1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: a show that believes those who forget the past are 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: condemned to repeat it. I'm Gay Bluzier and today we're 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: looking at how Germany has kept the memory of the 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: Holocaust victims alive and why the country's pledge of never 7 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: again is more important now than ever. The day was January, 8 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: German President Roman Hertzog declared a national day of remembrance 9 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: for the victims of Nazism. Each year since, the German parliament, 10 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: the Bundestak, has held a ceremony in Berlin where firsthand 11 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: witnesses to the Holocaust are invited to share their recollections. 12 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: Similar commemorative events are also held by the state parliaments 13 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: and local governments of Germany, a testament to the nation's 14 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: commitment to never forget the darkest parts of its own history. 15 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: Most countries don't draw attention to the moral failings of 16 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 1: their past, and certainly not on a nationwide scale, but 17 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: it was a move that felt vital to the people 18 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: of Germany and to their leaders. As then President Herzog 19 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: explained on the occasion, the observance of the day was 20 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: a way to quote continue to remind future generations to 21 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: be vigilant and to find a form of memory that 22 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: reaches towards the future. In the wake of the Second 23 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: World War, Germany began developing policies to reckon with and 24 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: make restitution for the actions of the Nazi regime. Days 25 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: of remembrance were an important part of that work from 26 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: the very beginning, even though they weren't yet recognized as 27 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: national Holly Days. Instead, the commemorative events were held by individuals, 28 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: community groups, nonprofits, as well as government departments. Two of 29 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 1: the days most often marked for remembrance were the anti 30 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: Jewish pograms of Crystal Knocked on November ninety eight and 31 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland on 32 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: January seven, ninety five. That last date, in particular, gained 33 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: more and more attention as the twentieth century went on. 34 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: After soldiers of the Soviet Red Army liberated Auschwitz, the 35 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: atrocities that took place there quickly became world news. That 36 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: was largely due to the many shocking photos of the 37 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: prisoners that had been taken by Soviet soldiers, as well 38 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: as photos taken by the s S itself. It eventually 39 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,239 Speaker 1: came to light that roughly one point one million people 40 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: had died in Auschwitz during the less than five years 41 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: of its existence. The vast majority of the as victims 42 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: were Jews, though a great number of Polls, Soviet po Ws, 43 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: and Sina and Romani people perished there as well. The 44 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,119 Speaker 1: notoriety of the camp continued to grow in the decades 45 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: that followed, both in Germany and around the world. Terms 46 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: like holocaust and genocide were too abstract to leave much 47 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: of an impression on the collective consciousness, but the word 48 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: Auschwitz was a different story. It conjured images of a 49 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: specific place and of the people who suffered there. Auschwitz 50 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: was far from the only death camp, but it became 51 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: a stand in for all the others, an international symbol 52 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: of Nazi brutality and of the systematic murder of European Jews. 53 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: In that light, it's no wonder that the anniversary of 54 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: the liberation of Auschwitz would be chosen as the day 55 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. However, some Germans 56 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: argued that November nine would have been more fitting, as 57 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: the coordinated violence of Crystal knocked had been carried out 58 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: within their country's borders, rather than in Poland, as was 59 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: the case with Auschwitz. In the end, though, there may 60 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: have been a more practical reason for choosing January seven 61 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: instead of November nine. Namely, the November date was the 62 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,599 Speaker 1: same one on which the Berlin Wall had fallen in nine. 63 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: The German government likely felt the date was getting a 64 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: bit crowded in terms of historical importance, and instead opted 65 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: for one that would place attention squarely on the Holocaust. 66 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: It's also interesting to note the timing of Germany's decision 67 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: to proclaim an official day of remembrance in Nix. The 68 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: Cold War had been over for just a few years, 69 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: and the eyes of the world were still on Germany, 70 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: waiting to see how the reunified nation would conduct itself. 71 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: Displaying a willingness to face up to its own negative 72 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 1: history may have been a way to signal to the 73 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: world that Germany was ready to move forward without sweeping 74 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: the past under the rug. Whatever the rationale, Germany's moved 75 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: to commemorate the day inspired other countries to do the same. 76 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: In two thousand two, the Council of Europe made January 77 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 1: a day of Holocaust Remembrance and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity. Then, 78 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand and six, the United Nations declared it 79 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Those designations are increasingly important the 80 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 1: further away we get from the events they memorialize. Each year, 81 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: the number of remaining Holocaust survivors decreases, and sooner rather 82 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: than later, that living connection to one of the most 83 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: evil acts in history will be gone. When that happens, 84 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: the duty of remembrance will fall entirely on our shoulders, 85 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: on every citizen of the world, not just Germany days 86 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: of formal commemoration like this one make that task much easier, 87 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: carving out a space in our lives to reflect on 88 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: every thing the human race is capable of, both good 89 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: and bad. I'm Gabe Luisier and hopefully you now know 90 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 91 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 92 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:24,239 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d i HC Show, 93 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free 94 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: to get in touch by writing to This Day at 95 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 96 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening I'll see 97 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,359 Speaker 1: you back here again soon for another day in history class.