Cougar News recently spoke with Dr. Amira Albalancy about an opportunity to learn more about the Holocaust. To commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, Collin College is hosting an exhibition.
“Spots of Light: To Be a Woman in the Holocaust,” Exhibition
Wednesday, Jan. 30-Thursday, Feb. 28
Frisco Campus J Building
Why is it important to remember the Holocaust?
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland recently tweeted the statement “The Holocaust did not start with gas chambers, this hatred developed from words, prejudice and dehumanization.”
In light of current events and the rise in antisemitic incidents (many on university campuses), I think it is our obligation to educate our students, to show how hate and prejudice can escalate.
Although the exhibition focuses on the Jewish Holocaust, I think it is an opportunity to discuss the events from a broader perspective and in relation to current events and concerns.
What have you learned from Holocaust survivors?
My mother was a Holocaust survivor and so was my mentor for my master’s degree. Spending time with them taught me that the will to live is strong and that their way to overcome such horrors was to create new life, fill it with purpose and make every moment count.
How does this event affect you personally?
I am deeply appreciative that Collin College supports this initiative. It gives me hope that a change can be made through education.
How does this event affect students today?
Our students are the future, and in order to build a better, more just future, they need to know more about the past. This event gives students a chance to learn about one of the darkest hours of humanity, and I hope it will make them think about their own behavior, opinions and prejudices.
According to Auschwitz survivor Roman Kent in a speech on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz:
“…We survivors do not want our past to be our children’s future. I hope. I hope and believe this generation will build on mankind’s great traditions, tempered by understanding that these traditions must embrace pluralism and tolerance, decency and human rights for all people and must include opposition to antisemitism and to racism of any sort…”
Why should students attend the Holocaust exhibition?
Most of the students have only partial (if any) knowledge on the events which occurred during the Holocaust.
In a survey done in February 2018 it was found that two-thirds of American millennials surveyed cannot identify what Auschwitz is; 22 percent of millennials in the poll said they haven’t heard of the Holocaust or are not sure whether they’ve heard of it and two-thirds do not know or know of a Holocaust survivor.
Eli Wiesel wrote, “For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”
In addition to events held near International Holocaust Remembrance Day, are there other ways students can commemorate this historical event?
Students can read more about events during WWII, what led to the Holocaust (and not only of the Jewish people), visit the Dallas Holocaust Museum (or other museums in different locations) and above all, have this exhibition and presentation remind them to be open and accepting of diversity.