Stories of Survival: "Never say it can't happen again"

The stories of genocide survivors command great deference, not just for voices themselves --- and the voice they give to those silenced --- but because they bestow on us the responsibility of bearing witness. To listen to a survivor recount his or her experience is not just to acknowledge the past, but to connect that past with the present and future.

It is this sense of connectivity that students at Shelter Island High School took away from a recent visit by Holocaust survivor Stephen Berger:

"However, Mr. Berger's message to the students of Shelter Island High School was not one of pain and suffering. 'It [the Holocaust] is not an easy subject, but is part of history, and we can learn so much from history.' His mission is to encourage  students to study and embrace their collective experiences. Only through understanding and respect, Mr. Berger contends, can tragedies like the Holocaust be averted. By drawing current-day comparisons to events like Darfur, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Rwanda, Mr. Berger tried early on to impress upon the students  the idea that history repeats itself."

They conclude:

"In the end, whether they left in tears of appreciation and respect, or in silent, reserved thought, it was obvious that everyone who had been fortunate enough to attend the assembly had been significantly moved by Mr. Berger and his message. Because of his story, at least another 80 people will never forget the value of the past and the powerful messages it holds."

These individual connections, forged one by one, transmit the imperative of "Never Again" in a way that statistics and news articles (and blog posts) simply cannot. But will we ever reach a point where these connections motivate enough people to stand up, assume the responsibility of bearing witness, and make "Never Again" a reality?

[Photo by yours truly (hence the poor quality): From United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The surface, as you can see, is meant to reflect the image of the person standing in front of it, thereby connecting them with the message.]