The Record: Always remember
THE NUMBER of Holocaust survivors diminishes each year, making it so important to preserve that history in a meaningful way. Bergen County may be closer to doing just that with the proposed construction of the Holocaust Memorial and Center for Tolerance in Teaneck
The Teaneck Holocaust Commemoration Committee presented preliminary plans Tuesday to turn a carriage house in Marie W. Andreas Park into an education center with programs on genocide, racism and prejudice. There would also be a monument with a granite disc, reflecting pool and benches dedicated to the memory of Holocaust victims — more than 6 million Jews and others, including homosexuals, gypsies and people with disabilities — who were persecuted and murdered by the German Nazi regime during World War II.
Officials believe this would be the first Holocaust memorial in the area and the location is ideal. The surrounding neighborhood is heavily Jewish, with many residents having relatives who survived or died in Nazi concentration camps. Survivors speak at local schools to share their stories with younger generations, but they won't be here to do that forever. The lesson of what happens when society ignores hatred against a group of people must live on.
The monument will also provide people whose relatives experienced the Holocaust with a meaningful place to tell their children what happened to their ancestors. However, Steve Fox, co-chairman of the committee, said the planning committee isn't just Jewish members of the community, and the site would welcome people of all faiths and races.
There is some opposition to the idea of adding concrete to the area, which is near the Hackensack River Greenway, a walking trail. However, the project fulfills the intentions of the passive park. Holocaust memorials provide a peaceful setting for someone seeking a serene place to contemplate the past and future.
A councilman questioned building a memorial in a public park dedicated to just the Holocaust and not other atrocities such as the American Indian Removal Act of 1830, slavery and the Armenian and Rwandan genocides. The education center could address those with exhibits and programs. To combine their histories into one memorial would diminish their individual significance. A monument for a specific tragedy is more meaningful and can still have universal interest.
Fox called the monument an integral part of the project, as well as the committee's fundraising efforts. Municipal budgets are stretched thin, so it's important that this is financed entirely with private donations. This is a worthwhile project.
The Holocaust must be remembered and understood by generations long removed from the historical event.