Letter in the NY Times today
Re “German’s Idea to Fight Bias Gains Support” (news article in NYT, Jan. 11):
A rise of anti-Semitism among new immigrants to Germany has prompted a suggestion of having immigrants tour concentration camps. The idea is promising.
A visit to a concentration camp is life-changing. You can read books and see documentaries or movies about the Holocaust, but there is no substitute for seeing the sites of evil.
The proximity of the concentration camps to the civilized world reminds us of the bystanders who ignored or were indifferent to the factories of death.
The concept that viewing Dachau, which is on German soil, is a simplistic way to fight anti-Semitism may be true, but it should still be done.
Hatred is a binary choice, so every person’s mind and heart that are changed brings us closer to a better environment for persecuted minorities.
The purpose of preserving the concentration camps is to remind us of the victims’ message to the world: Never again.
STEVEN A. LUDSIN
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y.
The writer was a member of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust and the original United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
I wonder how the White House would react if it were suggested that immigrants to the United States be required to visit the bridge at Selma? Or perhaps the holocaust museum in Washington DC. David Posnett MD
R&R - Reachout and Rebuild 