Why I Will Never Shut Up About The Holocaust And Anti-Semitism

hckleinman:

Let me tell you a short story. The main reason my grandfather survived the Holocaust was because he was of working age, being 14 in 1939. Instead of spending most of his years in ghettoes and death camps, he was predominantly in labor camps. That meant that the Nazi commandants had at least some incentive to keep their prisoners alive, but only to a point. 

One day three prisoners escaped from the camp. To punish the inmates for the actions of their fellows, every single Jew was lined up in the courtyard. The commandant counted each Jew down the line, shooting every tenth Jew in the head. My grandfather was number nine.

Why do I talk about anti-semitism? Because I am number nine. I am the person who exists by the barest of margins. And if I ever let my guard down about the safety of Jews in the world, I will allow for the possibility that something like that will be done to me or to my children.

Do Jews talk about anti-semtism and the Holocaust too much? No. Anti-semites just don’t want us to talk about them. They know if we stop talking about it people will stop caring about it. If people stop caring about it, they won’t pay attention the next time someone comes for us.

So I’m sorry if it’s annoying. Or if you care about something else more. Or if you buy into anti-semitic myths and believe that Jews are somehow more privileged than the dominant ethnic group of any country other than Israel. 

I will never stop talking about anti-semitism and the Holocaust. I will say “Never Again” with my last dying breath.