If you want to read a challenging book at this start of a new year, I can highly recommend Alasdair's Richardson's 'The Salesian Martyrs of Auschwitz' (available from https://www.salesians.org.uk/bookshop/8957). It is a brilliant and accessible account of the Salesian presence in Poland during World War II and in the tiny town of Oswiecim-a town to go down in the history in infamy under its Nazi name AUSCHWITZ. A trip to the nearby beautiful medieval town of Krakow just does not prepare you for a visit to Oswiecim. Krakow is simply beautiful: a walk along the river, or exploring the stunning town square or numerous churches, awakens your senses to the beauty, glory and strength of humanity. An hour-long drive will take you to the place that is synonymous with antisemitism, hatred and the systematic murder of men, women and children. We come face to face with the evil that can disfigure the beauty, glory and strength of humanity.

From the foundation of the Salesian Family, Don Bosco was seen to welcome nationalities from across Europe to join his infant congregation. I love the fact that during seminary vacation times he stood at Turin railway station to welcome Rome-based seminarians, as they changed trains to reach their destinations. His offer of food and accommodation was gladly taken up by these hungry young men; to the chagrin of their Bishops, many of these seminarians left their dioceses to join Don Bosco in his pioneering work for the young.

The Salesian family in Britain needs to be eternally grateful to Blessed August Czartoryski SDB; he was a Polish prince who became a Salesian in 1887. Part of his wealth helped to build the beautiful Church of the Sacred Heart in Battersea; when I lived there, I always said a little prayer of thanksgiving as I looked up at his memorial window in the chapel of St. Joseph. Don Bosco also welcomed Bronislaw Markiewicz as he also took his first Salesian vows in 1887. He went back to Poland and founded the Michaelite Fathers, dedicated to support disadvantaged and orphaned young people.

The Salesians were officially invited to Poland in 1898 as they took over a former Dominican house in Oswiecim. Like Francis of Assisi the early band of Salesians, sent by Blessed Michael Rua, the successor of Don Bosco, set about re-building of the old church and buildings that could be used as a local high school. From this simple beginning, the Salesian family grew across Poland and continues to make a valuable contribution to the life of the global Salesian family. Here, we have reason to be grateful for the positive presence of young Salesians who have spent valuable formative time with us: their contribution to our schools, youth ministry and parishes has been so important, and we must be so grateful. The Oswiecim school eventually became a trade school and continued operations and training young people throughout the horrors of both World Wars.

Richardson honestly chronicles the reality of Jewish-Christian relations in a small town like Oswiecim: Catholics were not always tolerant, just as their Jewish neighbours were not always accommodating. The Nazi occupation of Poland in 1939 saw these petty differences magnified into a holocaust that led to the murder of millions, mostly Jews, but included others who were deemed 'different' including some Salesians. The little town of Oswiecim was to become the centre of industrialised murder camps with Jews transported from across Europe to face death.

There is, in my opinion, a danger in just visiting Krakow and ignoring the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps; you must move out of your comfort zone and face the reality and horror of hatred. What you see is the original Auschwitz - 1 camp where people like St Maximilian Kolbe died. It is now a museum to the effects of the Nazi 'final solution'; you see the shoes, glasses and hair torn from victims as they were instructed to have a shower, which became their death chamber. Idiots like the man wearing a 'Camp Auschwitz' sweatshirt in the 2021 riots and insurrection in the Capitol Building in Washington DC need to visit this place and see the reality of Hitler's hateful rhetoric. He needs to drive across to the remains of the Birkenau camps and see how millions were tortured, maimed and killed. Sadly, Holocaust denial is all too common and must be challenged. Educators and families must heed the words of Pope Francis and never forget:

that tragic event of history so that we can build a future where human dignity is never again trampled by racist ideologies.

Racism needs to be called out whenever it rears its ugly and sinful head. It does not matter what role you play in life, racists' rhetoric and incitement is wrong. We are all created by God to share and care for our planet; we are not made better by the colour of our skin or the faith we profess.

If you ever get the chance to visit the Holy Land, again I urge you to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. Like Auschwitz, it will be a sobering visit and will force you to re-think your own prejudices. I always break down when I visit the Children's Memorial: candles and mirrors are placed strategically around the space, giving the impression of infinity. In this very space, the name of each child murdered by the Nazis is read out-it makes the madness of Holocaust even more real. We might not discriminate against another on the basis of creed or ethnicity, but we might dislike another for no real reason. Are we jealous of their success or their popularity? Do we dislike their care or generosity? Do we simply hate another? Holocaust Memorial Day is a challenge to each of us to ensure that such wicked hatred never ends up happening again. I am glad to see whole generations of young people visiting these museums-they are not filled with dusty artefacts, rather they tell the true story of millions taken from us. As you read 'The Salesian Martyrs of Auschwitz', you will share the inspiration of Salesians dedicated to helping others with the gift of their lives. In his historic visit to the shrine of Yad Vashem, St Pope John Paul II reminded the world that love is the only way through this evil. In these harsh economic times, when it is all too easy to scapegoat the foreigner or refugee, his words need to be heard more than ever:

Out of the depths of pain and sorrow, the believer's heart cries out: "I trust in you, O Lord: 'I say, you are my God.'" (Psalms 31:14) Jews and Christians share an immense spiritual patrimony, flowing from God's self-revelation. Our religious teachings and our spiritual experience demand that we overcome evil with good. We remember, but not with any desire for vengeance or as an incentive to hatred. For us, to remember is to pray for peace and justice, and to commit ourselves to their cause. Only a world at peace, with justice for all, can avoid repeating the mistakes and terrible crimes of the past.

In Yad Vashem you can visit the Garden of the Righteous Gentiles', a sacred space dedicated to those who helped and saw beyond the division of faith. In this garden you can remember the Salesian Fr Michael Kubacki SDB of Warsaw who hid a Jewish child and forged documents to ensure her escape to freedom; he was not content to sit back and accept the evil - he did what he could to save life.

At this time, we have our annual Holocaust Memorial and I invite you to light a candle, if it is safe, so that we can never forget those millions who were killed as a result of lies, racism and narcissism. On Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember and pray for those who died when madness ruled the world and evil prevailed on earth; if we forget, the way is prepared for yet more holocausts, yet more Shoah. Therefore, we must never forget. We must never allow a culture of nationalism to morph into a hatred of 'the other'—the ones who are different.

As we look back, it's a time of painful memories and a time for which the Church, among others, has had to ask for forgiveness from God and from those who suffered as a result of the atrocities. If we only look back, we position God as only the God of the past, and not the God of the present and the future. We can look forward from the time of the Shoah and we can be encouraged. Despite all the darkness, the God's light did not go out. However dark it seemed, there was always hope, there always is, and there always will be. This message is one we also need to hear in these pandemic times - we have wonderful memories of times pre-lockdown, and those times will return. However painful the experience and the memories of the past there can always be healing, wholeness and forgiveness in the present and the future.

As Christians, we rely fully on our Jewish heritage - a heritage that Jesus lived to the full. Through Jesus all who turned to Him found wholeness, healing and restoration. In his ministry of Reconciliation, Jesus shows us that whatever the past had been like, whatever the scars and burdens that the past had left on people's lives. Scars and burdens which sometimes run deep for us all. Scars which sometimes take many years to be healed, burdens which sometimes take time to be lifted. Scars which Jesus heals, burdens which Jesus lifts. For the wholeness and restoration that Jesus offers is for all, each one of us, not just for some privileged race. It is for all, even those on the 'other side of the Jordan' as the Bible puts it, perhaps very aptly for our times of political and religious divides. In Him we have the hope of new life in Him, a new beginning, a covenant relationship restored. The Holocaust Memorial Day reminds us of dark times, when even survival was not possible for many. It also reminds us of the piercing light of God, shining through His Son Jesus, which will never be extinguished. It reminds us of the eternal hope we have in Jesus. Above all, it reminds us of the strength of our faith, which we have come to rely on and see us through difficulties and problems.

Ecumenical prayer:

Loving God, we come to you with heavy hearts, remembering the six million Jewish souls murdered during the Holocaust.

In the horrors of that history, when so many groups were targeted because of their identity, and in genocides which followed, we recognise destructive prejudices that drive people apart.

Forgive us when we give space to fear, negativity and hatred of others, simply because they are different from us.

In the light of God, we see everyone as equally precious manifestations of the Divine and can know the courage to face the darkness.

Through our prayers and actions, help us to stand together with those who are suffering, so that light may banish all darkness, love will prevail over hate and good will triumph over evil.

Amen

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash