My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. Throughout my mother's childhood, the subject was never mentioned around the house, but as time passed, my grandparents slowly let the topic into the forefront of conversation. Now my grandfather is president emeritus at the Anne Frank Center USA and lectures to kids and adults all over the country about tolerance and his past experiences. During my childhood he shared his knowledge about the Holocaust with anyone who would listen. Except me. I always was sheltered from hearing of these atrocities, even though they were so close to my own life. I had no idea about the stories within my family: I knew little of what was said at the lectures my grandparents gave to communities of every kind, of the love letters they wrote between concentration camps that were later translated and published in the book "Steal a Pencil for Me" (2000) or of the documentary of the same name, released in 2007, about their miraculous love story.
I was frequently asked questions and always had to carefully maneuver around or deflect them, making sure I did not expose my lack of knowledge. I desperately wanted to run up to my grandparents and ask them why they wouldn't tell me anything or, better yet, demand they fill this big void in my knowledge. I later found out, while watching my grandparents' documentary with a hundred other people around me, that this was their way of protecting their "sensitive, little Sofi." I would have been too easily hurt by the issue, so better not tell me anything at all? By not sharing anything with me, I was unable to use my passion, compassion and, yes, sensitivity to help make others aware of what had happened to my family members in the past.
People often say that they want to take a stand against genocide, that they want to teach others about what has happened in the past. However, no one can do this without acquiring as much knowledge about these past atrocities as possible. As the number of Holocaust survivors dwindles as time passes, I run to my grandparents, great-aunts and family friends for stories, experiences, morals and lessons. This is the mindset we should all have for survivors of any genocide. Being survivors inherently gives them a unique story, and we have a duty to listen to these stories and take action against genocide so that, in the future, the only stories of genocide will be from those the world has already experienced.
At the Survivors Speak panel put on by Tufts Against Genocide as part of the Cummings Challenge, we had the unbelievable experience of seeing five genocides represented side by side. With survivors from the Holocaust and the Rwandan, Cambodian, Bosnian and Armenian genocides, we got to see both the similarities and the differences between these tragedies. They are often all put under the umbrella of genocide, but rarely have I heard them specifically compared. Unless we examine the similarities between these horrific events, we will not be able to see why they continue to recur and thus will not be able to prevent them from happening again.
This past Thursday, my grandparents came to speak at a Tufts Against Genocide event, and we had the opportunity to view their documentary as well. My grandparents have what some like to call the "Holocaust love story" or the "uplifting Holocaust story." They exemplify the same idea that the speakers at Survivors Speak highlighted: hope. Without hope, they would not have been able to survive, and, without hope, we will not be able to strive for a future free of genocide.
By empowering our generation with knowledge, and the courage to take a stand against human rights violations, we have the power to prevent future genocides. In the last few years my family has opened up discussion on the Holocaust and I have been struck by how important it is to make sure nothing like it happens in the future, even though there have been multiple genocides since the Holocaust. Seeing the passion in my grandfather's eyes as he talks to teenagers who have never heard of Anne Frank is inspiring, and at age 98 I realize he won't be able to give those lectures forever. That's why our generation must step in. We must take as much information as we can possibly get our hands on and continue the legacy of these amazing people.
