Holocaust Remembrance Day 2013

Yom Shoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day 2013, is being observed this coming Sunday night, April 8 /Monday, April 9. For this important remembrance event, I will be speaking Monday evening at Congregation Anshe Emeth in Peoria, followed during the week by many talks at local Peoria area schools.

Some 14 years ago, I presented at Culver Academy in Indiana. It was a wonderful experience, but what stands out in my mind from that visit are 2 poems written by Susan Walker, a Culver student, which I would like to share with you in this newsletter. Both poems really hit the mark. And I thank Susan, wherever she may be today, for her beautiful, meaningful, and timeless words.


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The story is being told
Is anyone listening?

The message is respect and love
Has anyone ever heard?

The lesson is tolerance
Will Humanity ever learn it?

The survivors are the teachers
How many didn`t survive?

How many stories will never be told?
How many messages have been lost throughout the years?

I am listening

I am learning

I will pass the lesson on.

By Susan Walker

Statistics
The statistic is 11 million
It is learned by rote
Memorized for a test, then forgotten
11 million people`s deaths are just another fact for another test
Until you see the pictures, until you hear the stories
Until you meet the ones who escaped the statistic
Then 11 million is no longer just a number
It is a face, two faces
Thousands, millions of faces
Imprinted indelibly in your heart

By Susan Walker


Let us never forget – Let us always remember! 
Hugs,
Marion