“Voices of Auschwitz” is a new documentary that will be airing on CNN tonight at 9:00pm, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the infamous death camp’s liberation.
According to the preview, four remarkable survivors are featured. Each is bravely willing to relive horrific memories of the torture, loss, and abuse they suffered. Archival footage and current views of the camp will also be included.
Well-known anchor, Wolf Blitzer, is hosting. I’ve watched Wolf on TV for many, many years and I was totally unaware that his Paternal grandparents were murdered at Auschwitz! I can’t even begin to imagine the pain he must be enduring, having to tour the death camp in person where his loved ones perished. Truly heartbreaking! I’m not sure if I could do it…
In my own family, we didn’t suffer directly from the Holocaust. (To my knowledge, only a single relative was killed. I believe he was a distant cousin.) My Great-Grandparents emigrated long before WWII, having dealt with vicious anti-Semitism, Pogroms, and other miseries in the former Russian Empire.
While Holocaust documentaries and movies can be extremely painful to watch, I feel we must do it to bear witness and ensure that these atrocities will NEVER happen again. Many people want to move on and leave the past in the past, but I don’t agree. The victims need justice; their memories must not be forgotten and their deaths must not be in vain.
I’m in my 30’s now, and I can vividly remember when I first learned about the Holocaust. I was 7 years old and we were living in Florida. My Grandmother, whom I adored and was very, very close to, had a winter home close by and we spent a lot of time together. She was always bringing me with her wherever she went, especially to parties, “lunches with the ladies,” and other social gatherings. One of her favorites was a weekly Mahjong group that happened to include a lady who was a Holocaust Survivor. I noticed weird numbers on her arm. Confused, I asked my Grandmother what it meant. She refused to answer and told me to ask my father (her son) later.
I couldn’t get it out of my mind, and I did seek my father’s guidance. He tried to explain it to me the best he could, unsure how much to tell a 7 year old and what I was ready to hear. While I can’t recall his exact words, I do remember feeling exceptionally afraid and wondering if it could happen to us. He assured me we were safe in America, and we also had Israel, too.
I’ve often wondered what this world would be like now if the millions of victims of Auschwitz, other camps, and the Nazi regime at large, hadn’t died. Would cancer be cured? What innovations could’ve—should’ve—been created? What a tragedy to never know.
One thing is for sure: the more we study the Holocaust, the more we can try to learn from its terrible lessons and not repeat them. That is why I will be watching “Voices of Auschwitz.” Won’t you join me?
