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There is an email making the rounds that I thought was especially good and chose to share part of it with you on this rainy Sunday evening. It uses a comic strip written by Non Sequitur , which is copyrighted. (That's why I linked directly to the comic strip’s home page – just click on the name.)
It is a wonderfully thought-provoking strip talking about the holocaust and how important it is for us to remember the truth – that the holocaust and all its horrors truly happened. As the old phrase goes, “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Having a father and several relatives who fought in World War II, I have grown up with vivid memories of this infamous war, even though I, a young Baby Boomer, was born after it was over. In addition, I have been blessed by reading many of Corrie Ten Boom’s books, including "The Hiding Place." This particular book tells how her family went from hiding Jews in their house to being captured and imprisoned for a prolonged period in a concentration camp. Eventually Corrie, alone, was released. She could have lived a life full of bitterness and hatred for her enemies. Instead, she chose a life full of love for her Savior, and forgiveness for her enemies.
Corrie set an awesome example that I am continually striving to emulate, and which I was blessed to share with my girls, and someday will share with each of my grandchildren. One way our family helped to share the truth about the holocaust with others was to use Corrie’s books in high school and college classes for homework assignments. Several times we had opportunities to select our own book dealing with a time in history, and we chose one of Corrie’s many books. Not only did it give us a chance to share the truth about the holocaust with other young men and women, it also gave us a chance to share some spiritual truths such as God’s love and provision, along with the need to forgive.
When you spend time with your elderly parents, I would encourage you to ask them what their memories are about World War II. It’s important to learn from them what happened, and most will probably be thrilled to have a chance to relive those days. When you spend time with your grandchildren, look for opportunities to pass on those histories to them. If you teach them about history from a more personal viewpoint, they will likely find it quite interesting. It will be a blessing to them personally and help them in school as well. And if you’re looking for a good book to share with them, I highly recommend “The Hiding Place,” along with all her other books. They are truly Oldies AND Goldies!
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I don’t know if they still do it but when I was in 6th grade, the whole class was required to read “The Diary of Anne Frank”. That book had such an impact on me and made me realize these were real people, with hoes and dreams. And kids, just like me, that had to go through things no human should have to endure. The one negative thing was that I am 1/4 German and from that time on, I was ashamed of my heritage.
Hi Cathy, Thank you so much for writing 🙂 I remember reading that book about the same time! I loved it, yet it was, indeed, so bittersweet!
One encouraging thing in all this is that while there were many Germans doing awful things, there were so many others doing noble deeds, like Corrie Ten Boom and her whole family helping as best they could, along with the family that was hiding Ann Frank’s family! As Abigail Adams once wrote to her son John Quincy Adams, “It is not in the still calm of life, or in the repose of a pacific station, that great challenges are formed…Great necessities call out great virtues.”
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Thanks for sharing this post. My own Grandmom lived to be 101, and she shared so much thru oral history. There are still times, like now, where I wish I could ask her so much more about the Great Depression.
My DD22 is a sociology major, graduating in May. As I type, she is transcribing for her Final Paper, hours of oral history that she taped when interviewing my DH, her uncle and aunt.
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