30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 204
TELLING THIS
STORY
The first sweet face
that I saw of someone
with a number tattoo
on his arm was when
I was in the garment district with
my father. He reached across the
table to show a dress, and when
he walked away, my father told me
what it was. When he came back,
I could focus only on his face—his
face had such a look of innocence.
I asked myself, how can that be? At
that point, you start questioning
why this happened. And there is
no explanation. So then you begin
to think about what the living can
do. There are two things: The first
is to remember all those beautiful
innocent faces. The second is to help
going forward so this doesn’t happen
again. You do that by telling their
story—a story that encompasses the
best and the worst of mankind—in
the hope that in its telling and
retelling people become aware of
the consequences of indifference.
Through the partnership of the
American government and private
supporters, we have the most unique
202 l UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM LEGACY OF LIGHT GUARDIANS
opportunity with this Museum. In
Washington, in communities across
this country, and to a global audience
online, this Museum is making sure
that the story is told, paying homage
to those innocent victims.
When you look at the Holocaust
denial and minimization today, it is
clear that as we move into the future
the number of people questioning
that the Holocaust happened and the
extent of it will explode. Who do we
want our historians to be in 50 years,
in 100 years? Is it the president of
Iran or the extraordinary staff of the
Museum? We are the last eyewitnesses
to this history. Think about it … who
will tell this story in the future?
We made our legacy gift because we
want to ensure that the Museum is
always able to tell the story, accurately
and powerfully, to future generations
everywhere. If we don’t do it, it simply
will not get done. The difference
between the lasting impact of this
Museum with or without our support
will be significant.”
