Annie K. Response: Americanization of the Holocaust

“But what if Holocaust memory was becoming a substitute for real action against contemporary genocide, instead of its inspiration? In the end we must recognize that memory cannot be divorced from the actions taken on its behalf, and that memory without consequences may even contain the seeds of its own destruction (Young, 82).” This reading was very poignant to me; the points that James Young raised really hit home. He talks of a memorial that America constructed that is not only to remind us of the terrible tragedies that occurred during the Holocaust, but is also self-serving in that it was built to remind us of the ‘good’ that America is, and how it has become a refuge and a safe haven for those that are oppressed. I feel that, while the Holocaust is something certainly worth remembering, the building of the museum was more about America trying to say “we are safe” while simultaneously warning those against future genocide. But really, what has the museum accomplished? Genocide is still happening in the world (albeit not in America) yet we do little about it. Places such as Rwanda, Darfur, Uganda, and more still suffer yet we do little about it. I agree with Young that we feel that we are, in a way, exempt from these genocides as long as we are remembering the worst one. 

I do believe, however, that the museum is interested in further research and opening up conversations about genocide. The worst thing for victims of genocide is to keep quiet; to hide it and push it under the rug. We as people of the world need to think about, talk about and be aware of genocide so it will not continue to happen. The museum, while it may have opened the conversation up and served as a memorial for those that suffered in one of the worst genocides in human history, it is just the beginning of a much larger effort needed on behalf of the entire world to eradicate genocide completely.

Also, here is an interesting video I found on the Museum’s website that explains how WWII and Nazism even came about.

http://www.ushmm.org/learn/introduction-to-the-holocaust/path-to-nazi-genocide