Dr. Sean Martin, who teaches the course "Holocaust and Its Meaning" at the Theology and Religious Studies Department at John Carroll University, was invited to speak at the Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at the B'nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike on April 23.
In his remarks, Dr. Martin mentioned the course he's been teaching at the TRS department for several years now, which "is meant to encourage students to think carefully about this twentieth century tragedy and how it affected relationships between Jews and Christians." Describing the meaning of the Holocaust as "a failure of society to protect some of its most vulnerable" which "occurred at all levels – at the level of governmental leadership and at the level of relationships between Jews and non-Jews," he emphasized the significance of the stories by the Holocaust survivors and their families shared at the ceremony that evening: "These stories are a reminder of the importance of this event to our neighbors, our classmates, colleagues, and friends, whose family histories, marked by such tragedy, remain significant in their lives and so attest to the relevance of the Holocaust throughout the world in the 2020s."
Admitting the failure of Holocaust education to lessen antisemitism, Dr. Martin called for a bigger focus on "the experiences of individuals – and on their relationships with others who differ from them" to be able to "recognize the steps toward dehumanization that eventually allow for collective violence." He said: "We must guard against the gradual development of views that deceive us and lead us to ignore what is human about our neighbors. This focus may help future leaders to understand that the goal should be not just the prevention of violence but the creation of an environment in which individuals of all backgrounds are equally respected and valued, so that together we may build a society that sustains life rather than destroys it."
Dr. Sean Martin is the Curator for Jewish History at the Western Reserve Historical Society. His research interests include the history of Jews in twentieth century Poland. He is the author of Jewish Life in Cracow, 1918-1939; author and editor of For the Good of the Nation: Institutions for Jewish Children in Interwar Poland; and, with John Grabowski, co-editor of Cleveland Jews and the Making of a Midwestern Community. His current research focuses on child welfare in Poland, but he is also working on articles related to Jewish philanthropy in Cracow and Jewish cultural identity in Cleveland.