The student organization “Never Again!,” a Holocaust and genocide awareness group held a number of events last week that focused on education, remembrance and social action as part of the national Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week which ran from April 7 – 12.
The organization planned the week to coincide with the National Days of Remembrance, a national day to remember the events of the Holocaust according to sophomore Wendy Low, Never Again!’s president and a biology major from St. Louis, Miss.
“Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week is our biggest event all year and includes the Field of Flags, the Names Reading Ceremony, a keynote speaker event and an interfaith candle lighting ceremony,” said Low.
The most visible event put on by the organization was the Field of Flags on the Driscoll Green. This was a memorial for the Holocaust where different color flags were put in the ground to represent different groups affected. For example, yellow flags represented the Jewish victims. One flag represented approximately 5,000 deaths, according to the information board posted by the Field of Flags. Other colors include red, which represented the Soviets, orange, which represented the Polish Civilians and blue, which represented the Gypsies (Roma).
Last Monday, the Names Reading Ceremony took place and around 30 volunteers came to read the names of Holocaust victims. According to Low, over 5,000 names were read over the course of the event.
“Reading the names of men, women and children killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators is a simple and powerful way to remember these individuals,” Low said. “Victims of the Holocaust don’t have a grave. Reciting the names in a given community allows for them to be memorialized.”
Teach-In Tuesday and DUPB hosted speaker Mark Johnson, Chairman of the Board for the Playing for Change Foundation, an organization that uses music for social change, in the Davis Auditorium last Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. The Interfaith Candle Light Ceremony took place last Wednesday at 7 p.m. and was led by Gary Brower, DU’s University Chaplain.
These events allowed the community to become involved by giving them the opportunity to talk about a wide range of topics in an open and non-judgmental environment with the end goal of making the world a better place.
“There are people who deny that the Holocaust ever happened and as more and more survivors die, it is even more important to make sure their stories are heard and that deniers are not given any credibility,” Low said.
The organizations intention is to promote awareness of the Holocaust and other genocides.
“Our purpose is to plan programs to inform the students, faculty and staff of the University of Denver, as well as the community at large, about the Holocaust, the dangers of apathy, xenophobia and appeasement and the reoccurrence of genocide throughout the world today and [to] encourage activism,” Low said.
Vice president of Never Again! Stuart Portman commented on the group’s mission.
“Why is it important? Because it reminds the community not to take things for granted, that some things in our lives today were only attained after great loss,” said Portman.
