I know my headline statement will disturb many people. To them I say, "GOOD!" People NEED to be disturbed by blind racism and the horrors hate begets. Our children are far too insulated and sheltered from the World's history. This has nothing to do with CRT or 'wokeism'. It has to do with what happens when WE do nothing but sit back and watch atrocities be committed against our neighbors and friends, and not lift one single finger to assist them.
My mother let me watch all five episodes at the tender age of 11 years old. She believed it was important that I know the facts and the horrors of the Holocaust. She wanted me and my two older brothers to understand what had happened not so long before we were all born. Events she herself lived through as a child and adolescent. In her youth, she remembered living in a government housing project where the houses were placed to form the shape of an airplane. She even drew a picture of it and pointed to the part of the right wing where her house was. She remembers my great-great grandparents were forbidden to cross the only bridge in miles from their farm in Upstate New York, and instead had to find a shallow part of the stream to ford in order to get to and from town. Why? Because they were from Poland. It didn't matter they'd been naturalized citizens and had been in this country for decades. They were originally from Poland. No additional reason was given nor could be sought.
It's now been 44 years since I saw this limited series, but I remember it like it was yesterday. It was that impactful. It would be equal to its cousin, Schindler's List, that was released 16 years later. Both this limited 5-episode series and the 195 minute (3 hours, 15 minutes) film were and are two of the most powerful movies ever made. I would hazard to say 'The Diary of Anne Frank' pales in comparison.
If you have not seen 'Holocaust' or 'Schindler's List,' I strongly urge you to. Compare what you watched to what's NOT being taught. Then try convincing me my headline is wrong.
My mother let me watch all five episodes at the tender age of 11 years old. She believed it was important that I know the facts and the horrors of the Holocaust. She wanted me and my two older brothers to understand what had happened not so long before we were all born. Events she herself lived through as a child and adolescent. In her youth, she remembered living in a government housing project where the houses were placed to form the shape of an airplane. She even drew a picture of it and pointed to the part of the right wing where her house was. She remembers my great-great grandparents were forbidden to cross the only bridge in miles from their farm in Upstate New York, and instead had to find a shallow part of the stream to ford in order to get to and from town. Why? Because they were from Poland. It didn't matter they'd been naturalized citizens and had been in this country for decades. They were originally from Poland. No additional reason was given nor could be sought.
It's now been 44 years since I saw this limited series, but I remember it like it was yesterday. It was that impactful. It would be equal to its cousin, Schindler's List, that was released 16 years later. Both this limited 5-episode series and the 195 minute (3 hours, 15 minutes) film were and are two of the most powerful movies ever made. I would hazard to say 'The Diary of Anne Frank' pales in comparison.
If you have not seen 'Holocaust' or 'Schindler's List,' I strongly urge you to. Compare what you watched to what's NOT being taught. Then try convincing me my headline is wrong.