Response to Rubin’s Speech
By Kim Lowry
September 17, 2001

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon were the victims of terrorist attacks. The two tallest skyscrapers on the face of the Earth were brought to nothing after hijacked planes crashed into them, sending the buildings along with thousands of workers plummeting to the ground. Although these recent incidents were tragic and devastating, they do not compare to those of World War II, specifically the Holocaust.

After hearing a survivor of the Holocaust speak, my feelings and opinions on the Holocaust have dramatically changed. Not only have I developed a new appreciation for the subject, but a deep empathy for the victims. The survivor, Rueben, told his story from the beginning of his hardships as a Jew living in a Nazi society. As Rueben discussed each adversity he faced, I began to think about the dreadful events that had occurred earlier in the week and could not help but compare the two.

Rueben began with his family being uprooted from their home to the ghetto. He explained how each of his family members carried only what they could to an unknown location. His family was forced by the Nazis to do what they were told, much like the passengers on the hijacked planes were forced to do what the hijackers told them to do. They differ in the fact that the Jews were subject to long-term unthinkable suffering, while the passengers on the hijacked planes experienced immense torment for an hour. Not to say that the passengers of the planes did not experience unimaginable abuse, but that of the Holocaust was greater and more devastating.

Throughout the Holocaust around six million Jews and other minorities perished. The casualties for the recent attack on America have yet to be discovered. Rueben remembered watching numerous people die each day he was in the concentration camps. Rueben had to suffer for more than two years. He not only witnessed death, but also was forced into hard manual labor, and malnutrition. The hardships and unspeakable events that Rueben endured were not provoked by a couple of terrorists.

Terrorists presumably caused the attack on America, while the Holocaust was put into effect by the German nation under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. Nazi ideology was forced upon Germans by excellent methods of propaganda. Only few believe in the ways of the terrorists that attacked America. Victims of the Holocaust did not receive remorse from anyone, unlike the victims of the recent devastation.

Although the incident of this past week was unimaginable and totally astonishing, it shares little comparison with the events of the Holocaust. After hearing a true survivor of the Holocaust speak, I cannot even imagine going through that emotional and physical pain. The recent incident is by no means insignificant, but it should not be compared to the Final Solution. The two subjects had similar results, but were conceived and implemented in many different ways.