2008 Woodie Awards
Anti-Semitism is still rampant today
Amy Larson
Issue date: 2/8/05 Section: Forum
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Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005 was a day of celebrating life and mourning the victims of the Holocaust, as it marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp located in South Poland.
According to CNN, one-fifth of the six million Jews killed during the holocaust died at Auschwitz, and about 1.5 million people total, including gypsies, Poles, Russians and homosexuals died in the gas chambers there.
Seven thousand survivors were liberated on Jan. 27, 1945, as Soviet troops marched into the Auschwitz death camp and the Germans withdrew, a day the Jews had longed for, but lost hope of.
Anatoly Shapiro, commander of the first troops to storm Auschwitz, had a message at the memorial for everyone to hear: "I want to say to all people around the world, this should not happen again," he said.
"Never again" has become a sort of post-Holocaust mantra for survivors. However, recent years show that this dream of "never again" may simply be just that: a dream.
As I picked up a Philadelphia Inquirer last Thursday, I expected to see an article about the Eagles? road trip to the Super Bowl, and I did. I expected to see an article about the current situation in Iraq, and I did. I did NOT expect to see an article about a surge in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, but I did.
As the world celebrates the liberation of the largest Nazi death camp, many European Jews still fear for their safety.
Since the year 2000, not only have verbal attacks against Jews increased, but acts of vandalism, fire bombings of Jewish schools and desecration of synagogues have increased drastically across Europe.
According to the Inquirer, in Germany, anti-Semitic crimes rose from 817 in 1999 to 1,334 in 2002. In Belgium, they rose from 36 to 62, a 72 percent increase.
The Netherlands saw 46 cases in 2002. However, the increasing number of anti-Semitic crimes is most prevalent in France, which saw an increase from 593 reported crimes in 2003 to a high of 1,513 reported crimes in 2004.
According to CNN, one-fifth of the six million Jews killed during the holocaust died at Auschwitz, and about 1.5 million people total, including gypsies, Poles, Russians and homosexuals died in the gas chambers there.
Seven thousand survivors were liberated on Jan. 27, 1945, as Soviet troops marched into the Auschwitz death camp and the Germans withdrew, a day the Jews had longed for, but lost hope of.
Anatoly Shapiro, commander of the first troops to storm Auschwitz, had a message at the memorial for everyone to hear: "I want to say to all people around the world, this should not happen again," he said.
"Never again" has become a sort of post-Holocaust mantra for survivors. However, recent years show that this dream of "never again" may simply be just that: a dream.
As I picked up a Philadelphia Inquirer last Thursday, I expected to see an article about the Eagles? road trip to the Super Bowl, and I did. I expected to see an article about the current situation in Iraq, and I did. I did NOT expect to see an article about a surge in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, but I did.
As the world celebrates the liberation of the largest Nazi death camp, many European Jews still fear for their safety.
Since the year 2000, not only have verbal attacks against Jews increased, but acts of vandalism, fire bombings of Jewish schools and desecration of synagogues have increased drastically across Europe.
According to the Inquirer, in Germany, anti-Semitic crimes rose from 817 in 1999 to 1,334 in 2002. In Belgium, they rose from 36 to 62, a 72 percent increase.
The Netherlands saw 46 cases in 2002. However, the increasing number of anti-Semitic crimes is most prevalent in France, which saw an increase from 593 reported crimes in 2003 to a high of 1,513 reported crimes in 2004.
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