Never Again

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."  

-Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), concentration camp survivor.

Today is Yom HaShoa, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today we remember the 6 million Jews and the 5 million non-Jews murdered and persecuted including: "Gypsies, Serbs, Polish intelligentsia, resistance fighters from all the nations, German opponents of Nazism, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, habitual criminals, and the "anti-social," e.g. beggars, vagrants, and hawkers." *

Today we remember what it means to be silent in the face of such atrocities. Today we say Never Again. Today we say Never Again not just because we hope it will not happen but because we refuse to stay silent and let it happen. We say Never Again because we refuse to be intimidated into silence. We say Never Again because we refuse to sit by and watch people be slaughtered simply because they are different from the masses.

Today we not only remember the terrible things that happened but we remember what God has done for us. We remember that God heard our cries and liberated us. We remember that He is there even in His silence.  We remember His love and mercy that He showed us and continues to show us. We remember that God is a God of Healing and of Miracles. We remember that even if the World tries to wipe us out God defends us every time. We remember that God keeps His promises. We remember that He fulfilled promises made to our ancestors and took us back to His land. We remember the promises yet to be fulfilled and delight in them.

"I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining. I believe in love even when I don’t feel it. I believe in God even when He is silent."  -Found scratched into a wall at Auschwitz

* https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/36qs.html