Grandchild of the Holocaust - BBC 1

[non sociopath skin]

Deeply moved by this programme on BBC1 last night, both by Mrs. Salt's courage in facing the horrors of her childhood in the Lodz ghetto, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen and by the dignity and understanding of her 13 year-old grandson, Adrian when confronted with his family's past.

Moved also by the faith which her Jewish community had in the future generation: a refreshing change from the negative portrayal of youngsters and of family relationships in the media.

It occasioned much family discussion: like Mrs. Salt, my wife's folks in America also refused to discuss those members of the family lost in the holocaust - one wonders whether the institution of Holocaust Memorial Day has helped them to come to terms with the past.

Did other people see it?

The Skin

[Senior citizen]

1. One reason many refuse to discuss those lost is that

they could have been saved if their relatives here had been willing to sponsor them. Many American Jews looked down on their European relatives and were much too self-centered and obsessed with their personal post-Depression economic betterment to sponsor relatives who might be difficult to assimilate and who might disapprove of their lifestyles. It is much easier to say that people died because of Hitler than that they died because of your own selfishness.

[non sociopath skin]

2. An interesting viewpoint, SC, ....

... and one on which others may be more competent to comment than I.

This was not the case with either Mrs. Salt in the TV programme or with my wife's family, however. In both cases, the "lucky ones" got out immediately before, during or after the holocaust while the unfortunate did not.

Their memories are, presumably, no less painful because of their "luck."

The Skin