Holocaust, which is said to be the worst tragedy of the 20th century, is an outcome of ignorance and indifference. The Holocaust is widely known as the most serious crime in human history from many respects, and geographical areas associated with Holocaust extend over 25 countries, from Europe to Russia. The number of people who were killed just because they were Jews totalled 6 million, of whom 1.5 million were innocent children. We must look directly at these facts, and we must not repeat this tragedy again in the future.
Systematic and intentional genocide
The peculiarity of the Holocaust was that genocide was carried out systematically and intentionally under the ideology of exterminating Jewish people. When we study the history of Europe - Italy and Spain for instance - we realize that many innocent people suffered from misunderstanding and defamation accumulated over many years. In Great Britain, Germany, France and Russia, there was also the fact of expulsions and genocide which were carried out against Jews. Hitler used this hatred and prejudice which had grown in the soil of Europe.
When the Nazis tried to expel Jews for the first time, hardly any countries would accept them. There were too few people who raised protests even though they knew the facts of the genocide taking place.
Undoubtedly, it was the clumsy reactions of the world that gave great impetus to HitlerÕs plan of exterminating Jews. Taking this position, I believe we should perceive the issue of the Holocaust as one for all of mankind, rather than for particular individuals or groups.
Cattle trucks which carried Jews, brutal forced labor, gas chambers and crematoriumsÑall these represent the acts of human beings in the 20th century, which were done to similar human beings. These were the acts of those who were leading the modern civilization in fields such as medical science, chemistry, engineering and music. Moreover, Hitler did not come to power by a coup dÕetat, but was elected legally by plebiscite.
"My name is Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank." Twenty-six years ago, I met an elderly gentleman by chance during a trip. This was my first encounter with the Holocaust. Mr. Frank was the only one in his family who survived from Auschwitz, the hell of human creation.
Despite his tragic experiences, he seemed to have overcome his past and believe in future. In Basel I was impressed by the sight of him writing answers to the letters which he had received from children all over the world.
" Please don't just sympathize with Anne, but try to become a person who will do something to create peace. Peace grows out of mutual understanding," he appealed.
Learning from History to Create Peace
Our center is an educational center, directed towards children, with a motto according with Mr. Frank's will, "Small Hands, Create Peace." We did not prepare model answers here at our center, considering rather that the children can seek their own answers by seeing the photos of the children of those days, displayed together with art and other materials. The exhibitions are set up at the height of childrenÕs eyes, and we selected the explanations as much as possible from the words of children of those days. To these exhibitions, we have received responses such as "I would like to find something to create a peaceful world." Living study has begun. Over 15,000 people have visited here since the opening.
What Counts is the Transmission of the Fact
Last fall, I attended the First International Conference on the Holocaust and Education held in Jerusalem, and had an opportunity to give a presentation. I learned about the methods of history teaching being practiced in 17 countries all over the world. In Europe and the USA, besides learning the history of the Holocaust, they are laying emphasis on how to make the most of the lessons of the Holocaust in the present and the future.
In Japan, since a magazine article had been published which denied the fact of the Holocaust, saying as "There were no gas chambers," the Holocaust has been introduced through movies and publications very rapidly recently. Until today, I have met many Holocaust survivors and visited concentration camps and Holocaust museums. I strongly feel the importance of teaching and transmitting the facts of Holocaust.
Last year, I received a letter from Rabbi Israel Lau, acting Chief Rabbi of Israel. Rabbi Lau was freed from Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany at the age of 6. In his letter he said that he appreciated very highly the significance of the first Holocaust Education center built in Japan, and that he was very interested in the future activities of the center.
Takeo Sato, Director of Educational Department
After attending the International Conference of Holocaust and Education which was held in Yad Vashem, I visited Auschwitz, Cracow and Warsaw for the first time.
Akio Yoshida, Asst. Director General of HEC
It was unexpectedly warm and dry for January when I visited Jerusalem for the second time to attend the Seminar for studying the Holocaust held by Yad Vashem. It was held from Dec.31 to Jan. 22 and included lectures, testimonies of the survivors, and field trips. The first public seminar under the auspices of the Holocaust Education Center was held in the audiovisual room of the center on January 25th.
After attending the International Conference of Educators of Holocaust held in Jerusalem, I visited 5 countries to meet with several rabbis, who sent cordial letters and materials to our Center.
Rabbi Alexander Safran,
Switzerland
Rabbi Alexander Safran, who lives in Geneva, Switzerland, has won distinction as a rabbi presenting the Holocaust to people today. He has written about his own experience of the Holocaust in many books, and he sent the most representative one to the Center last year. He was already 86 years old, and seemed somewhat ill when I met him, but he was waiting eagerly for my visit.
When he was 40, he suffered the distress of the Jews as the Chief Rabbi of Rumania. 360,000 of his people were massacred, but he miraculously survived and later moved to Switzerland.
Since then, he has been greatly honored as a spiritual leader in Switzerland as well as in French-speaking regions. The charismatic power that emanates from his small body appeals to "the meaning to live" in peopleÕs hearts. When we shook our hands firmly , I realized that his whole body was expressing how happy he was to know that Holocaust Education Center had been built in Japan.
Rabbi Nathan Balkan, Latvia
Rabbi Nathan Balkan has lived in Riga, the capital of Latvia, since the days of the Holocaust. Now he teaches younger generations and tries to maintain the only synagogue that escaped destruction.
As in Lithuania, Poland and CzechoSlovakia, 90% of Jews who lived in Latvia were massacred in the Holocaust. Even after the Holocaust, Latvia was suppressed under the oppressive rule of the USSR for 45 years and restricted in speech and religion, freedoms they won just a few years ago.
When I gave him a piece of work in calligraphy, which read "Heiwa (peace)," he raised it up to his chest and showed me how appreciative of the gift he was. I was deeply impressed to see how much Rabbi Balkan, who lost more than 100 of his family members and relatives, is yearning for "Peace."
Rabbi Bent Melchior, Denmark
During the Holocaust, not a single Jew in Denmark was forced to put on a discriminating star or to be transferred to Auschwitz. For this reason, Denmark is known as "the country of miracle." The King and the citizens cooperated together and protected 7,000 Jews, sending them to Sweden, a neighboring country, in fishing boats at night.
The former Chief Rabbi of Denmark, Rabbi Bent Melchior, was also sheltered by a pastor and was sent to Sweden by a fisherman in a journey taking 18 hours by boat. His father also lived through the Holocaust as a rabbi. Rabbi Melchiol told me that King Christian 10th wrote a signed letter to his father and gave him encouragement.
Rabbi Melchior is taking an active role as the European representative of Jewish group Bnei Brit. Although he has retired from serving as a chief rabbi, he has opened a class of Talmud and is teaching 30 students every week. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to attend his class and was amazed by his erudition, tolerance and sense of humor. I also realized how great he was as a leader.
Rabbi Moshe Edelman, Sweden
Sweden was the country which generously admitted the entry of Denmark Jews. Rabbi Moshe Edelman of Stockholm was one of the people who grew up in Denmark and reached the Sweden coast by a small fishing boat at night. He received both his doctorate and the title of Rabbi, and he presently works in Sweden. It seemed to me that now he is returning the love that he received from the land of Sweden, where he was saved in his childhood from the Holocaust.
While I studied the Holocaust, I also had the chances to become acquainted with many rabbis. When I saw the rabbis who overcame the Holocaust with the hope and the faith that the Jews have always cherished, and saw them leading the children of next generation today, I strongly felt the vigor of faith, tradition, and the indomitable Jewish spirit.
A VISIT TO POLAND
Cracow was the capital of Poland at the end of the 15th century, which welcomed the largest number of Jews expelled from Spain.
In the Jewish quarter called Kazimierz, still remained the oldest synagogue in Poland. On the other side of Vistula River, where the people were chased by the Nazis with their cart full of luggage, we find remains of the ghetto, and wall still exists in the shape of a Jewish grave. There I saw a drug store, which is called Apteka, that was a liaison office for the Jewish underground. The Polish pharmacist, Bankevitz, is still alive, and he is honoured as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. Visiting the drug store, I thought of Jewish people who came here seeking help, and felt the heart of the people who welcomed them warmly.
In Warsaw, I met again Rabbi Michael Schudrich, who served few years in Tokyo and now serving as Rabbi for the only remaining synagogue in Warsaw from the time of the Holocaust. When I visited the monument of the ghetto and Hollandsche Schouwburg former center station for the deportation with the rabbi, he told me, "From here, Jews were sent to Treblinka and Auschwitz. Also was Pan Doktor Janusz Korczak." Closing my eyes in the silence, I heard the rattles of the train. As a teacher who concerns about Holocaust education, I got challenges everywhere. The fact about rescuers and victims touched my heart so much.
ATTENDING THE SEMINAR FOR TEACHING THE SHOAH
Holocaust held by Yad Vashem)
I found 24 fellow attendants who came from various countries to study and deepen their knowledge about the facts of the Holocaust. I knew it would be hard for me to concentrate on some 40 lectures given by excellent speakers in English for three weeks, but it really was worth doing, working on various aspects of the Holocaust and listening to live testimonies from those who had actually gone through it. It didnÕt take me long to realize that this was a place where people who wanted to know and people who really wanted to tell could meet together.
The Seminars began with Antisemitism, Nazi ideology, detailed facts of pre- to post-war period, righteousness, art, theology and denials. What attracted our interest the most was the presentation about educational materials by the Educational Director of Yad Vashem. Her enthusiastic ideas were not only what we wanted to hear, but also what we really wanted to discuss together as teachers.
Through this seminar, I discovered that there are many facts on the Holocaust which I should learn further. I also understood that the Holocaust is not a theme which is for and which should be taken up only by Jewish people, but is also for everyone who has a will to learn from human history and to create better future for the whole world.
JAPAN'S FIRST SEMINAR ON THE HOLOCAUST
This seminar, which will continue to be held four more times in series through till May, was planned in order to comply with the wishes of the visitors, especially educators, who were eager to learn more about Holocaust and not willing to end their study just by visiting the center once. Over 50 people applied for the seminar.
Although the first day of the seminar was a very cold day, 47 people attended, many of them involved in education, together with some ordinary members of the public. Most of the attendants were from Hiroshima Prefecture, but there was even an attendant who came all the way from Osaka, which is located 200km away from the center.
Each seminar lasts one and a half hours, from 2:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon. The Lecturer is Makoto Otsuka, Director General of the center. On the first day, the director gave a clear description of Holocaust and the centerÕs mission, using a five-page handout and an OHP. During the recess, he guided the attendants around the exhibitions.
The impressions of the attendants are as follows:
"I took this seminar to study the Holocaust, the most tragic event in the 20th century, to know what we should do in future, and to learn how to educate children about this issue."
"After learning the facts about the Holocaust, I have found the desire to find what we can do to make sure that this will never happen again."
"As one of the people from Hiroshima Prefecture, an area affected by the atomic bomb, I have a great interest in the problems that exist in the world. I want to learn not only about the problems which concern Japan, such as war and discrimination, but also I want to have an international view of the world, its problems and its way of thinking, through the study of the Holocaust."
"I want to learn about the Holocaust in order to be a man who can always exercise the right judgment."
"In addition to the seminars for the grown-ups, I hope you will plan seminars for children."
On the first day, journalists from seven newspaper companies came to cover the seminar, and they all reported on the seminar the next day.
By the end of March, the following three seminars were held on different topics:
(1) An Introduction to the Holocaust (Jan. 25th)
(2) The Background of the Holocaust (Feb. 22nd)
(3) Lecture about Mr. Chiune Sugihara, the Famous Japanese Consul to Lithuania during World War 2, who helped many Jews to escape from Poland (Mar. 8th).
In April and May, two more seminars will be held on the following topics:
(1) Lecture about the Dramatic Rescue of the Jews in Denmark (Apr. 26th)
(2) Lecture about the Concentration Camps for Children (May 10th).