The Holocaust was a tragedy. It was an act of genocide so brutal that it is challenging to put into words. As the years progress ever since that era in history, it is essential never to forget the tragic murders of millions of Jewish people. Some people have dedicated their lives to this remembrance and the education of younger generations about the catastrophic events.

Picture of Dr.Mchael Berenbaum

(Credit: American Jewish University)

On Oct. 21, Dr. Michael Berenbaum visited North High. A New Jersey native born to Jewish parents, he came to our school reminiscing about a college roommate who had attended high school long ago. He is a significant figure in the Jewish community, especially in terms of Holocaust remembrance. He has served on numerous Holocaust educational boards, lecturing on the matter. He has also written numerous books, including: Not Your Father’s Antisemitism, After the Passion Has Passed: American Religious Consequences and A Promise to Remember: The Holocaust in the Words and Voices of Its Survivors.

As a Jewish activist with a forefront desire to educate, Dr. Berenbaum came to North High on Oct. 21 to discuss the Holocaust and the different types of hatred that exist around the world.

Dr. Michael Berenbaum’s book: The World Must Know

(Credit: The Internet Archive)

Dr.Berenbaum discussed the roots that stem from hatred for the Jewish people, which was especially prevalent during the Holocaust but can still be applied to the mass amounts of antisemitism present in the world today after the horrific events of Oct. 7. During the assembly, Dr. Berenbaum gave a multitude of examples of the different sources of hatred and was able to apply them to the Holocaust. There is religious hatred centered around despising another group’s faith. There is political hate, which is ill-temperament towards those with different ideologies or beliefs in the political spectrum. There is economic hatred, which is based on having a negative view of individuals based on their economic status. According to Dr. Berenbaum, all of these factors led to the Holocaust.

However, the most consequential type of hatred that was implemented during the mass atrocities was racial hatred. All Jewish people were clumped into a group based on whether they had ‘Jewish blood,’ which essentially means that their grandparents were Jews. With their racial prejudice, the Nazis attempting to achieve the eradication of the Jewish people worldwide. It is therefore evident that their priority was based on the Jewish people. Many different types of persecuted individuals were murdered mercilessly and in acts of villainy by the Nazis—namely, those who were disabled, homosexual or Romanis. Dr. Berenbaum refers to the Nazi regime as unstable, saying that the less antisemitism in a place, the more stable a society is.

The educated speaker came as a voice of learning—not only about the Holocaust but of the overall values of the educational system. As a devout educator himself, he finds it highly imperative to be a devout pursuer of knowledge. A particular stand-out story that he refers to is one about the Navy. When soldiers are studying to become navy officers and do not know the answer to a question, they will respond: “Do not know, sir, but will find out, sir.”

“What you need to get out of your education is to gain the confidence that you can learn,” Dr. Berenbaum said—a crucial quote he wished to truly resonate with the North High student body.

This reasoning shaped his life and certainly struck some students watching the assembly that day, filled with praise about how much knowledge they gained from the presentation. “I think it was quite informative; it contained good advice not just regarding prejudice but regarding adversity,” junior Max Mueller said.

Others had much to say about his words and their effects on younger students: “I definitely thought it [the assembly] was informative especially for the freshmen who have not attended an assembly from that guy,” junior Chris Wu said.

Dr. Berenbaum concluded the assembly that drove home points about remembering those who were murdered in the Holocaust, about hatred and about learning from the past in the present. His assembly was ultimately well-respected and influential to the students and staff of North High.