A Long Deferred Visit: AUSCHWITZ

April 24, 2017 ~ slfuchs

arbeit-macht-frei To commemorate Yom Ha Shoah, I share the following reflection of my visit to Auschwitz.

It should always be cold, it seems to me, at Auschwitz, and the sky should always be a dreary gray.

Unless it is a very hot day, I am always cold. It has been that way it, it seems to me, since the frigid night in February when my Hamilton College Hockey team played MIT in Boston outdoors.

I was not one of the team’s better players (an understatement), and I spent much of the game on the bench. Since then, I have been cold.

And so, as much as any of the horrible sufferings people endured or succumbed to at Auschwitz, I think of the cold.

The thin pieces of rag that inmates wore, and their often bare feet provided no shield at all against the brutal Polish winter.

It was not cold by…

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Published by slfuchs

Loving husband, father, grandfather and rabbi. Author of, "What's in It for Me? Finding Ourselves in Biblical Narratives,” "ToraHighlights,” “Why the Kof?,” “Why Triple Chai?,” "Who Created God?," and "...And Often the First Jew." On October 17, 2017, Rabbi Fuchs was selected as the recipient of the Vanderbilt Divinity School's Distinguished Alumnus Award. To be considered for this award, one must demonstrate excellence and distinction in justice-making through their efforts in congregational ministry, religious institutions, non-denominational/all-inclusive organizations, community–based organizations, government, or other social institutions. Spent last four falls serving in Milan, Italy, (2013) and Germany (2014-2016). Otherwise, he enjoy writing and speaking after serving three congregations and as President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. He is currently serving as Rabbi of Bat Yam Temple of the Islands, Sanibel, Florida. View all posts by slfuchs

One thought on “A Long Deferred Visit: AUSCHWITZ”

Donald Chalmers says:

April 25, 2017 at 2:16 am

Lest we forget the horrors of war, see http://www.fadedpage.com/books/20130353/html.php . Gilbert Murray’s sincerity in recording the debacle of the First World War can be noted by his words in his first paragraph of his preface – “I have not altered a sentence”:

FAITH, WAR, AND POLICY – ADDRESSES AND ESSAYS ON THE EUROPEAN WAR

Wars have their genesis in ourselves (all people, who are supposed to be kind). “We” (our own selves) are the ones who must change, along with all the rest, lest we be led, like lambs to the slaughter, again and again. It is only when we love our neighbours at least as much as we love ourselves that we can fully respect and love the God of All Creation. Lest we Forget !

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