Despite such observances and these 65 intervening years, perpetrators everywhere continue to intimidate and inflict harm, while the majority of us stand by-looking on, doing nothing, saying nothing.
Even in our schools.
That is why we must be ever mindful of the many lessons of the Holocaust, teaching them to our children at home, just as is being done in schools across the country where our young people examine Hitler's rise to power and his Nazi regime.
They learn, too, about the perpetrators-the bullies-who inflicted grave harm on millions of innocent victims, the brave souls who risked their lives to rescue their Jewish neighbors, and the all-too-many bystanders who shut their eyes and carried on, enablers of evil.
Then, after reading such books as The Diary of Anne Frank, they are visited by such Holocaust survivors as Anne Fox and Lila Perl, whose unforgettable stories leave a lasting impression.
These experiences carry special significance given such headlines as USA Today's recent, "A 'watershed' case in school bullying?"
The teen in question was Massachusetts' South Hadley High School freshman Phoebe Prince who killed herself after months of being bullied-both in-her-face and electronically-by two boys and seven girls, now criminally charged.
As Rick Hampson points out in that article, today's bully is no longer the easy-to-identify "swaggering schoolyard lout, low on self-esteem, quick to lash out..." Instead he goes on to write, "Now the perpetrators are attractive, athletic, and academically accomplished-and comfortable enough around adults to know what they can and can't get away with, in school and online."
Meanwhile, in a Youth Voice Project survey of more than 2,000 fifth through twelfth graders, 22% admitted they'd been mistreated at least twice a month. Of those, 54% said they'd experienced moderate, severe, or very severe trauma.
Only 42% of these victimized kids confided in an adult at school, while 58% told someone at home.
So teach your children well to do right and speak up when witnessing injustice. Says Wired Safety executive director Parry Aftab, "Bystanders can play a significant role in bringing about change."
Start by asking your child if s/he has ever stood by as a classmate was mistreated. Here's how several middle schoolers responded to that question:
"There was a group of kids calling a boy names, and I just watched."
"I watched a kid punch a kid, and I just walked away."
"When I see kids being left out or picked on, sometimes I just watch."
"In the hall, someone got their books hit out of their hands, and I just walked by."
Bystanders all.
Therein lies the deep lesson of the Holocaust: if only good people had spoken out and acted against the perpetrators, it might never have taken place.
So keep the conversations going, teaching your child to be bold enough to stand up for what is right, instead of allowing others to be victimized. They don't have to go it alone; all they need do is confide in a trusted teacher or school administrator-and you.
To learn more, read such books as Michael Berenbaum's The World Must Know-and visit an area Holocaust museum, such as the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York and the Holocaust Museum Houston.
Then add the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. to your to-do list. It is a life-changing experience that will keep you and your family from ever forgetting the lessons of the Holocaust and the bystanders who enabled this terrible crime against humanity.
As 18th century statesman, author, and philosopher Edumud Burke reminds us: "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
It is time for all of us to take action, hindering bullies wherever they may be lurking.
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