This History Shouldn't Be Forgotten

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AJL: "So, what do you think are the most important impressions and lessons that you take away from your family’s World War II, and Holocaust, and immigration experiences?"

DJ: "I think, just my initial impressions are just fate, luck, perseverance—all of these things that were beyond the control of the individuals, and the forces that were in motion at the time all kind of came together, almost by coincidence, that allowed a couple of individuals to survive, and find a better life, and meet up with another person who had gone through war in a different way, and come to the United States to make a life. You think about the circumstances and the chance of something like that happening. Obviously it did, but the chances are kind of slim that those circumstances would have led to what they did. That’s really the thoughts that I have about that. Given all the suffering that went on, and the terrible things that were going on, there was a good outcome in this case. You know, just fate and luck played a huge part in that."

AJL: "What can students learn from your family’s experience?"

DJ: "I think the most important item, and I’m not the first to say this, is that this story, or this history shouldn’t be forgotten, because otherwise we’re doomed to repeat it. It’s a time that most people don’t think about anymore. We’re pressed to try to even remember what happened last year, but I think it’s important that the story of people’s lives that went through these events should be captured and documented and remembered."