The Holocaust is a defining moment of the world’s history. The horrific annihilation of innocent Jews and Europeans will forever be etched into the minds of humans all around the world. The haunting outcomes of war and terrorism will forever be remembered throughout time. However, these defining moments in the history/making of the world will only be remembered if people continue to teach about these events and remember the people involved in them. Throughout history, there have been many events that need to be remembered as long as there are humans around.
The way to remember these events is to share experiences and stories with people all around the world. One of the most well known Holocaust stories was written by Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor. In his story, Wiesel explains, “For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time”(Wiesel xv).
People who survived these historic events must make sure they share their stories, because the outcomes of these events are vital to the understanding of history. The historic events of the past don’t only belong to those who lived through them, but to everyone regardless if they have been born yet or not. Not sharing the past is the same thing as not telling someone who they are. If the past isn’t shared, then the knowledge needed to create a better future for the world will never be found.
History should never be forgotten, as it shapes the way people live. The past is what makes each country and its people unique. The past is what shapes the beliefs and cultures of society. Everyone should know and remember history since it’s such an important part of their life. Every so often there comes a person that isn’t aware of their country’s history. A few years ago, I was walking around in a mall, when I heard a girl behind me ask her mother what happened on 9/11. I was astonished.
I couldn’t believe that someone living in America didn’t know the historical event that happened on 9/11, an event that helped shape the way Americans live. Events like 9/11, World War I, World War II, and the Holocaust should be known to every person on earth who is old enough to understand what happened. People all over the world don’t know their history, which is terrible, because they simply haven’t been taught about it. There is no possible way that history can be remembered if there is no one to share their stories or teach the next generations what happened.
Not only is it important for people to remember history, it is important to remember those who have died along the way. Everyone knows that people die in wars, genocides, shootings, and terrorist attacks, but a lot of times people don’t think of or acknowledge those who died. By forgetting those who have died for a cause, a country or from an attack, their sacrifices are forgotten along with them. The world is built on the sacrifices of men. It is built on the men and women who lost their lives for either their or someone else’s cause.
Forgetting these people is the same thing as forgetting history. Without them, the events in the past, never would’ve turned out the way that they did. People who made sacrifices along the path of history should never be forgotten. During World War II, my great-grandfather was on a train trying to escape Poland with his family. One day, he got off the train to find food, and the train left before he could get back on. He just disappeared and was never seen or heard from again.
My grandfather shared his story with my amily, so we could remember his father. If we don’t remember him then who will? In Night, Elie Wiesel mentions a violinist from Warsaw named Juliek. Wiesel describes him by saying, “It was as though Juliek’s soul were the bow. He was playing his life. The whole of his life was gliding on the strings–his last hopes, his charred past, his extinguished future. He played as he would never play again… When I awoke, in the daylight, I could see Juliek, opposite me, slumped over, dead.
Near him lay his violin, smashed, trampled, a strange overwhelming little corpse” (Wiesel). Juliek was just a person who played the violin who really had no one left to remember him, but Elie remembered him. If it wasn’t for Elie, Juliek would’ve drifted off into the shadows of history, forgotten. Without someone to tell his story, no one would’ve known that there was a fantastic violinist who lost his life during World War II. If there is no one left on earth to remember someone, then it’s like they never existed, and all they worked for was for nothing.
Without people uniting to support a common cause, and fighting for what they believed in, history would’ve never happened. Remembering the past, and sacrifices made along the way, is the key to creating a better future. There is a quote from George Santayana that reads, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. ” Without the knowledge of history, no one will know their past and why things came to be the way they are today. Without people to share their stories and to be remembered, history will never be known.