- Thread starter Abuela
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Holocaust Remembrance Day in Sosua
Thank you so much for sharing this.
When I visited Israel in 2008, our tour guide was a survivor of the Holocaust who lost many relatives in the Warsaw Ghetto. A visit to the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem was so powerful after talking to him.
This year, I plan to visit Sosua because of its historical significance. If I had known ahead of time about this event, I would have made the trip.
When I visited Israel in 2008, our tour guide was a survivor of the Holocaust who lost many relatives in the Warsaw Ghetto. A visit to the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem was so powerful after talking to him.
This year, I plan to visit Sosua because of its historical significance. If I had known ahead of time about this event, I would have made the trip.
Though it may sound like a ridiculous question, does the average Dominican even know about the Holocaust??? Since the education system is so great, I do not think they covered WW3 in their curriculum. I was in a bar in Santo Domingo about 6 years ago and there was a pic of JFK and Hitler on the same wall. When I asked about this, most only recognized JFK and the ones that did recognize Hitler told me that he left them in peace due to the lack of a workforce on the island. I am still confused by their answer butt then again, I rarely see and find things on the island that make much sense. For example, the dark skinned man that wanders SD, mostly the colonial zone in a full Nazi get up. I know a few of you have seen him.
i do not think the word "holocaust" will ring many bells but generally those dominicans who went to HS or the uni know about ww2. however, the history of europe is not emphasized as much as the history of americas. naturally. i know next to nothing about american history, it was not included in a normal curriculum in poland. and here in DR hitler is a bit ambiguous character, it seems, since some people named their kids after him.
when i went to poland with miesposo i took him to see auschwitz. he was really shaken. a colombian friend, huge tattooed man, who went there with me about 10 years ago cried there. i think that maybe those who learn about the war and saw war movies did not realize how overwhelming the war was, how enormous was its effect.
we call it history but to many europeans the war is their present, there are still people who fought in the war, who survived the holocaust.
i think this is why maybe it should be discussed openly. the fact that there any many disabled people in this world does not mean we should not discuss disability, au contraire, we have to speak about it out loud. it's the same about the holocaust and genocide: bring it up, bring it out. we should remember. we should know.
I am probably not exact but all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and the continent of Africa have committed mass murder on a scale that is, to most people, unimaginable. That is why we avert our gaze and refuse to comprehend the level of evil and depravity that some are capable of. Only by being vigilant and shining a big
bright light on evil when it starts can we begin to stop this. The internet is hopefully a good means to force governments to act
when innocent people are being slaughtered on a mass scale simply for being in the wrong religion, tribe, race or country.
We all know what to do. We just need the will to do it and insist our governments follow our lead.
bright light on evil when it starts can we begin to stop this. The internet is hopefully a good means to force governments to act
when innocent people are being slaughtered on a mass scale simply for being in the wrong religion, tribe, race or country.
We all know what to do. We just need the will to do it and insist our governments follow our lead.
Sosua also has a small park remembering the holocaust (or maybe just the Jews from Sosua). It is small, but one of the nicest public places in the country, IMO. It overlooks a small beach and has a monument that sort of frames Mt Isabel de Torres in the distance.
Commemoration of Holocaust Victims In Sosua
From today's Sosua News:
Saturday January 25 a memorial meeting was held in the park Mirador in Sos?a to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. At this meeting about two hundred people including the ambassadors of Israel, Bahij Manssur, and Germany, Mar?a Victoria Zimmermann, the governor of Puerto Plata, Eridania Llibre Ortiz, the Bishop of Puerto Plata, Monsieur Julio Cesar Corniel Amaro and the mayor of Sos?a, Ilana Neumann were present.
And of course the members of the Jewish community in Sos?a attended the memorial meeting, among them Herman Strauss, Joe Benjamin and Bennie Katz. In the meeting the more than 6 million Jewish victims of the Second World War were commemorated. The Holocaust or Shoah is commemorated every year on 27 January. On January 27, 1945, the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz - Birkenau, located on the territory of Poland, were liberated by Soviet troops.
In the speech by the mayor of Sos?a Ilana Neumann, she recalled that the Dominican Republic was one of the few countries that gave Jewish refugees a safe haven. The mayor part of these refugees settled in Sos?a and made an important contribution to the economic development of the north coast. The mayor recalled that it was the first time the Holocaust is commemorated in Sos?a with such great interest. She also expressed the hope that the world has learned from this catastrophe, and that it never will never happen again.
The Ambassador of Israel also recalled that Sos?a was a unique safe haven for the Jewish refugees. The Jewish community, including the government and people of Israel, are still grateful to the Dominican Republic. The relationship between Israel and the Dominican Republic is very good and will be further strengthened. In the near future Israel wants to cooperate in areas such as agriculture, technology and communication. During the meeting, six torches were lighted on the plateau of the six points of the Star of David symbolizing the six million victims.
PS: Photos are here: Sos?a-News
From today's Sosua News:
Saturday January 25 a memorial meeting was held in the park Mirador in Sos?a to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. At this meeting about two hundred people including the ambassadors of Israel, Bahij Manssur, and Germany, Mar?a Victoria Zimmermann, the governor of Puerto Plata, Eridania Llibre Ortiz, the Bishop of Puerto Plata, Monsieur Julio Cesar Corniel Amaro and the mayor of Sos?a, Ilana Neumann were present.
And of course the members of the Jewish community in Sos?a attended the memorial meeting, among them Herman Strauss, Joe Benjamin and Bennie Katz. In the meeting the more than 6 million Jewish victims of the Second World War were commemorated. The Holocaust or Shoah is commemorated every year on 27 January. On January 27, 1945, the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz - Birkenau, located on the territory of Poland, were liberated by Soviet troops.
In the speech by the mayor of Sos?a Ilana Neumann, she recalled that the Dominican Republic was one of the few countries that gave Jewish refugees a safe haven. The mayor part of these refugees settled in Sos?a and made an important contribution to the economic development of the north coast. The mayor recalled that it was the first time the Holocaust is commemorated in Sos?a with such great interest. She also expressed the hope that the world has learned from this catastrophe, and that it never will never happen again.
The Ambassador of Israel also recalled that Sos?a was a unique safe haven for the Jewish refugees. The Jewish community, including the government and people of Israel, are still grateful to the Dominican Republic. The relationship between Israel and the Dominican Republic is very good and will be further strengthened. In the near future Israel wants to cooperate in areas such as agriculture, technology and communication. During the meeting, six torches were lighted on the plateau of the six points of the Star of David symbolizing the six million victims.
PS: Photos are here: Sos?a-News
Dominicans should also organized a Holocaust day for the Tainos and Africans killed in the concentration camps of the colonial times : the slave plantations and Mines. And even many more died by more brutal ways
Millions and Millions of Native Indians and Africans also had their Holocaust but it seems that nobody cares at international level.
Let us pray and have remembrance for all our deads...
Millions and Millions of Native Indians and Africans also had their Holocaust but it seems that nobody cares at international level.
Let us pray and have remembrance for all our deads...
All you have to do is start another thread.............
not very difficult..............
B in Santiago
To this "slick" reply, I would just add that THIS Holocaust which occurred in European soil during WWII, is not a Dominican concerned/related issue.
This people is Sosua ( visited that museum btw) should celebrate life because their ancestors were able to escape the European Holocaust, hence they are not direct victims like some people in Germany, France, Poland etc.
Norman Gary Finkelstein ( son of two holocaust historian survivors, and who also lost most of his family during WWII) would also agree.
And as a last word on this thread , I would say that MANKIND suffered MANY HOLOCAUSTS we should celebrate them ALL EQUALLY.
Nuff said
There is a time and place for everything, and you need to start you own thread, nobody is trying to diminish the magnitude of Taino suffering, it deserves it's own thread instead of HIJACKING THIS ONE, get it?
Not to mention that most Tainos died of diseases such as the cold and the greatest death of 'Africans' on this side of the island took place in the 17th Century after an outbreak of measles (I think that's what 'viruela' is in English). Other than that, most of the 'Africans' that died from non-natural causes did so on the French side. The few slaves on our side of the island (for most of the Dominican colonial period at the very most the slave population accounted for 2 out of every 10 inhabitants, and half of the 8 out of 10 that were free were people of color, practically the opposite of how it was on the French side; plus DR was one of the smallest importer of slaves in the Western Hemisphere, again in complete contrast to the French side) tended to live into old age mostly because they were not mistreated, in fact many spent most of the year taking care of their own small farms.
Some people (mostly foreigners) have issues accepting that in Spanish Santo Domingo most people of color were free and the minority that were slaves, most died of old age. Not quite how it happened on the western part.
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