U. remembers the Holocaust

Carefully guarding their candles from the biting wind, close to 200 students with yellow felt Stars of David proudly pinned to their coats assembled in Superblock last night for a walk to College Green in memory of Holocaust victims. As darkness fell, the group proceeded silently down Locust Walk, stopping the conversations of passing students in mid-sentence with a solemn start to the University's observance of Yom Ha'Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Engineering junior Marc Johnson, chairperson of the Hillel governing body, the Va'ad, began the evening's program when the group reached the Peace Symbol near Van Pelt Library. After reciting a poem entitled The Hangman, Johnson spoke about the Holocaust, calling it "an unthinkable event" and speculating on the causes of German hate for Jews, gypsies and other minorities during the era of Hitler's Third Reich. "We are supposedly living in a golden age?man has conquered so much in recent years," he said, referring to recent gains in science and technology. "But how much progress has been made in increasing communication between people? "It is our responsibility to be aware of what is occurring in society," he added. Father Tom McGann, director of the Newman Center, related his personal experience with the Holocaust, brought home by photographs of bombed-out cities, battlefields and concentration camps, taken by his mother, an army nurse. College sophomore Deborah Chasan offered a unique perspective on the Holocaust, gained through her participation in a March of the Living to Poland and Israel in 1992. "I was so horrified and shocked by what I had seen [at the camps] that I could not even shed any more tears," she said, adding that her faith was restored when she met Wanda, a Polish woman who, as a righteous gentile, hid Jews during the war at great personal peril. Wharton sophomore Sam Chandan represented the gay, lesbian and bisexual community, reminding the assembled students that discrimination against members of sexual minorities is ongoing. "The Holocaust recognizes that the ritual persecution of gay and lesbian people is the norm," he said. Also representing the gay, lesbian and bisexual community was College freshman Melissa Krakowski. College freshman Abigail Lindenbaum was the last student to speak. Focusing on the social, intellectual and political changes which swept through Europe during the Holocaust years, she discussed how Jews transformed the yellow star mandated by the Nazis from a mark of shame into a badge of honor. "Only those who can face realities can hold their own in this world," Lindenbaum said, describing a formula for survival in the wartime climate of fear and hatred. "The affirmation of our Jewishness is the significance of this day," she added. Students reacted strongly to the speakers and positively to the program in general. "I thought it was really moving," said College freshman Renee Fishman. She added that since her knowledge of the Holocaust comes strictly from the Jewish point of view, Chandan's remarks about how the Holocaust affected homosexuals had the greatest impact on her. "I have mixed feelings," said College sophomore Alon Gitig. "As a practicing Jew, this is very important to me -- but while the Holocaust is such a central Jewish event, it is also a time to reach out to everyone. "Altogether, it makes for general human awareness, what you need on a university campus like this, especially in light of race relations [here]," he added. College freshman Rachel Fried agreed with Gitig. "It's very important to make [observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day] public," she said. "That it's outside, and not in some auditorium, lets people know what's going on." Lindenbaum, who said she was "very pleasantly surprised" by the turnout, added that she hopes the high attendance trend will continue at today's events. Commemoration of Yom Ha'Shoah -- including the reading of 20,000 Holocaust victims' names and a Roots Jewish learning marathon -- continues throughout the day, with a concluding ceremony scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Peace Symbol.