Hillel remembers victims

The Helene G. Simon Hillel Center remembered the six million victims of the Holocaust Monday, 61 years to the day after the Warsaw ghetto uprising, with a Holocaust names remembrance.\nApril 19 is the traditional day of Yom Hashoah, which means "day of the destruction." Twenty students stood at a podium facing Third Street and read thousands of Holocaust victims' names, one by one. The ceremony lasted five hours.\n"Shmuel Gruber, Dovid Gutman, Mincham Guz…"\nSpeaker Seth Schrank, incoming Hillel president, said the observance is an important part of his Jewish heritage.\n"It's something that I like to do to just commemorate the holiday and remember those who passed away," Schrank said. "It reminds us of our history. A big part of our religion is our history, and this is one way to remember that."\n"Nichom Handlor, Yosef Kagan, Asher Kamin…"\nHillel Assistant Director Jessie Mallor said the day is a period of reflection for all people.\n"It's a special day that we use in our life cycles to remember the six million who were murdered in Europe," she said.\n"Ari Fishbein, Michael Freidman, Brocha Groski…" \nMallor said the names, by themselves, speak volumes. \n"It's the first time you're faced with the enormity," Mallor said. "As the same name gets repeated over and over, you realize you're dealing with the death of an entire family."\n"Israel Kushner, Rozel Kushner, Yaakov Kushner, Yalta Kushner…"\nAfter the reading, a small group of students moved upstairs into the Hillel Center for a yizkor, a memorial for the dead.\nThe service was conducted in a small circle as students prayed, meditated and recited selected Holocaust prose. The readings included a passage from "The Auschwitz Album," a collection of Holocaust memorabilia.\n"On behalf of the camp administration, I bid you welcome," the passage read. "Just as soldiers risk their lives at the front to gain victory for the Third Reich, you will have to work here for the welfare of a new Europe. Now would you please all get undressed."\nThese words were originally spoken by the Obersturmfuhrer Hossler just before a group of Greek Jews were ushered into a gas chamber.\nAndy Gitelson, Hillel program director, said the event was a time for people of all religions and backgrounds to join in remembrance of Holocaust victims.\n"The idea of this was to offer an open door," Gitelson said. "You don't have to be Jewish to attend. It's nice when non-Jewish students come and ask questions."\nGitelson said the name-reading helps students understand the magnitude of the Holocaust.\n"It gets your emotions going," he said. "When you read a number like six million, it doesn't really jump out at you. But when you read the names, you realize those were real people with real lives and real families."\n"Moshe Lionitz, Sara Lizrov, Zolta Lopota…"\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.