My Trip to the Killing Land
Why am I so angry?
Is it because 6 million Jews and millions of others were murdered in human abattoirs?
Of Course.
It is unimaginable that a so called civilised society could reach such depths of evil.
The mass killing of humans in factory-like conditions where hair, belongings and ashes were all recycled is beyond comprehension.
But why am I so angry?
Because of Kitty’s miracle survival.
On the run from the Nazis for 2 years from the age of twelve.
One of the longest survivors of Auschwitz - a whole 2 years when the vast majority did not survive 24 hours!
She was marched across mountains covered in snow without shoes with 10,000 other Jews, sometimes carrying her mother. Only a hundred survived!
A true heroine of our times.
But when she came to England was she heralded for her bravery, courage and endurance?
Quite the opposite. She was told to keep quiet and never speak of her ordeal.
The local community shunned her. She had to make her own way in this country as a refugee, sometimes sleeping rough.
That is why I am so angry. Because after all her suffering (and that of the other few survivors) we closed our minds to the worst atrocities of our kind and lost our humanity.
But now there are signs of hope. We wish to understand how all of this could have happened, to remember and grieve.
We must not forget lest new genocides pass us by.
John Angel
April 2011
Holocaust Memorial Day 27.01.12
A moving personal tribute by a prominent public servant. Thank you for sharing this experience with us.
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