growing up in a wonderful country
with minimal antisemitism, it
is incredibly important that the
history and lessons this Museum
so powerfully teaches are not
forgotten. We are making this legacy
gift to the Museum’s endowment
so that my children, grandchildren,
and great-great-grandchildren, and
all those the Museum will reach,
both remember and understand this
story of man’s inhumanity to man. It
is relevant to everyone.”
SAFEGUARDING TRUTH FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS l 159
