The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing
against a white stone. . . .
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly ‘way up high.
It went away I’m sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don’t live in here,
in the ghetto.
Pavel Friedman 4.6.1942
This poem is preserved in typewritten copy on thin copy paper in the collection of poetry by the poet, which was donated to the State Jewish Museum during its documentation campaign. Pavel Freidmann was born on January 7, 1921, in Prague and deported to Terezin on April 26, 1942. He died in Aushchwitz on September 29, 1944.
Tomorrow is Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance day, here’s a video from 2003 of a ceremony to remember what it was, as well as what will ever be truer. Out of those dark furnaces came new resolve, new courage, and ultimately a resurrected nation.
“Triumph of the Return” – On September 4, 2003, in a large ceremony, the Israeli Air Force flew three f-15 jets over the Auschwitz concentration camp in a show of the Jewish people’s continued strength and triumph over past adversities.
During the Holocaust (1939-1945) 6 million Jews were murdered at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. Millions of Jews and other victims of the Nazis were imprisoned, enslaved and murdered at Auschwitz and her sister camps.
This visit was a testament to the world that the saying “never again” is not just a slogan.
Many of the participants were the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.
This is egregiously wrong, since I can’t recall any illegal immigrants burnt in ovens. Bottom line: if you have to dig out Hitler and make comparisons in a discussion you are definitely on the weaker end of it, and you should always be called on it because it really diminishes the true horror of the Holocaust through trivialization.
Sherriff Joe on PBS
In this segment from a PBS documentary Maria Hinojosa tries to pin Sherriff Joe Arpaio’s ears back on local immigration law enforcement. They have a couple papers in Joe’s area that are gunning for him because he does work with ICE on local immigration reinforcement. The reporter in this segment flounders a bit, and ends up by going “Godwinian”, comparing what Sherriff Joe is doing to what Nazi Germany did.
This is egregiously wrong especially since I can’t recall any illegal immigrants burnt in ovens. Bottom line: if you have to dig out Hitler and make comparisons in a discussion you are definitely on the weaker end of it, and you should always be called on it because it really diminishes the true horror of the Holocaust through trivialization.
You can see the rest of the documentary here, where they actually bring up valid points about the Sherriff’s propensity for populist grandstanding at election times, and the possible effects on response times.
It’s a thorny issue for both sides and the extremes of both parties tend to go overboard on immigration issues – with Janet Napolitano in charge, look for a different approach to the problem. It will be interesting to see in these economic times whether the Democrats downplay the problem or grandstand upon it to distract Republicans from efforts on the economy.
To me it’s wisest at this point for both parties to put this issue aside for now- on the Dem side of the debate the face of the issue has become surly La Raza Reconquistas carrying Mexican flags and wearing Che shirts, on the Republican extreme end the face has become equally surly militia members with ties to the Neo-Confederacy, and never the twain shall meet. This issue harms both parties at this point when it becomes nationalized.
