Katrina Melhaff
Lacey, WA Student Essay
Holocaust Remembrance Equals a Generation of Change
The normal chatter heard in museums was non-existent as I meandered through the
building filled with displays, articles, and audio presentations. I started out optimistic and
thoughtful, browsing the various artifacts, thinking about the sunshine outside, and talking
quietly with my family. Two hours later my stomach was in knots and I could hardly bear to
continue. My experience in the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel last summer was a
difficult pill to swallow. The piles of children’s shoes, stories of unimaginable horrors, and
books filled with the names of the dead were so overwhelming my body reacted physically. I
will never forget the images, burned into my memory. The Holocaust was terrible beyond what
most of us could think possible and to be sure, there is no event its equal in human history. I
want to focus not on the pain six million Jews faced as they were tortured and killed during the
holocaust, but on the pain the survivors faced upon liberation. For Americans, it is essential that
we know of the struggles of the liberation so that we are prepared and passionate to help the
genocide refugees living in our own communities and around the world.
What must a starved Jew have felt that moment an Ally soldier told him he was free?
Irving Roth tells of this feeling: “Before liberation, my death sentence was apparent. I had gone
through the whole business of selection in Auschwitz more than once, the process of marching
on a death march – people being shot right and left for no particular reason. All this was
suddenly lifted. There was a sudden transformation. It’s like decompression – a sudden
decompression, immediate. There was, however, the next day” (qtd. in Tito 20). Irving was
alone. Where do you go when you have your family, homeland, even identity stolen from you?
While some refugees persevered with hope, others committed suicide (Yeatts 18). Many
countries in Europe were still hostile towards Jews (Yeatts 24). Most refugees were sick and all
had to recover from malnutrition. They were treated well by soldiers in the refugee camps, but
were still homeless and scarred.
While I hesitate in comparing genocide today with the evils of the Holocaust, there is one
thing that is the same. Those who are liberated have few places to go. Recently, I visited the
World Relief office in downtown Seattle, Washington that works to provide for refugees. I took
part in a simulation that works to help the public understand what refugees go through. My group
was separated into “families”, dressed in foreign clothing, instructed to memorize information
about our story and sent to different stations around town. I learned that the refugees coming into
my own community were often victims of genocide and experienced many of the same feelings
of the Holocaust survivors. And I realized that getting a refugee into America is a long,
complicated, and dangerous process. After liberation, refugees often face the daunting prospect
of a refugee camp. The camps may or may not be welcome by the host country’s government or
native people. They are primitive, having little security and often not enough food. Shelter
consists of cardboard, wood, sticks, or anything else available. The first inclination is to think
that these camps are temporary, but often people stay for years (USCRI). As a refugee, you have
no rights, and sometimes the situation turns to refugee warehousing where the host government
prevents refugees from leaving the camps (USCRI).
Once the United Nations gives permission to leave the camp, the refugee faces new
challenges. The World Relief Seattle website tells a story of 4-year old Mohammed. His dad and
he immigrated to Seattle, but his mom and siblings did not receive approval to come to the states.
“It’s all too much for Mohammed. He clings to his dad and cries. ‘I want to see mom,’ he sobs.
‘Take me to the airport.’ Separation from loved ones is a heartbreak many refugees face in
America. Mohammed’s father, Abdirahman, is on the edge of despair. His wife is expecting
another child. But he won’t be able to hold his new son or daughter.” Refugees must learn a new
language, a new culture, and find a job. Children must receive education. Many refugees coming
to American desire to become American citizens, but the citizenship test involves learning not
only history, but how to write in a new language (World Relief). They are happy to be here but
unless they have people to come alongside them, the danger of hopelessness is imminent.
I had no idea what refugees went through before last summer. And I really had no picture
of what the Holocaust did to the survivors’ lives. It is essential that Americans, especially
teenagers, be educated on not just the history of the Holocaust, the terror of the concentration
camps, or the evils of discrimination, but on the frightening experience of liberation. When I
discovered the liberation actions happening today and experienced the organizations devoted to
refugees, I realized I had the power to change a life. World Relief Seattle is just one of the
organizations that work to liberate and resettle refugees. These organizations change lives.
Remember Mohammed? “World Relief is a lifeline for Mohammed and Abdirahman – finding
them an apartment, enrolling Mohammed and his brother in school, and helping them cope with
the culture shock.” Aside from donating money and volunteering with these organizations, I
believe the most important thing teenagers can do is spread the word. Now that I recognize what
refugees go through, I turn less of a blind eye to those struggling in my community and prejudice
is less tempting. According to the American Refugee Committee website, there are roughly 16
million refugees in the world today. I wish I had known sooner.
We can be told over and over again to not look down on those who are different. We can
write papers about how prejudice is damaging, study the holocaust, and be careful to use
politically correct language around ethnic minorities. But there is no lasting effect unless we
have some understanding of the pain the refugee faces. It is essential that each one of us take the
time to imagine what it would be like to have our life torn away from us, to try and understand
what it feels like to have someone persecute you simply because you have a different ethnic
background. That is why we need to know what happened in the Holocaust and to know that it
could happen again. It seems to be human nature to look down on those who are different, but
when we see the suffering of refugees today and yesterday, we can change. What would this
world be like if a new generation arose that was willing to step outside themselves into the world
of refugees? What if this generation was not afraid to talk about the evils of the Holocaust over
the dinner table because the feelings of those 11 million truly mattered? I choose to be part of a
generation that changes lives by shedding light on evil and befriending the outcast in our
communities.
Works Cited
"How many refugees are there?" American Refugee Committee International. American Refugee
Committee International. 29 Apr. 2009
<http://www.arcrelief.org/site/PageServer?pagename=learn_FAQs>.
"Stories of Transformed Lives." World Relief Seattle. World Relief. 29 Apr. 2009 <http://www.wrseattle.org/stories/index.htm>.
Tito, E. Tina. Liberation teens in the concentration camps and the teen soldiers who liberated them. New
York: Rosen Pub., 1999.
"What is warehousing?" About Refugees. U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. 29 Apr. 2009
<http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1296&rid=1179&subm=33&ssm=87&area=Investigat
e&>.
Yeatts, Tabatha. Holocaust survivors. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1998.