“A Tatto to Remember”
Upfront Magazine
this article is about the tradition of tattooing an assertor’s
concentration camp during the holocaust. This article follows the story of a
family through two generations that both have their grandfather’s/ father’s concentration
camp tattooed on them. Many people in this generation know nothing about the holocaust.
Because the holocaust was such a dark time, Israel as well is trying to figure
out how to remember the holocaust. At the end of world war II, the Nazis killed
6million Jews as well as other “unacceptable people”. Many are trying to put the holocaust behind
them as a historical memory rather than a lived memory. Tattooing was a
historical event, and all Jews in concentration camps were tattooed by the
Nazis. Some people liked having their number because it showed strength, while
other despised of them and after the war hid or removed them, but today ot
shows care for the tragic historical event. Some people are against tattoos
because of the fact that some Jews didn’t even get to live in a camp, but
rather were just killed. A person should
I found this article really interesting. Personally, I think
no mater the disputes around tattoos a person should have the right of
remembering the awful things their family has gone through and be able to show
that to the world. I think the holocaust is still a sensitive topic to many
because some people are still here who lived it as children. Maybe, it’s
because people have mixed feelings about the holocaust and stuff, but there’s no question that Jews
and other people that the Nazis considered “unacceptable people” were put in a
very unfair position and that the Nazis were wrong for killing 6 million
innocent people because they were Jews.
I also strongly believe in teaching students about the
holocaust. I know that this may be a tough topic to teach because of
sensitivity, but it is one of the most important events in our world’s history.
We always hear as children that judging someone for their race, religion,
sexual identity, gender etc, are wrong, but this really shows why. The
holocaust represents a time when this world was just pure cruel. I also think it’s important to learn about it
because the world needs to get past the fact that it’s happened. What’s
happened has happened and there’s no taking it back, but we can move forward
and never forget it. Some ways to do
that is, get a tattoo for example. You show your pride in your family member,
but at the same time just to remember the awful event in general.
What really struck me was the dispute between tattoos. It
mentioned that tattoos are prohibited in Jewish law, but Jews are connected to
the killings of Jews in this way, it sort of contradicts itself.
In conclusion, I think that that today’s generation needs to
be taught about the holocaust no mater the sensitivity, and that Jew need to be
more lenient on tattoos, many Jews chose to remember their family this way and
I think it shouldn’t make them shunned.
