Quote of the Day

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Auschwitz did not fall from the sky but was the destination reached after a thousand smaller steps, each one stripping a single minority of its dignity and humanity. After the Shoah, the 11th commandment is: Thou shalt not be indifferent.

Do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against; democracy hinges on the rights of minorities being protected. . . . Do not be indifferent when you see . . . historical lies . . . when you see that the past is stretched to fit the current political needs. . . . Do not be indifferent, otherwise you should not be surprised when another Auschwitz crashes down on us.

– Marian Turski
Quoted in Jonathan Freedland's article,
“'Thou Shalt Not Be Indifferent': From Auschwitz's
Gate of Hell, a Last, Desperate Warning”
The Guardian
January 27, 2020

Related Off-site Links:
“Don't Be Indifferent”: Auschwitz Survivor Sounds Alarm 75 Years On – SBS News (January 27, 2020).
Survivors Call for End to World Indifference at Auschwitz Memorial – Kate Connolly (The Guardian, January 27, 2020).
Holocaust Survivors Return to Auschwitz 75 Years After Liberation – Markus Schreiber and Kirsten Grieshaber (PBS Newshour, January 21, 2020).
“Humiliation Was the Worst”; Holocaust Survivor at UN, Asks World to Act with “Empathy and Compassion” – UN News (January 28, 2019).
Auschwitz Survivors Share Their Stories on 75th Anniversary of Camp Liberation – Tim Nelson (MPR News, January 27, 2020).
Remembering the Long Road to Auschwitz – Steven Luckert (US Holocaust Museum, January 26, 2020).
Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020: Anti-Semitism Is Still Poisoning Our Nation – Stephanie Beach (Teen Vogue, January 21, 2020).
The Near-forgotten History of the Holocaust’s Gay Victims – Stefanie Gerdes (Gay Star News, January 26, 2016).
Why the Heinous Crimes Committed by the Nazis Against Thousands of Queer People Must Never, Ever Be Forgotten – Patrick Kelleher (Pink News, January 27, 2020).
The Untold Gay Stories of Auschwitz – Hugh Kaye (Attitude, January 27, 2019).
Nazis Murdered a Quarter of Europe’s Roma, But History Still Overlooks This Genocide – Barbara Warnock (The Conversation, January 24, 2020).
European Roma (“Gypsies”) in the Holocaust: The Story of Some of the Forgotten Victims of the Nazis – Patrick Kelleher (Pink News, January 27, 2020).
The Forgotten Stories of Muslims Who Saved Jewish People During the Holocaust – Melissa Chan (TIME, January 27, 2017).
The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camps – Masha Gessen (The New Yorker, June 21, 2019).
His Rise to Power: Drawing Parallels Between the Rise of Trump and Hitler – Jacob Weisberg (Slate, November 22, 2016).
How Hitler’s Rise to Power Explains Why Republicans Accept Donald Trump – Jonathan Chait (New York Magazine, July 7, 2016).
Are Hitler-Trump Comparisons Fair? A Holocaust Survivor Tells His Son – Itay Hod (The Wrap, March 20, 2016).
Yes, Trump Represents Fascism – It's Going Down (December 16, 2016).
Trump Is an Eerily Perfect Match With a Famous 14-Point Guide to Identify Fascist Leaders – Kali Holloway (AlterNet, December 6, 2016).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• On Holocaust Remembrance Day, James Martin Labels as “Appalling” President Trump's Plan to Demonize Immigrants
• Trump's Playbook
• Trump's America: Normalized White Supremacy and a Rising Tide of Racist Violence
• In Charlottesville, the Face of Terrorism In the U.S.
• Marianne Williamson: “We’re Living at a Critical Moment in Our Democracy”
• On International Human Rights Day, Saying “No” to Donald Trump and His Fascist Agenda
• Global Condemnation for Trump's Latest Ignorant and Racist Comments
• “Can the Klan!”
• Quote of the Day – December 14, 2019
• Something to Think About (and Embody!) – September 25, 2019
• Quote of the Day – July 12, 2019
• Quote of the Day – June 20, 2018
• Something to Think About – January 29, 2017
• Something to Think About – July 18, 2016
• 2000+ Take to the Streets of Minneapolis to Express Solidarity with Immigrants and Refugees
• Rallying in Solidarity with the Refugees of Syria and the World
• Opposing the Trump Administration's Inhumane Treatment of Immigrant Families
• “What We're Seeing Here Is a Tipping Point”
• Demanding Justice and Embodying Compassion for Separated Families
• Pan’s Labyrinth: Critiquing the Cult of Unquestioning Obedience

Image: Marian Turski: “Do not be indifferent, otherwise you should not be surprised when another Auschwitz crashes down on us.” The 94-year-old Turski spoke at a special January 27 ceremony at the gates of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz to mark the 75th anniversary of its liberation by the Soviet army. (Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP)