International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2016

My junior year of high school, I enrolled in a Methods of Research in the Humanities course. This elective centered around a mini-thesis research project, requiring us to read an extensive amount of books and articles, prepare a literature review, write a full-blown research paper, and prepare a class presentation.

Ever since my 6th grade classroom read Number the Stars (Lois Lowry), I had an intense interest in WWII, specifically, the Holocaust. I grew up reading Historical Fiction mostly, and read my fair share of Holocaust literature.

So when I was asked to make my selection for my research project, my choice was simple: I wanted to study the Holocaust.

 ...

On January 27, 1945, Soviet officers liberated the largest Nazi death camp, Aushwitz-Birkenau. In 2005, January 27th was selected as an international day of remembrance for all those that lost their lives in this genocide and as a reminder of the power that love can overcome hate in our world.

Today, I would like to pay tribute to one survivor of this Holocaust, Phillip Markowitz. 

Upon beginning my project, I was put into contact with the director of the Holocaust Resource Center at our local Jewish Community Center, Ruth Markowitz. Her father was a Holocaust survivor and had published a book, My Three Lives. I had the privilege to interview Mr. Markowitz as part of my research and use his book as a main component of my research. I will never forget the feelings of gratitude and humility as I walked away from our interview, reminded of the privilege and ease of my 17 year-old life. 

Above all, I learned from Mr. Markowitz that the power of love and goodness in the hearts of so many in our world is enough to combat and overcome the hatred and malice in the hearts of so many others in our world. 

"For the dead and the living, we must bear witness" -Ellie Wiesel

You can read more about Mr. Markowitz in this article prepared by the Toledo Blade.