Speaking, despite pain

Speaking, despite pain

Mrs. Miriam Grossman has spoken to several groups about the Holocaust. These are her thoughts on why she has put aside her pain to do so:

For many years we heard that we should forget and forgive the horrors we lived through and the irreplaceable losses of our dear ones. That we should go on with life and look to the future because nothing good would come out of remembering bitterness.

History shows that forgetting brings on repetition, and that it is not humanly possible to forgive the destruction of lives which belong only to God. It makes one aware how wrong government is when it treats minorities like second-class citizens.

It should alert us to what hate and injustice can do to other human beings.

It shows how tragedies occur when people think about their own gains without consideration of how it affects others-that power without justice leads to corruption.

It makes me sensitive to the value of every human being, regardless of their status, material possession, or appearance.

It makes me respect the individuality of others, without losing my own, unless they're bent on destroying the dignity of others.

It makes me also appreciate kindness and goodness in each individual, regardless of their background, national origin or religious preference.

It puts on me and any fair-minded individual the responsibility to witness to others what hate and injustice did and if not curbed will do again.