Two weeks
back from Poland and everything is different now. We saw the
result of one of the biggest vectors imposed upon society and
the near extinction of our nation. Hell on earth. But never
before had we been shown how one may have choice in such a
restricted and dark time. The Uprisers broke the walls of
‘realism’ and chose to create their own reality. They speak out
to us now. Three lines in history. Their faith in humanity was
greater than their own survival. Although, in a history textbook
they may only be given three lines, it is three lines that shine
out in our Jewish history in order to promote continuation, a
ripple within and outside society, a domino of dignity.
Every ghetto
that uprose had a youth movement to start the fire. This makes
us proud to be part of Habonim Dror. Nazism was a self-
consuming prophecy. What if Hitler had won? Who would have been
safe? Following the codes of Social Darwinism there is always
going to be someone fitter than you. The Uprisers refused to
participate in the competition but fought for community instead.
Unphased by the more appealing illusion of clinging to life,
they exceeded our expectations of human capacity to remain
human, as they managed to block all external influences to fight
for their
dream of the kibbutz. But more importantly what is relevant to
you now is to know how to consciously react to the vectors
imposed on you today. Have we learnt? Or are the evil veins that
spread from the fearful, pounding heart of Auschwitz still
running through the world? That notion you understand about your
life today; how actions may be legitimised if certain codes
pumped around them ensure a consensus. Who is human without
conscience? Standing on the grounds of Majdenik concentration
camp we could see the civilian houses just a few hundred meters
away. Reality was shown to them but they chose to not look
through the fence they could see through. Two separate worlds.
How fast did theses blinkers of ignorance have to be in front of
peoples eyes? These people chose to ignore. Who were the
bystanders? And who made them stand by?
If humans have infinite potential for absolute good and absolute
evil we must be aware that we have a choice to fall into
whichever sector of the spectrum we know is right. We use
history to look at the past, to shape the present in order to
influence the future, and we look at what we want our future to
be to shape our present.
The wisdom to see, the courage to want, the power to act.
By Rachel Flax, Lucy Kaitcer
and Gabriella Swerling.
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“A meeting of Dror youth movement members
who survived in Warsaw” (Oct, 1945) |
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“Mordechaj Anielewicz, born in 1919, was
a leading member of the Zionist socialist
youth movement Hashomer Hatza'ir.In the
Ghetto, he worked for the Zionist
underground press, and was the commander of
the Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB),
leading the Ghetto Uprising. On May 8, 1943,
seeing that the chance for escape was
hopeless, he and his unit in the bunker at
18 Miła Street decided to fight to the
death. |
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