Faneuil hall hosts annual Holocaust commemoration
By Gary Band
The Jewish Advocate
Focus on teaching children at Mother's Day program featuring Israeli and German Consuls
Some 350 people braved the Mother's Day rainstorm May 14 to attend the Jewish Community Relations Council's annual Holocaust commemoration at Faneuil Hall.
Attended by Mayor Thomas Menino and other state and local elected officials, the service was led by Rabbi Moshe Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline. "V'Shinantam L'Vanecha" – and you shall teach it to your children – was an apt theme for the day when mothers were honored across the country.
Israel Arbeiter, president of the American Association of Holocaust Survivors, spoke briefly invoking the last words his father said to him and his brother at a concentration camp in Poland: "Save yourself; and if you survive, remember to carry on and lead Jewish lives."
"There will be a time in the not-so-distant future when the last survivor will be gone," Arbeiter said. "It will then be up to the next generation to carry on the message of human conscience for all time."
Cambridge author Lois Lowry, who has written more than 30 award-winning young adult books including "The Giver" and "Number the Stars," delivered a moving keynote address.
"Number the Stars," which takes place in Copenhagen, brought Lowry there for research. "Nearly an entire population stood up to the Nazis," she said. Asking someone she interviewed why this was so, the response was, "Why not?"
Lowry explained: "The Danish constitution, written in 1849, makes it illegal to discriminate against anyone because of their race or religion."
Now translated into 20 languages, "Number the Stars" relates the compassion, caring and courage of Danish citizens. "There are so many great untruths still being taught," Lowry said. "We need to tell our stories, listen to others and try to understand how they connect and respect what binds us all together."
Following remarks by Israeli Consul-General Meir Shlomo, Consul-General of Germany to New England Dr. Wolfgang Vorwerk spoke.
"On this day I bow my head before you all to bear witness and express my shame at the death of millions by the hands of Germans," he said. "More than anyone, Germans must know and remember what happened and pass on the information in such a way that our children feel it is their responsibility to stop any repeat of the past."
He said what happened cannot simply be blamed on Hitler, but the trends and the mindset that paved the way for him to come to power. "There is right-wing activity taking place in Germany now," Vorwerk said. "We do not look the other way. We do know, we do see and we do act."
