Story of my life song unforgotten on pbs

By October 8, 1939, Polish Jews and non-Jews were stripped of all rights and, were subject to special legislation. HitlerвЂ™s invincible troops attacked from the west, the north and the south. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from three directions. It is essential that the great German people should consider it as its major task to destroy all Poles.вЂќ Heinrich Himmler echoed HitlerвЂ™s decree: вЂњAll Poles will disappear from the worldвЂ¦. Only in this way can we obtain the living space we needвЂќ. On August 22, 1939, a few days before the official start of World War II, Hitler authorized his commanders, with these infamous words, to kill вЂњwithout pity or mercy, all men, women, and children of Polish descent or language. Half of these Polish citizens were non-Jews. Six million of these were Polish citizens. All Polish people suffered enormously during the Holocaust - Jews and non-Jews.Д®leven million precious lives were lost during the Holocaust of World War II. They were truly victims of the Holocaust. I found out things that most of the world does not know. After studying several carefully documented books, and interviewing non-Jewish survivors, I found more information about the five million forgotten than I had ever imagined. Who were they? Whose children, whose mothers and fathers were they? How could five million human beings have been killed and forgotten? Thus, I began my search. The Jewish people have done an extraordinary job of making the younger generation around the world aware of their persecution and immense tragedy during the Holocaust.Д«ut what about вЂњthe othersвЂќ? There were five million of them. The Jews were singled out by the Nazis for total extermination - a significant fact that I do not repudiate, nor want to diminish in any way. In no way do I want to diminish the enormous magnitude of the victimization and murder of the 5,860,000 Jewish people during the Holocaust. I love the Jewish religion and I admire the Jewish community. I belong to a temple where our daughter attends religious school. I converted in 1979 after studying at the University of Judaism one year before marrying a wonderful Jewish man. Whenever I would say that my parents were survivors of the Holocaust, people would look at me oddly and say, вЂњOh, I didnвЂ™t know you were Jewish?вЂќ The impression I got was that people were not aware of any other Holocaust victims except Jews. Outside the Polish community, I heard very little mention about the five million non-Jewish victims - usually referred to as вЂњthe othersвЂќ. It was only after I moved to the Los Angeles area several years ago that I realized that many people were not aware that millions of victims of the Holocaust were not Jewish. Painful as it was for them to speak about it, my parents felt it was important that I knew the story of the Holocaust. I learned that my uncle was shot in the head by Nazi soldiers because they suspected that the family was hiding a Jewish woman. I learned very early how one of my familyвЂ™s homes in Poland was burned to the ground by Nazis. Growing up in a Polish community, and raised by Polish-speaking parents, I heard many stories about the atrocities of the Holocaust. The author Terese Pencak Schwartz is a Polish American Jew born in Germany after World War II, currently conducting research on PolishВ Holocaust survivors. Irek From The Underground | Kidnapped and Deported: One ManвЂ™s Story From the Polish Holocaust Polish citizens in Warsaw, lined up to pass large chunks of a demolished building to build barricades against German tanks, look up anxiously as German planes pass over. Anne Frank: The Biography | 1998 Holocaust BookД«y: Terese Pencak Schwartz | Please submit comments PHOTOS Warsaw, Poland citizens staring at the skies filled with Nazi planes.Holocaust Picture Book вЂ“ The Story of Granny Girl as a Child.

Story of my life song unforgotten on pbs