International Holocaust Remembrance Day: What Nazis Destroyed Goes Beyond 6 Million Lives

In the first volume of the The World That Was series, Rabbi Yitzchak Kasnett writes that there is

...an aspect of the Holocaust, which is regretfully being forgotten. When the Nazi beast decimated European Jewry, he destroyed more than human lives. Together with the six million souls who perished in the most cruel manner, a culture was destroyed that was majestic and noble, yet warm and unpretentious. Europen Jewry took on many forms which reflected several diverse approaches to the Torah way of life. There were the pure hearts and warm spirits of Chassidic Jewry; the dignity and refinement that characterizes German Jewry; the profound faith and courage of Hungarian Jewry; the purity modesty and incisive Torah minds that personifies Lithuanian Jewry; the sincerity and joy of life of Russian Jewry; the charm and graciousness of Galician Jewry; the commitment to age-old tradition that was demonstrated by the Balkan Jews; and the exciting multi-dimensional world of Polish Jewry.

These "worlds" were all part of the "universe" of European Jewry. Each represented a microcosm of pure Jewish values which combined to create a heritage and legacy unparalleled in Jewish history. It is our mandate to remember and reflect upon that unique world, to critically examine its distinctiveness,so that we can begin to understand the destruction of European Jewry.

It is only after extensive research into the "world that was" that we can more fully grasp the magnitude of the Holocaust, how deeply we suffered then and the terrible loss which we stiall feel today. Remembering the way of life of our ancestors, their spiritual heroism against all odds, serves as a powerful example to us. It is our moral obligation, and spiritual legacy to preserve and transmit these memories, so that the values and way of life of the martyrs will endure.

It is this too that we have an obligation to remember on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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