Anne Frank’s Diary
April 12th, 2010Last night I watched “The Diary of Anne Frank” on our PBS channel. This is part of the Holocaust remembrance as this month marks the 65th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day. The allies liberated many concentration camps during this month in 1945.
General Eisenhower did some very good things in this regard. He had the camps and inmates photographed for posterity. He knew that people would deny it had ever happened if there was not photographic evidence as proof. He was right; people are denying it today. He also had his troops bring the nearby townspeople for a tour of the camps so they could see what they had allowed to happen by their passivity.
As I watched the movie’s reenactment of the Franks and others hiding in a relatively nice Amsterdam attic space, I wondered about some things. As Jews, they were required to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothes. You will recall of the Nazi’s contempt for Jews. This was due to a number of issues, but they and others became the “scapegoats” for everything that was wrong with Germany.
The Nazis told the public that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus and they wanted everyone to be aware of who was guilty of that atrocity. It is interesting to me that the Italians seem to have had a hand in the death of Jesus with Pilate’s sentencing and the soldiers carrying out the order. Italy was a part of the Axis (Germany, Italy, and Japan), so Hitler could not very well stir up his citizens against them. It had to be the Jews.
What would it be like if I was forced to wear a cross on all of my clothing? This would not be a designer look but something to make me stand out to pagans who did not like Christians. Maybe they would use some kind of excuse regarding the worship of the Earth or the worship of an ungodly President as their reason for turning their ire on Christians. What would I do?
What would I do if that persecution was to the death? Would I stand and take it, or deny my faith? Would I go into hiding and hope for the war to pass? If I went into hiding, could I withstand the daily rigors of the possibility of being caught?
Millions of Jews died during the holocaust simply because they were the descendants of Abraham. Many courageously faced their end with the words of the “Sh’ma” on their lips. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. . .”
There are real persecutions going on in the world today. People are dying in Oriental and Arabic countries because of their belief in Jesus. What if it happened in the good old USA? “That could never happen!” you say? Why not? If it was to happen here, what would I do?
Keep The Light Burning!
Perry Greene
