This past weekend, I read an article in The New York Times that crushed me: The Holocaust Just Got More Shocking.
That story, coupled with Modern American Poetry’s photo essay of the Holocaust, reminded me of a quote from Martin Niemöller, a Protestant pastor who spoke out against the Nazis and spent seven years in concentration camps.
How could so many people know what was happening right under their noses and not speak out? What do you know about that’s happening right under your nose?
Will you speak out?
Speak out for those who cannot speak… from Proverbs 31:8 NRSV
No words to say in response to this, just a gasp. And an “Amen”.
addendum:
I asked her what it was like down in the bomb shelters. Her response?
“We didn’t have bomb shelters.”
If you were here, I would introduce you to a close personal friend of mine who grew up in Berlin, and remembers at the age of 12 the sound of Allied bombers. “You could tell the British from the American planes from the sound of their engines.” More importantly, she taught me all I know about making the MOST DELICIOUS dinner rolls on the planet. I don’t quite have the hang of it yet, but only practice stands betwixt me and my goal.
The names change, but the song remains the same.