Thinking about how to make the stories of Holocaust survivors personal for people who did not experience it themselves or through family members' traumas... Here is an article by Tad Taube reflecting on how visits to concentration camps have changed now that the visitors are not only seeking information about their own families.
"Rethinking Visits to Auschwitz," by Tad Taube. Read the whole article here, at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: http://www.jta.org/2008/01/28/news-opinion/opinion/rethinking-visits-to-auschwitz . Tad Taube is the Chairman of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture, president of Koret Foundation and Honorary Consul for Republic of Poland in California.
“What is our responsibility to keep that history alive, accurate and thoughtful? How can the gaps in age, cultural history and knowledge be bridged?”
Notable excerpts from the article:
Lacking is the valuable interchange of people-to-people encounters, so vital to creating reconciliation and overcoming hatred.
In response to the need to tell a more comprehensive story of the death camps, some philanthropists are encouraging activities to develop educational tours and cultural resources...
Most significantly, the grounds themselves must be maintained as places for deep contemplation, personal reflection, and transformation for a new generation who will pass the lessons that must never be forgotten.