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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - The word “holocaust” has its origins in Greek, meaning “sacrifice by fire.” However, it has come to refer to one of the darkest times in world history. From 1942 until 1945, Nazi Germany sponsored their “Final Solution,” which was the systematic eradication of all the Jewish people in Europe. Aside from the six million Jews that lost their lives during the Holocaust, the list of those executed by the Nazis included millions of others, including Gypsies, the mentally ill, persons with disabilities, homosexuals, and anyone else the state deemed “inferior.”
John Foley, curator of the Don F. Pratt Museum, said that “The Holocaust was one of the darkest chapters in man’s inhumanity to man.” Seeing the museum’s World War II collection of photographs and stories gives a glimpse of what the experience of fighting in the war was like for Soldiers, including the 101st Airborne Division, during their liberation of the death camp at Dachau.
The photographs and artifacts in the museum may provide a link to that era, but the story of someone who actually lived through that time provides a deeper perspective into the actual history.
On Friday, Mahaffey Middle School hosted a discussion sponsored by the Tennessee Holocaust Commission led by guest speaker Dr. George Hahn in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Hahn was 7-years-old when his family left Austria four months after the Nazis began their occupation Vienna. A modestly assembled crowd of students and parents gathered in the gym to hear his experiences and gain an overall picture of what it was like living during that time.
From the collapse of the German economy following World War I to Adolph Hitler’s rise to power, Hahn explained how the Jewish people became scapegoats for the country’s increasing hardships. Increasing poverty due to rising inflation was blamed on the Jewish people.
During his talk, Hahn provided the audience with an in-depth history of the events leading to their imprisonment in the concentration camps and what it was like being Jewish in that political environment. He related how Jews were restricted in public with curfews and having to wear Stars of David on their clothing to identify themselves to non-Jewish citizen. This discrimination escalated into imprisonment and execution.
By the end of the war, Hahn had lost several family members including his uncle, grandmother, and several cousins. “There were some relatives that were reconnected after the war, but none that stayed [in Austria] survived,” he said.
Students from Fort Campbell schools who were in attendance found the discussion to be a great source of information to augment the lessons they have learned in their history classes.
“It was informative and it was really good,” said Stephanie Perez, an 11th grader at Fort Campbell High School.
The Holocaust was a dark time for the world and illustrated what humanity is capable of doing to one another. It is in learning about this history that we learn how to prevent such a horrible event from reoccurring to any group of people. Anyone interested in learning more can contact the Tennessee Holocaust Commission or visit the Don F. Pratt Museum on post.
| Date Taken: | 05.30.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2014 11:27 |
| Story ID: | 150912 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 183 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Dr. George Hahn talks about Jewish life during the Holocaust, by SGT William Battle, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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