Holocaust Remembrance: ‘Do Not Stand Silent,’ program urges crowd

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

‘Do Not Stand Silent,’ program urges crowd

More events are planned later in the week.

YOUNGSTOWN — Bill Vegh has traveled thousands of miles and lived many years since the historical event that changed his life and took the lives of millions of others, but he is determined not to let anyone forget the Holocaust.

Vegh, 79, is certainly not alone.

Dozens of people gathered at the Jewish Community Center on Gypsy Lane for the annual Holocaust commemoration program, Yom Hashoah. The theme for the program was “Do Not Stand Silent: Remembering Kristallnacht 1938.”

Kristallnacht, also known as Night of Broken Glass, occurred throughout Nazi Germany on Nov. 9 through Nov. 10, 1938.

On November 7, 1938, a young German Jew, enraged by his family’s expulsion from Germany, killed a junior diplomat at a German Embassy. Germany was in the grip of skillfully orchestrated anti-Jewish violence. An orgy of coordinated destruction broke out in cities, towns and villages throughout the Third Reich.

Kristallnacht saw the destruction in a single night of more than a thousand synagogues, the ransacking of tens of thousands of Jewish businesses and homes, and more than 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and taken to concentration camps.

The meeting area in the community center Sunday was filled with area survivors of the Holocaust as well as descendants of many others who survived the Holocaust. Those in attendance, however, were intent on remembering those who lost their lives.

The event included a candle-lighting ceremony, Holocaust-inspired readings and historical perspectives.

Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, community center director, said annual events remembering the Holocaust become more and more important as there are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors.

“These events are tremendously important. There are a lot of survivors here. This is the last generation that will be able to interact with them. We are grateful to have them here and we honor and cherish them,” she said.

Rabbi Joseph Schonberger told those in attendance that both of his parents and his wife’s father survived the Holocaust. He said it is important to study the Holocaust to prevent any such event from happening again.

“When we think of the Shoah, we think never again,” said Rabbi Schonberger. “We cherish the memory of millions of men, women and children who perished in the Shoah. We all must accept the responsibility to never allow such a thing to happen again.”

Schonberger said a big part of making sure another Holocaust does not take place is the educating of young people about the Jewish Holocaust.

Vegh has taken the task of educating young people about the Holocaust personally. He has spent years going to various schools to talk to children about his experiences and what it means to be a Holocaust survivor.

Vegh came to the United States 71 years ago at the age of 18. He lives in Liberty Township and the events during the Holocaust that gripped his life happened years ago, but they still sometimes invade his dreams.

“There are very bad memories and lots of bad dreams — not so much as before, but every once in a while it still happens,” he said.

Vegh said getting young people interested in the history and events around the Holocaust is one way to make sure history does not repeat itself.

If one were to pay close attention to Alex Downie, a 14-year-old Boardman Center Middle School pupil, it would be fair to say that Vegh is correct.

Downie, who is not Jewish, took an interest in the history of the Holocaust a few years ago and has been studying that history under his teacher Jesse McClain. He prepared a slide show addressing the history of Kristallnacht for Sunday’s ceremony.

“We started learning about the Holocaust in the fifth grade, but Mr. McClain helps us to really understand it,” he said. “I think it’s very important to remember this point in history so it doesn’t happen again.”

More events are planned this week in remembrance of the Holocaust.

The 15th Annual Community Holocaust Commemoration event will be at noon Tuesday in the rotunda of Mahoning County Courthouse. This program will feature winners of the Jewish Community Center’s annual student Holocaust writing contest, the presentation of a Youngstown mayoral proclamation and a memorial candle-lighting service to honor the six million people who died in the Holocaust.

jgoodwin@vindy.com