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    Wyoming Military Department remembers the Holocaust

    Wyoming National Guard remembers the Holocaust

    Photo By Capt. Christian Venhuizen | Rabbi Harley Qarz-Wagman of Mt. Sinai Synagogue in Cheyenne, talks to about 30 troops...... read more read more

    CHEYENNE, WY, UNITED STATES

    04.23.2012

    Story by Lt. Col. Samuel House 

    Joint Force Headquarters - Wyoming National Guard

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. — As children, Helen Zigmond and Zoltan Ganez didn’t always get the opportunity to laugh, fight, and play as most siblings do. Life behind barbed wire, with the death chambers in sight at Auschwitz concentration camp, or death camp as it would come to be known, was all they saw for several years until someone chose to act.

    Zigmond and Ganez are Jews, and growing up during the Holocaust, in a time and place where certain religions, color of skin, and mental or physical illness were detested, and spit upon, is no way to spend a childhood. But they survived, and it was fate that brought this brother and sister to Cheyenne, Wyo.

    “What really amazes me is how nice you are,” said Rabbi Harley Qarz-Wagman, of Mount Sinai Synagogue, in Cheyenne. “You saw so much suffering. You saw so much horrendous evil in your lives, and yet you came out of it with this wonderful sense of caring for others; this really strong sense of humanity.”

    A group of about 30 individuals, the rabbi, and the two Holocaust survivors gathered in the Wyoming Military Department Joint Forces Auditorium, April 19, in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year’s theme was “Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue.”

    “What they [Nazis] were trying to do strategically, and to make their killing more efficient, was to dehumanize all of their victims,” Qarz-Wagman said. “And yet, those who survived that, in the midst of a situation, to hold on to those values and those core drives; that makes us humans at our best.”

    After all the hardship that she experienced, Zigmond wanted to share with the troops how important the concept of caring for others is, no matter what the background of the people they meet.

    “When you go to a strange country you see different people and you are accustom to remember they are human beings,” Zigmond said. "They may be different, but they are human beings. Treat them as such. Have respect for those human beings. They will, in turn, treat you with respect.”

    The program, sponsored by the Wyoming Military Department’s Special Emphasis Program and Chaplaincy featured film footage of survivors, those who assisted in liberating Holocaust victims and stories from Rabbi Qarz-Qagman.

    According to Maj. Todd Wolf, chaplain for the Wyoming Military Department, extremism exists in many cultural philosophies and we need programs like this to remind ourselves that history can repeat itself.

    “During the commemoration of the Holocaust today, I vividly recalled sitting in the living room of a religious leader in another county [a number of years ago] who unabashedly declared to me that it was ‘too bad that Hitler didn’t finish the job with the Jews.’” Wolf recalled.

    “When viewing footage of the Nazi Holocaust, it brings to mind just how terribly horrible human sinful nature can manifest through the masses when fueled by spiritual bitterness,” Wolf said. “It reminds me that there is a real enemy of the soul, one who desires to eliminate Israel for the face of the earth.”

    During the presentation, Qarz-Qagman shared stories about those who fought back, and succeeded in fighting back. “Sadly many people tried to fight back and didn’t always succeed. It is very often, as we all know, the bully just has a lot more guns than we have, and they are willing to use them,” he said.

    The Wyoming Military Department’s special emphasis program is designed to educate and facilitate dialogue on diversity to the employees of the agency and to ensure equal employment
    opportunity for minorities, women and individuals with disabilities in various categories and occupations and in all organizational components throughout the organization.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.23.2012
    Date Posted: 04.25.2012 12:03
    Story ID: 87319
    Location: CHEYENNE, WY, US

    Web Views: 154
    Downloads: 0

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