Sixty-nine years ago, on April 25, 1942, my great-uncle Leopold was among a group of just over 800 Jews from the Unterfranken region of Germany who were marched through the streets of Wurzburg to the train station. From there they were deported to their deaths in Poland.
It's hard for me to put into words how moving I find it that large numbers of Germans yesterday recreated that march, carrying signs with the names of each of the victims, including my great-uncle Leo. The below TV news story (in German, but you'll get the drift even if you don't speak the language) brought tears to my eyes.
I still hold great bitterness for what Germany did to my family and to millions of others. But as I age, I'm also feeling admiration for the commitment of many Germans of today to remember their past with responsibility and compassion. All nations, including our own, could learn a little from them.
Eric, thank you for sharing this. Like you, I lost most of my family in the Holocaust, and my bitterness and amazement at such a sustained exercise of inhumanity has not subsided (and likely never will). But watching the sincerity of the marchers, and their willingness to openly wrestle with such a dark part of their history, moved me deeply as well.
That this apparently took place on Yom Ha'Atzmaut was particularly heartwarming -- even if it was entirely coincidental.
Posted by: Jordy Singer | May 11, 2011 at 11:44 AM
Japanese never appologized to Asian countries which it invaded...
Posted by: haha | May 11, 2011 at 01:06 PM
It's touching, thanks for sharing.
It's also worth bearing in mind that today's Germans under age 75 or so bear no moral responsibility for what their ancestors did on the one hand, and on the other hand nothing they do or don't do can mitigate the sins of their ancestors.
Posted by: David Bernstein | May 11, 2011 at 02:47 PM
I am very moved by the video and your comments.
Arlene Stolnitz
Posted by: arlene stolnitz | May 11, 2011 at 05:44 PM