Together We Counter
We Need Each Other Having just returned from the annual Association of Holocaust Organizations’ (AHO) winter conference I am renewed. Our subject matter is difficult, emotional, and can be overwhelming. And then we remember that our work is to resist and counter antisemitism, hate, fascism and authoritarianism with justice, democracy, and human dignity. We know that education and remembrance can give us hope by identifying the work that needs to be done. It is also important to be reminded that we need others for a successful and fulfilling life.
From isolation In the early years of Holocaust education, devoted individuals worked to study, teach, and remember the Holocaust. Often, we worked in isolation. Now we have built the discipline and its support network that provides resources for teachers and encouragement and support for each other. In my previous role I am very proud that I was able to share these resources and support networks with teachers - especially in our extraordinary residential summer institutes. We all recognize the crucial role our work plays in sustaining democratic life.
Serving on the AHO Board is one of the great honors of my life and one of the most rewarding. These wonderful people sustain me. This is not news to my colleagues and friends as I try to tell them how much they matter every time we are together. I admire their courage, wisdom, skill, dedication, and hope.
Democratic Life, Together We can feel overwhelmed these days. Admittedly, seeing the National Guard in and around our hotel was a bit strange, even uncomfortable. But we are not alone. Countering hate, violence, and authoritarianism must be done collectively and with calm and steady confidence. Washington DC enshrines these ideals and also warns and challenges us with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King.
Not Alone We must continue to seek out and stand with allies. My AHO friends have helped me through crisis and I have come out stronger. Find your allies. We must not feel isolated or represent democratic freedom and dignity alone. We also know that we are part of the long arc of history and that those that came before stand behind and alongside of us. We must remember their wisdom and courage.
In Granite I finally fulfilled two bucket list items: visiting the FDR/ER and MLK memorials. In granite, FDR's statements guide us: "Among American citizens there should be no forgotten men and no forgotten races". "We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization." "We have faith that future generations will know that here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war."
