March 13, 2013
I have learned the importance of communication during this
trip, especially in relation to continuing to talk about the issues and events
in history. After the Holocaust, this
subject became “taboo” for many people to talk about. Some people even doubted the fact that the
Holocaust even happened at all. For the
survivors, it is understandable why they might have a hard time talking about their
story, but I want to express to you the importance of spreading the stories
that have already been told.
Without doing so, history can be lost. Jolanta Ambrosewicz-Jacobs emphasizes “resolution
of conflict and reduction of cognitive dissonance” in her article, “So Many Questions: The Development of Holocaust Education in
Post-Communist Poland”. She explains
the importance of educating students to learn about the Holocaust so that they
have a full awareness of the world’s history.
Also, by learning about this event in history, this can help to diminish
the possibility of something like this reoccurring in the future.
Many people, who have heard about the Holocaust while it was
occurring, failed to talk about it because they felt powerless. This is important to take into
consideration. The failure to talk about
something so serious that is happening in the world can have extreme repercussions. It leads to a lack of understanding as well
as a lack of importance to others. In
the case of the Holocaust, it caused millions their lives. Maybe if someone had spoke up; maybe if
someone had shared what they knew; maybe if people formed an organization to
rebel; maybe if someone formed an army to take down the Nazis….maybe things
would have been different. This is
something that we will never know.
Having a lecture with Dr. Jolanta in the Przegoraly Castle today definitely brought to life
the issues in her article. She spoke
about Robert Traba’s Memory Formation related to World War II that has three
phases. The first phase is the “living
memory” phase which occurred from 1944-1949.
The second phase is “legalized memory” from 1950-1979 which is also
known as “confiscated memory”. The third
phase is the attempt of “memory reanimation” which occurs after 1980. Putting this progression of memory into words
helps to understand what is going on in the minds of the survivors.
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| Our Group with Dr. Jolanta |
Unfortunately for many, the survivors must undergo their
traumatic experiences and take in what is happening around them (phase I). Afterwards, those that survived look at what
happened to them, but may not necessarily be comfortable talking about it
yet. For many, this was the case (phase
II). Finally, survivors may attempt to
portray their experiences to others through speech, writing, or art (phase
III). It is through these three phases
that we are able to learn about what happened during the Holocaust. For it to be such a long treacherous process
for the survivors to begin to talk about what they have been through, it almost
seems wrong to not keep their stories going in order to let people know what
really went on during the Holocaust so that it can be prevented in the future.
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