For over a month, I have been shocked at the level of antisemitism I have seen in this country. As a child of a father who was in WWII, I have been aware of the Jewish Holocaust. I have seen the pictures and read much about what the Nazis did to them. The level of suffering is almost incomprehensible, and those who perpetrated it were pure evil. Full stop…end of sentence.

I have no problem with people protesting a war they do not agree with, but those who carry signs that say “Gas the Jews” or “Hitler was Right” are either ignorant of history or evil themselves. I will bet that yes, some of those who carry those signs are evil, but for the most part, when I see the students, I believe they are historically ignorant.

Do they know, for example, that Hitler killed about fourteen million people? Yes, he came for the Jews, but he also came for many Christians, political dissenters, the physically and mentally handicapped, the gypsies, Slavic people, Poles, and the gays. No one was exempt if they were considered an enemy of the Reich. Many who started out in Hitler’s good graces were “retired” when his paranoia got the better of him.

You see, when the killing starts, no one is exempt. Ask those in Russia, where Stalin is purported to have killed about forty million in his purges. And what about the Cultural Revolution in China during which between five hundred thousand and two million people were killed? You may think you will be spared but in truth, no one is safe once a pogrom has started.

So to quote the theme song from Cops, “Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” Please think about it, because eventually they will and you who are approving of the genocide of others may become a victim yourself.

Photo of Auschwitz by Carl S. Courtesy of Pixabay