This month we've celebrated Penguin Awareness and Polka Dots, as well as a mention for National Bagel Day. But in the midst of the fun and the silly, January holds a very serious day, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Usually Buttercupland is a place for light topics, some information and photographs, but today we remember those murdered during the Holocaust. May their memories for for blessings.
Today also marks the eightieth liberation of Auschwitz by Russian troops. Between its establishment in 1940 in German-occupied Poland and its liberation, about 1.1 million people were killed there. This includes about a million Jews, and this was only one of a number of concentration camps established during World War II.
All four of my grandparents came to America from Eastern Europe before the First World War, but a lot of their family stayed in what was then Poland and Russia and now Ukraine and Belarus. My paternal grandmother came to America with my grandfather in 1918 and her family stayed in Russia. Excluding a few cousins, all of her family was killed. She never spoke of the family left behind and I, sadly, never asked any questions. Many years after her death in 1975 my aunt shared the few photographs of my grandmother's siblings that had been sent to her before the war. I was struck by how much her brother Leo and my father resembled each other. I've had no luck discovering what happened to my family, but today has made me begin to search again for the history of my lost family.
For all the lost families: we must remember, so they will not be forgotten.
As ever, thanks for visiting. Always appreciate your visits.
5 comments
That is something we should all remember and never forget. What a tragedy. No one should have to lose loved ones like that. Prayers you find some answers.
May we always remember so that history will NOT repeat itself. Good luck with tracing your ancestors, Carol. Blessings!
I wish this was brought out more - we should never ever forget this day. Hope you find your family.
I hope you can find good info on your family history. I'm sure you are probably a familysearch.com searcher. I have had tremendous luck there, going back centuries. I'm glad your grandparents got out of there during the wr years with their lives. I'm not expert but I've done a lot of genealogy and if you have questions can maybe (or maybe not!) point you in a hopefully right direction!
And as for Holocaust Remembrance Day -- it should be remembered every day. Especially these days.
The Holocaust was horrendous and almost beyond comprehension for its cruelty. A country's leadership is so key to what is allowed to flourish. We see that in reading the Old Testament. It still amazes me and horrifies me that some of that hatred for the Jewish people - - God's chosen - - was allowed in America in the recent four years - - as well as support for Hamas and what they did in Israel. The New Testament in the Book of Romans, beginning with verse twenty-one until the end of the chapter does tell us these things can happen though.
Here's something interesting - - my husband's father was fighting in WW2 in France to help defeat Hitler's Army. He was seconds from death when he barely escaped his tank that had just had the transmission blown out before the tank was hit. He was such a sweet man - - and without him, I would not have my husband or daughters or grandchildren. It's interesting how our lives intertwine in the same time periods but often don't meet.
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