International Commemoration Day for the Holocaust
January 27th
Michal Kuperman - English Teacher
Not many in Israel are aware of this date. Only until recently, the world had no such memorial day on its calendar. Why is this important?
Because as Israelis we stand in silence and listen to the wail of the siren, bow our heads and think "Thank God I was either saved or spared" and the world does not ignore what happened.
Many survivors are no longer among us but some still are and today we all embrace their memories and respect their wish to forget. Some need to tell their stories to heal and by just listening we become the healers.
After the second world war American Jewish literature is guilt ridden and finds it hard to defy the saying "HOW CAN ANYONE WRITE POETRY AFTER AUSCHWITZ?"
Still, Arthur Spiegelman publishes comics.
This two volume book tells the story of Art's father's beautiful past before the war, the survival story and how his son, haunted by bits and pieces of nformation, creates an alternative world of drawing and writing.
And Chaym Zeldis publishes this poem
I Searched For The Children
I searched for the children
in the snow
as far as my mind could go.
I dropped upon
the frozen
ribs of snow,
searching as far
as my body
could go.
What a dreadful
price
to reach the empty heart of
ice….
Chaym Zeldis Sparks The Selected Poetry
Gefen Publishing House Jerusalem 1995