Editor's Letter The Power Of Docents T hey do more than help us never forget. The docents and survivors who volunteer at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills also help bring a bleak stage of history to life for a new generation. And they do that while teaching tolerance, understanding and compas- sion. They do remarkable work. And it's high time we as a corn- munity acknowledge that. The HIvIC's 90-member docent corps includes survivors as well as others bent on making sure that Jews and non-Jews keep the familiar refrain "Never Again!" at the forefront of any study of World War II, including the impact of the world turning a blind eye toward Nazi Germany. As America nears the fifth anniver- sary of 9-11, it's an appropriate time to pay homage to the good folks who lead tours at the HMC without fanfare or pay. Like the Holocaust, 9-11 brought non-believers into the inner sanc- tum of madmen. Al Qaida exposed America's fragility just as the Third Reich exposed Europe's weaknesses. Each visit to the HMC includes a 90-minute tour, typically followed by an engrossing talk by a survivor. You arrive eager to learn. You leave with your soul bared. I always leave the HMC haunted by how one man, Adolf Hitler, could persuade so many people that they are superior to others, especially the Jews. Today, Al Qaida's Osama bin Laden boasts a similar mindset and includes the entire West in his maniacal sight lines. Making Of A Docent Docent training begins every June to accom- modate schoolteachers. Every docent is a mentor. Docents not only must learn the key dates and events of what triggered the Holocaust, but also the political and social reasons that gave charis- matic stature to a once-nobody like Hitler. Docents need a sense of Jewish history and impact, too. They don't just get a primer to study and later answer a few questions. Training can take up to a year before they earn a tour guide badge — a badge of courage as much as anything. Some docents stay 20 years or more, but the average length of service is a dozen years. Docents range in age from 20- somethings to octogenarians, although the majority are age 50-plus. You need a tough skin and a sturdy demeanor to constantly recount the murder of 6 million Jews and smaller numbers of gypsies, homosexuals and people derogatively called "cripples." Retelling the story of "Aryan supremacy" surely must exact a mental toll. Regardless, docents prefer to say they are fulfilling a need to drill deep into the Nazi psyche so that the civilized world, particularly our youth, can recognize the seeds of deceit and manipulation. Docents prefer to say what they are doing is as self-fulfilling as anything they have ever done. I admire their tenacity in trying to explain, based on fact and example, how devastating power is in the wrong hands. Survivors who serve as docents or speak about their remembrances must laser focus on their experiences and make sure they don't confuse someone else's memories of Hitler's hell with theirs. Survivor Zygie Allweiss, 79, of West Bloomfield put it this way: "Survivors must tell their story accurately. If not, it would desecrate your family that died." He and older brother Sol were the only ones among nine • children in a Polish Jewish family to survive. Zygie didn't begin speaking about his past until 2004 when Sol died. Zygie found the opportunity a rewarding way to memorialize his brother. Youthful Audiences More non-Jews than Jews visit the HMC. Most of the visi- tors are middle and high school students; more than 100,000 come each year. Most come from Michigan, but others travel from Indiana and Ontario. The visit is that important. When it comes to evil in the world, Zygie tells kids, "To be neutral is not a good thing." That's why, even in strained times, he says, "It is important for Christians, Jews and Muslims to sit down together and talk about their differ- ences." He says this so that kids don't grow up hating others just because they follow a different faith. In contrast, Palestinian, Iranian and other Muslim schools in the Middle East teach kids to hate Jews because they are "infidels" and that to die as a martyr in the act of killing Jews "pleases" Allah. Zygie says many kids are moved to tears when he tells them, "I can't remember my mother's face." He adds, "I tell "I can't remember my mother's face." - Holocaust survivor Zygie Allweiss them to always keep a picture of your moth- er with you." He's moved most when he connects with non-Jewish kids, who arrive at the HMC with childhood innocence, but who leave forever changed. One such child is Kelsey Warner of New Covenant Christian School in Lansing. After hearing his talk in May, the 11th-grader approached Zygie sobbing and supported by two friends. She was so inspired that she later wrote him a poem called "The Day That Changed My Life." In her cover letter, she wrote: "The stories you told about your life touched the deepest parts of our hearts." She added, "My heart became burdened, as if I could feel exactly what you felt during those times of loneliness, despair and heartache." As we reflect on the catastrophe of 9-11, it's a fitting time as well to re-embrace the lessons of the Holocaust. The two tragedies are stark reminders why Israel and the West must win the war of terror. Let us remember the 11 million victims of the Holocaust and the 3,000 people who perished in the Al•Qaida carnage of 9-11 — and all other victims of terror. And let us reinforce why freedom and liberty must never stop echoing. They alone prevent the radical Islamists seek- ing to control and indoctrinate the world from catapulting to victory. ❑ Kelsey Warner's poem appears on JNonline.us with this column. 271 WEST MAPL. DOWNTOWN BI R I N ?"1-1ANJ 248.258.0212 ---- SUNDAY 12-5 MONDAY—SATURDAY 10-6 THURSDAY EVENINGS 'TIL 9 September 7 • 2006 5