Wilkening presents Lessons of the Holocaust

CRESCO - Retired social studies teacher Brad Wilkening of Ankeny, Iowa, presented his program ‘Lessons of the Holocaust’ at Cresco Public Library on Holocaust Survivor Day, Wednesday, June 4.

Wilkening said, “I have no Jewish background whatsoever; I was raised United Methodist; went to a Lutheran College and I’m a Catholic today.   I’m a retired social studies teacher and coach. I got started in this in 2010, when I had to renew my teaching certificate. A flyer came across my desk from the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie. So, I went there and studied, not knowing that it was going to change my life.”

“I came back to my small school in Storm Lake/St. Mary’s and created the only semester-long class on the Holocaust and genocide for my juniors and seniors. Those kids and I went to the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the museum in Skokie as part of the class. There are 15 museums in the United States recognized by the Jewish Federation and each of them can select two individuals, and I got selected from Illinois to study at Columbia University in New York. The next summer I got chosen to study with the Jewish Federation in Newark, NJ. 

 

In 2010, when I went to study the Holocaust at the museum, I had already been teaching for 35 years, so I thought I knew something. One of the things I wanted to hold onto, was that I wanted to believe that we did not know what was taking place. I wanted to think that if we in the United States knew what was happening in Europe, we could have done something to stop it. Well, that’s not the case.

“We knew what was happening. We do have to recognize Roosevelt was in a tough spot: We’re just coming out of the Great Depression. We’re not going to let a huge number of immigrants into a country that is trying to get on its feet. We’re not going to enter World War II to save Jews. Roosevelt’s head of state was an anti-semite; he had a number of antisemites in his cabinet.” 

If you ever visit the U.S. Holocaust museum, you would see an inscription on the wall from Dwight David Eisenhower, who was our commander in Europe. The inscription is going to end with the fact that we don’t let  this happen again. 

 

The Americans liberated about four camps; most of the camps were in the east and the Soviets got there first, or in the north and Great Britain got there first. Eisenhower wanted as much press and photography as possible so that when the time came that people would say, ‘This was just propaganda and it never really happened’, that there would be eyewitness accounts that (the Holocaust) really did occur.”

Hitler wanted to wipe out any historical evidence that Jews ever lived on the earth. He didn’t get to that point because the U.S. entered the war and we saved  number of Jews from annihilation. 

“At the end of World War I, the allied forces created the Treaty of Versailles.  Hindenburg is going to be elected President. What the treaty says it that Germany is totally responsible for all of the debts of the central power nations in World War 1. He thought he could get rid of the war debt by printing money faster. What he didn’t realize is that by alleviating that problem, he is creating a much bigger problem. In 1923, Hitler and a few of his buddies are tired of the government not meeting the needs of the people, so they try to overthrow the government. The Nazis have 2.9 percent of the public supporting them. There’s 8-10 political parties that are much stronger. Hitler and his cronies get arrested and thrown in jail. While in jail, he writes (his book) ‘Mein Kampf’ (‘My Struggle’) which becomes the source of the rise of the Nazi Party. In the meantime, between 1923-1933, the Great Depression hits. While it was bad everywhere, it was astoundingly bad in Germany.

“If  we are trying to figure out how Hitler rose to power, the desperation of the German people was insurmountable. The government was not able to meet any of the needs theat they had. Hitler is promising to make Germany ‘great again.’”

In 1933 Hitler becomes chancellor, but not by force. He is appointed by Hindenburg. why would Hindenburg appoint Hitler, who tried to overthrow his government, to the second-highest position of power? By now, the Nazi Party has 48.7 percent of all of the votes. If he doesn’t put Hitler in position of power, the Nazis are probably going to overthrow  the government anyway.  Maybe he thought he could keep an eye on (Hitler). Well, here’s the problem; The Reichstag is going to burn a month later.We still don’t know who or what started the fire at the Capital. Within a month  of the fire, Hitler is going to be granted enabling powers. it means that Hitler has been given the power to do what he wants, when he wants, for whatever reason he deems necessary. Wouldn’t it make  sense that the President would have that power? Why doesn’t a President have the power? Well, Hindenburg wasn’t a Nazi. They’re going to surpass the president, give the highest-ranking Nazi all the power of the government, and Hindenburg is now just going to be a figurehead, and the Nazis are now in complete control. Within a year, Hindenburg dies and Hitler declares himself not only chancellor but president. 

“In 1935, they are going to pass the Nuremberg Laws. The number that is most commonly used is that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Five million others were also killed: Homosexuals, handicapped people, Roma, Christian Scientists,  Catholics, political dissidents.  The Nuremberg Laws were used to discriminate against Jews and Jews alone. They are going to classify Jews into a race.  If you have any Jewish blood, you  are all going to be persecuted. 

“Jews now have to wear the Star of David in public.  Jews can no longer do business with   Nazis or German civilians. Jewish adults can no longer hold positions of power in society. Children can no longer go to public parks or swimming pools.  During Kristallnacht, (Night of the Broken Glass) in 1938, 1,000 synagogues were destroyed in Europe. Books with any Jewish history were burned. 

“How did the Nazi Party go from 2.9 percent of public support to 48.7 percent? It’s a term everyone in the United States should know really well: Propaganda.”

He continued, “December 7, 1941 changed the world: The United States entered the war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. 

“When the war was over in 1945, Jewish people had nowhere to go. Their homes had been occupied by Nazis or destroyed. They had no jobs, money or family. The allied forces created displaced persons camps.”

 

Wilkening told the stories of Holocaust survivors he had known, most of whom had since passed away.

He said survivor Fred Lorber was riding his bicycle in Austria when he came upon  a Hitler Youth Rally. He went home and soon after SS personnel were knocking on the door. Lorber said that an official had one of his arms and his mother had his other arm.  Somehow, they managed to survive and eventually ended up in the United States. Lorber returned as an American GI to fight the Nazis.

Another survivor Wilkening discussed was Harold Kasimow, professor emeritus at Grinnell College. 

“His story happens when he is 3 years old. His mom and dad, his older sister and himself go into hiding in the forest. His father knows a man with a cattle barn with a wooden floor. He asks if he can dig a hole under the floor to hide his family. Harold stays in that hole for 19 months and five days.

“Celina Biaiaz is the youngest survivor on Schindler’s List.  When she and her mom left the displaced persons camp, they ended up in Des Moines. 

“She had only had two years of schooling. She graduated from North Iowa High School and then  graduated from Grinnell College, and now lives in California. Until two years ago, she came back to central Iowa area to do Holocaust programs.”

 

Wilkening said he wants to help make the world a kinder, more compassionate place for future generations. He showed the audience an image of a circle, surrounded by concentric circles, each representing a ripple affect of how one’s values extend beyond the individual.

He urged his audience to try to work past individual, family and friend concerns to extend doing good into the nation and the world.

“We are talking about doing something with nothing expected in return, because it’s out of the goodness of our hearts and the kindness of our souls. I want us to leave this library and make Cresco a better place.”

As attendees reflected on the importance of Holocaust Survivor Day, Wilkening told the story of a time one of his high school classes had visited the Skokie Holocaust Museum, where a survivor would sit down with the class and tell their story. He said one woman in particular was one of only three survivors out of a 32-person family, and that she felt tremendous survivors’ guilt and could barely get through her talk. 

Wilkening said that his wife put her arm around her, and said, ‘You survived so you can tell these kids your story, and they’ll tell their kids, and your story will never end.’”