Honoring victims, liberators

May 2, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

[EDITORS' NOTE — Corrects that the memorial is noon Thursday at the courthouse.]

YOUNGSTOWN

Some memories are painfully necessary.

The images and emotions they evoke are sometimes horrific, but if channeled properly, can be put to positive effect by keeping those things from happening again.

That’s why some 75 people gathered Sunday afternoon at the Jewish Community Center on Gypsy Lane for the Yom Hoshoah Memorial Ceremony, which takes place annually to honor the memory of 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust of World War II.

Thursday is Yom Hoshoah, the international day set aside for remembering all victims of the Holocaust and reminding society what can happen when hatred, bigotry and indifference reign.

A community Holocaust memorial service will take place at noon Thursday in the rotunda of the Mahoning County Courthouse.

Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, director of community relations and government affairs for the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, said this week is set aside to honor both survivors of the Holocaust and the liberators, military members who set them free from concentration camps.

“The story of the liberators is the same as the survivors,” said Rabbi Joseph P. Schonberger, noting that the numbers of both have grown scarce during the decades since the Holocaust. The declining number of people who actually lived through and witnessed those atrocities has created a shortage of firsthand accounts to be passed on to other generations, he said.

Rabbi Schonberger said his parents both survived imprisonment at the Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria. Both had been taken by the Nazis and used for slave labor before their placement at Mauthausen, he said.

“They never told us everything about what happened during those times,” Schonberger said. “They couldn’t bring themselves to tell us the worst of it.

Schonberger said his parents were liberated by soldiers from the Black Panthers 761st Tank Division.

Schonberger said some people question whether remembrances such as the ones this week are still relevant after so many years. His answer is yes.

“Anti-Semitism has risen to dangerous levels in many areas of the world,” he said. “Too many governments are ignoring lessons of the past for ulterior and cultural motives. Lessons of the Holocaust are crucial for survival.”

He said it’s critical that memories of the Holocaust be passed along so future generations can learn from them and, hopefully, prevent such atrocities in the future.

Burdman said there are still local survivors of the Holocaust, but their age and failing health prevent them from attending ceremonies such as Sunday’s Yom Hoshoah Memorial. Sixteen people, though, stood to be recognized as family members of Holocaust survivors.

Six of those people lit candles in honor of their family members. Some were so emotional that they could barely say the name of the person they were honoring.

The ceremony also included special readings, prayers and songs, and the debut of a film called “Reflections of the Holocaust: Students On An Educational Journey.” The film starred three area high-school students and will be used as a teaching tool in local schools, said Jesse McClain.

“Unless something brings it to the forefront, kids now don’t even know what [Holocaust] means,” McClain said. “They just know it was something bad, but they don’t know what it is.”

Burdman said the film will give high-school students some context in understanding the Holocaust.

“Because for them, it’s just a point in history,” she said. “It’s so far removed from who they are.”

Hopefully, the fact that the film stars three of their peers will mean the film will have a strong impact on teens, Burdman said.