holocaust: a rude awakening

It's my first weekend in DC so I decided to hit some major attractions with friends. First, we headed to the Library of Congress, which was absolutely beautiful. It was full of history and little details that made it a really grand place to be.

Then in the afternoon we visited the Holocaust Museum. Needless to say it was quite a powerful experience. Seeing the letters and bunks, hearing the voices and the stories made the Holocaust become so much more real than a school history lesson or a television documentary. I was struck by a deep sense of sadness but also shock, "how could such terrible things have happened to millions of people with so many people standing idly by?"

But as I walked through the museum thinking of how I would have acted differently, how I would have helped, it came to my realization that such treacherous incidents did not end with the 1940's. Holocausts are taking place right now in Darfur and North Korea. The problem today is the same problem as that during the Jewish Holocaust, people don't know or simply don't care.

It's up to us to know, to care, and to do something about it.

"Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander." - The Holocaust Museum