• SHOP MY BOOKS
    • AUDIOBOOKS
  • HOME
    • ABOUT
    • MEET THE AUTHOR.
    • NOTES ON ATTRIBUTION
  • DISCUSSION GUIDE
  • A TRAIN NEAR MAGDEBURG-HOLOCAUST FILM PROJECT
  • HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
    • THE LIBERATION PHOTOS.
  • 1945 Manifest List-Names of those liberated at Farsleben, Germany, April 13th 1945
    • Looking for someone? Post here.
  • Privacy Policy

Teaching History Matters

"for the sake of humanity"… A small town American high school history project changes lives worldwide. These are the observations of a veteran teacher- on the Power of Teaching, the importance of the study of History, and especially the lessons we must learn, and teach, on the Holocaust. Click on "Holocaust Survivors, Liberators Reunited" tab above to begin.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« On the Occasion of the Release of Rona Arato’s The Last Train
Woodstock event remembers Holocaust. »

Somewhere along the way the candles go out.

March 24, 2013 by Matthew Rozell

So I am going to the Stations of the Cross at our local church. I have never gone before.  It is Friday evening and there are about a dozen worshipers in attendance and my family is going to lead the procession. In fact, we are the procession.

My daughter and son flank me with candles and I have the heavy cross. We stand before each station as my wife is at the lectern reading the text for the parishioners to follow and respond to. At the cue of the organ, we move on.

Somewhere along the way the candles go out, first with Mary and then with Ned. Kind of symbolic given what comes next.

Laura reads the text from the proscribed booklet, beautifully.  I’m trying to follow along but frankly am kind of distracted by the candles going out and my aching feet. Maybe they are supposed to hurt, maybe that’s the point. To reflect on all this suffering, and then death.

But flanked by my children I am jolted back with the utterance from the lectern: something near the tenth station about how somebody in the storyline has to practice Christianity in secret, “…because of the Jews.”

It’s 2013. This is the church that reared me. At the lectern where I eulogized my  father, my wife reads the proscribed text: because of the Jews. After the service I check the booklet- yep, it’s there, she read it like she was supposed to. Imprimatur.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

Though my father would go to the Stations during Lent, this is our first time. To tell you the truth, I’m left a bit devastated. On the ride home, I can’t help but think back to the pogroms that would occur on Good Friday, where houses are torched and people are beat up and killed after church service. Jews. How innocent people who knew that to be on the streets this day was to be a target, instead had to “lay low” on that day. Since childhood I perceived being born on Good Friday as a badge of honor of sorts-so why now I am reflecting on people murdered by angry mobs on that day, throughout history?

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

Sometimes I feel the eyebrows arching behind my back for my interest in studying and teaching the Holocaust.

Son at Western Wall, Jerusalem.

Son at Western Wall, Jerusalem.

First, the obvious. People I don’t know have railed against me on the Internet, implying that traumatized liberator soldiers are liars. The Jews are lying again. That the survivors are pictures of health. That I should educate myself.

Then, the more subtle. I’m not Jewish.  People I do know perpetuate stereotypes about Jews and money, Jews and finance- well, if I was Jewish, very likely at some point in time I would have been forbidden from practicing the trade of my choice. If an angry mob was going to burn down my business and drive me out of my home, my village, maybe I’d go into a more “portable” means of sustaining my family, too.

But also sometimes I think I’m regarded with curiosity by some people in the Jewish community. Some people wonder why I am so dedicated to this mission. Some do not understand why a non-Jew takes the interest to do what I have done, but to me it is simple.

Son at Christ's Tomb, Jerusalem.

Son at Christ’s Tomb, Jerusalem.

I’m a human being.

It was a Jewish catastrophe, but also an unprecedented tragedy for the entire human race. We all have to deal with it and sort it out. Being an educator, it naturally follows that there are significant lessons here.

I also think I am justified in arguing that these lessons are urgent.

Following the Sabbath, the Jewish mother goes to claim her Jewish son, so many years ago. In 2013, my birthday falls on Easter.

I’ll  think about this- meditating on the photos here that I took myself-that maybe it’s time to set aside what keeps us apart. We’ll light the candles again.

And as we begin Passover/Holy Week, I’ll end on this note: “Whether discovered in the story of a nation making the journey from Abraham’s early successes to the Israelites’ slavery and subsequent redemption, or in the story of one who lives, dies and is born again, we must all celebrate that life holds more possibility and potential than we first imagine — that there is reason for hope, and that in celebrating triumphs of hope from the past, we can unleash new stories of hope in the present and in the future.”1

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on March 24, 2013 at 2:08 pm holdyourposition

    I am a friend of Ted Chittendon”s and a Jew. I have followed your blog for some time now, unsure if you recall I met you on facebook you by request( and you accepted me as a friend) as my daughter has a Masters in Public Humanities( and does living history work , such as you did with this project.

    I grew up as one of the Jews in Rotterdam, NY in my high school. I have met many many people over the years from high school , college, and in business ( like Ted ..I assume) who never met a Jewish person. Each of us is a product of our environment, and sterotypes, most out of sheer ignorance ..whether it be jew or non jew, african americans..italians. polish etc.

    I can tell you as the subject of anti semitism in small doses, that what work you are doing is precious to me. The world might just be a better place if there were no religion…sometimes I believe that. Unsure how you feel, but for example the movement to get gay marriage accepted is now facing a lot of stereotypes, and some is due to religious beliefs that it is immoral..

    My position overall is live and let live..Unless anyone interferes with me and my person, I am tolerant of everyone, and anyone. I also have due to the same ignorance, that breeds a lot of stereotypes been subject to some built in prejudices…but know it too is ignorant.

    Within 20 years ? 30 years ? soon there will be no more survivors…and your work will live on …The holocaust museum, will live on…

    The fact that you are a Non Jew is important to Jews like me. The looks behind you, and raised eyebrows behind you…shows folks true colors …mostly I believe are out of ignorance….they just never met a Jew, and let’s face it all of us have preconceived notions about everyone..and sadly it is pure ignorance passed on through generations..and means nothing UNLESS these myths and stereotypes are passed on generation to generation..

    God bless the work you have done..I applaud it…Thank you on the eve of Passover..as the Haggadah says Once we were slaves and now we are free..

    Ted has told me of your family..someday I would like to meet you.

    Happy Easter Matthew

    Sincerely,
    Michael Weinberg


    • on March 25, 2013 at 12:28 am Matthew Rozell

      Thanks Michael. I had to cleanout my FB profile- which means I decided to take a hiatus for a while and dropped out. Thanks for following my blog.
      I am going to the camps for a study tour this summer. Taking three weeks to travel. (Not your typical “summer camp” tour.) I’ll post about it soon.
      Ted and I grew up in this community with little exposure to the outside world. Though my parents had Jewish friends. Like you say. live and let live.
      It’s hard to explain to people, but now I have found myself swept up. How does one explain reuniting children about to be killed with the men now in their sunset years who saved them? Now that they are reunited, we ask the questions: Why did this happen? How could this happen? If it happened then, can it happen again? Thanks for your support, it’s important. MR


  2. on March 24, 2013 at 6:41 pm Elisabeth Seaman

    Matt, I could feel with you the depth of your sentiments. I thank you for the work you are doing, reminding us that we are all sisters and brothers created and cherished by God, by whatever name we care to call her/him. Elisabeth Seaman



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 781 other subscribers
  • Blog Stats

    • 635,411 hits
  • Top Posts & Pages

    • Why I Loathe 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'.
      Why I Loathe 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'.
    • A TRAIN NEAR MAGDEBURG-HOLOCAUST FILM PROJECT
      A TRAIN NEAR MAGDEBURG-HOLOCAUST FILM PROJECT
    • So, I am suspicious of education.
      So, I am suspicious of education.
    • HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
      HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
    • THE LIBERATION PHOTOS.
      THE LIBERATION PHOTOS.
  • Recent Posts

    • International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023
    • Time to Remember: A Walk in the Snow.
    • New York, New York.
  • Facebook Page

    Facebook Page
  • Twitter Updates

    • International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023 teachinghistorymatters.com/2023/01/27/int… 3 days ago
    • Time to Remember: A Walk in the Snow. teachinghistorymatters.com/2022/12/07/tim… 1 month ago
    Follow @marozell
  • Archives

    • January 2023 (1)
    • December 2022 (1)
    • November 2022 (2)
    • September 2022 (2)
    • July 2022 (1)
    • June 2022 (2)
    • May 2022 (1)
    • April 2022 (7)
    • February 2022 (1)
    • January 2022 (1)
    • September 2021 (2)
    • July 2021 (1)
    • May 2021 (1)
    • April 2021 (1)
    • March 2021 (1)
    • August 2020 (1)
    • June 2020 (1)
    • May 2020 (1)
    • April 2020 (2)
    • March 2020 (1)
    • February 2020 (4)
    • January 2020 (4)
    • December 2019 (3)
    • November 2019 (1)
    • October 2019 (2)
    • September 2019 (1)
    • August 2019 (1)
    • July 2019 (2)
    • June 2019 (2)
    • May 2019 (2)
    • April 2019 (4)
    • March 2019 (2)
    • February 2019 (2)
    • January 2019 (1)
    • December 2018 (3)
    • November 2018 (2)
    • October 2018 (1)
    • September 2018 (2)
    • June 2018 (3)
    • May 2018 (2)
    • April 2018 (2)
    • March 2018 (1)
    • February 2018 (2)
    • January 2018 (1)
    • December 2017 (2)
    • November 2017 (2)
    • September 2017 (3)
    • August 2017 (3)
    • June 2017 (3)
    • May 2017 (1)
    • April 2017 (8)
    • February 2017 (3)
    • January 2017 (2)
    • December 2016 (2)
    • November 2016 (4)
    • September 2016 (3)
    • July 2016 (5)
    • June 2016 (3)
    • May 2016 (3)
    • April 2016 (3)
    • March 2016 (4)
    • February 2016 (3)
    • January 2016 (3)
    • December 2015 (7)
    • November 2015 (4)
    • October 2015 (3)
    • September 2015 (8)
    • August 2015 (6)
    • July 2015 (6)
    • June 2015 (2)
    • May 2015 (5)
    • April 2015 (13)
    • March 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (2)
    • January 2015 (8)
    • December 2014 (2)
    • November 2014 (6)
    • October 2014 (2)
    • August 2014 (1)
    • July 2014 (20)
    • June 2014 (2)
    • May 2014 (3)
    • April 2014 (5)
    • March 2014 (3)
    • January 2014 (1)
    • November 2013 (7)
    • October 2013 (4)
    • September 2013 (4)
    • August 2013 (3)
    • July 2013 (6)
    • June 2013 (6)
    • May 2013 (7)
    • April 2013 (12)
    • March 2013 (2)
    • January 2013 (7)
    • December 2012 (4)
    • November 2012 (7)
    • September 2012 (1)
    • August 2012 (2)
    • June 2012 (1)
    • May 2012 (3)
    • April 2012 (13)
    • March 2012 (3)
    • January 2012 (3)
    • December 2011 (1)
    • November 2011 (1)
    • October 2011 (2)
    • September 2011 (5)
    • August 2011 (4)
    • July 2011 (1)
    • June 2011 (2)
    • May 2011 (4)
    • April 2011 (3)
    • March 2011 (1)
    • February 2011 (3)
    • October 2010 (4)
    • September 2010 (1)
    • August 2010 (1)
    • July 2010 (2)
    • June 2010 (5)
    • May 2010 (3)
    • April 2010 (10)
    • March 2010 (3)
    • February 2010 (4)
    • January 2010 (2)
    • December 2009 (2)
    • September 2009 (2)
    • June 2009 (1)
    • May 2009 (2)
    • April 2009 (3)
    • February 2009 (1)
    • January 2009 (3)
    • December 2008 (5)
    • November 2008 (3)
    • August 2008 (4)
    • July 2008 (1)
    • May 2008 (4)
    • April 2008 (4)
    • January 2008 (3)
    • December 2007 (1)
    • November 2007 (2)
    • October 2007 (1)
    • September 2007 (4)

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Teaching History Matters
    • Join 570 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Teaching History Matters
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: