The ceremony, which was open to employees, featured a candle lighting memorial, a historical overview of the Holocaust and the keynote lecture, delivered by Benjamin Benson, of his work "Remembering the beautiful, strong and vibrant communities lost to the Shoah." The presentation focused on the Jewish life and culture that existed in Berlin before the rule of Nazi Germany.
“Through participating in these remembrances, we continue to learn the past so that we can prevent these atrocities from ever happening again in our civil society and humankind. We've come a long way. There's still a long way to go and much of that comes through education." expressed Capt. Cory Schemm, Commanding Officer, NAVSUP FLC San Diego, during closing remarks. "These forums help to educate folks and foster an appreciation of those lives and cultures lost.”
The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. Jews were the primary victims—six million were murdered; Roma and Sinti, people with mental and physical disabilities, and Poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents, also suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi Germany.
Through our Days of Remembrance event, NAVSUP FLC San Diego seeks both to commemorate this tragic history and to reflect on the lessons it holds for our lives today. We also pay tribute to the rescuers who risked their lives to save others during the Holocaust and to the American soldiers who liberated the concentration camps.
“It’s not enough to curse the darkness of the past. We have to illuminate the future,” explains Holocaust survivor Estelle Laughlin. “On Days of Remembrance the most important thing to remember is the humanity that is in all of us to leave the world better for our children and for posterity.”
To learn more about Days of Remembrance, including the national ceremony in the US Capitol Rotunda and a map of remembrance events around the country, visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website at ushmm.org/survivors-victims.
NAVSUP FLC San Diego is one of eight Fleet Logistics Centers under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Penn., NAVSUP employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 25,000 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP and the Navy Supply Corps conduct and enable supply chain, acquisition, operational logistics and sailor and family care activities with our mission partners to generate readiness and sustain naval forces worldwide to prevent and decisively win wars. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and twitter.com/navsupsyscom.