30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 196
MAKING OUR
VOICES MATTER
We share a passion for
supporting the United
States Holocaust
Memorial Museum
despite our polar-opposite
upbringings: A Jew and student
of World War II who heard about
the Holocaust his entire life, and a
German Catholic who heard nothing
about it in school, much less at home.
World War II, with its near
extermination of European Jewry and
attempts to take over the world, was
a cataclysmic event in human history.
As time passes on, people naturally
forget. They think, ‘If it doesn’t affect
me, I don’t need to be concerned.’ Yet,
if we appreciate the freedom we have
now, how can we not embrace the
mission of the Museum?
Hate is still prevalent in our
world today, and genocide is still
happening. We must keep learning
from the past and speaking about
it in the present in order to protect
freedom for all in the future. If we
don’t keep teaching the Holocaust,
if we don’t keep it in the forefront
194 l UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM LEGACY OF LIGHT GUARDIANS
of minds, history will repeat itself.
The Museum is one of the most
powerful, authoritative voices that can
tell this story. It’s the one institution
in the United States that can make
a difference in our society and
throughout the world. If the Museum
isn’t there to speak, then who?
If we don’t have our freedom,
nothing else will matter. That’s why
we are so committed to ensuring the
Museum’s future and increasing its
presence in our local communities.
More people need to see, learn, and
bear witness to this history and then
apply its lessons to their daily lives.
That’s how we create environments
where hate can’t exist.
When you go through history books,
very few individuals are actually
remembered. Most people are just
dust in the wind. But one person,
one voice still matters. We hope that
what we do will continue to matter,
that goodness will outweigh hate and
hate will disappear.”
