FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
The 128th Aviation Brigade held a Holocaust Remembrance ceremony at Fort Eustis, April 15, to bring awareness to the Holocaust National Days of Remembrance from April 27 to May 4.
Audience members listened to a guest speaker, sang a song and lit candles to remember the different groups across the world affected by the Holocaust. Two days after the tragic events outside a Jewish community center near Kansas City, the message against hate and violence could not be clearer, said Dr. Anthony Santoro, Christopher Newport University history professor and guest speaker of the event.
"During the tragedy on Sunday, many non-Jewish people were killed or injured," said Santoro. "This teaches us a somber and powerful lesson - when hatred prevails, we are all in the cross hairs."
Santoro said the holocaust showed this effect of human brutality en masse, with more than 55 million people killed during the holocaust, more than at any other time in history. Approximately a third of the Jewish population died, and many other races, ethnicities and religious practitioners lost their lives to meet the twisted goals of a political movement.
"Savagery is not a look, it is an action," said Santoro. "We have to understand this devastating time in history was created by people with wives and children at home. They were no different than us, except they murdered people every day."
Santoro said our remembrance should be somber, but our resolve needs to be strong.
"We will forever mourn the loss of lives at the hands of cruel men, but [the days of remembrance] don't end there," said Santoro. "It is up to you and me, the warriors, doctors, assistants and everyone else to stand vigilant against hate and violence so that we may rise above the actions of the past and create a better, brighter world for our future."