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President Obama concluded a visit to Poland this week with a visit to the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, a memorial to the prisoners of the Warsaw Ghetto. We are pleased to see that the president took the time to meet with survivors and pay his respects to the memories of the victims of the [...]  Responsibility was a common theme in the news this week: A French rail firm faces the responsibilities of its past, a State Department official reminded us of our responsibilities to avoid repeating the horrific mistakes of the past, and Poland continues to avoid its responsibilities to Holocaust survivors. Appropriately, this week’s Torah portion, Acharei-Mot, also [...] We were outraged by the Polish government’s decision last month to abandon legislation on compensation for former owners of property confiscated during that country’s Nazi and Communist periods. According to government statements, Poland is unable to afford compensation because of the rising state deficit. The law would have addressed properties lost or stolen during Poland’s Nazi [...] Standing on a curved base, to represent the cycle track of the Velodrome d'Hiver, is the work of the Polish sculptor Walter Spitzer and the architect Mario Azagury. Spitzer's family were survivors of deportation to Auschwitz. The statue represents all deportees but especially those of the Vel' d'Hiv. The sculpture includes children, a pregnant [...] “The day is short, the work is much… neither are you free to absolve yourself from it.” (Ethics of the Fathers) These words ran through my mind as I listened to the recent hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission), on Holocaust Era Assets After the Prague Conference. [...] |
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