Lest We Forget: Lessons from Survivors of the Holocaust

First-hand witnesses to one of the worst events in recent history will soon be a thing of the past. With many Holocaust survivors passing away each day, it won’t be long before we must rely on textbooks and second-generation testimony to learn of the atrocities that they experienced during the reign of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. For a while longer, though, we still have this valuable resource, and many continue to share their stories with one audience after another, despite the pain of reliving the horrific events that we cannot even begin to imagine. They do this to speak for those who cannot and to share the many valuable lessons that should be learned from the Holocaust, so such atrocities can never happen again. The intent of this book is not to share the harrowing and descriptive personal stories of suffering, but rather to share strong messages and warnings from survivors for a better future. While some of their stories are alluded to or briefly mentioned, the focus of this book is on the lessons they can teach us as a result of their strength and resiliency. Read and share their messages, and keep their vision to end intolerance, racism, and hatred in this and future generations.

Writer, teacher, and public speaker Debbie J. Callahan has studied and taught the lessons of the Holocaust for several years. In addition to working with survivors and liberators and volunteering at a Holocaust center, she now devotes much of her time teaching about the importance of Holocaust Remembrance and Education. Her articles, book, projects, and lectures focus on everything from the danger of hatred, racism, anti-Semitism, and Holocaust denial to the responsibility of sharing the stories of survivors, liberators, and victims so that future generations will know what human beings are capable of doing to one another. In doing so, she fulfills her promise to survivors that their stories will not die with them, they will be used to fight denial, and we will never forget. Additionally, she writes and speaks to assure those who perished at the hands of the Nazis did not die as statistics, numbers of dehumanized, faceless victims devoid of emotion. She tells instead the stories of people who lived, worked, and loved; thus, sharing the humanity and legacies for generations to come. Her first book, "Lest We Forget: Lessons from Survivors of the Holocaust" is now available at https: //www.createspace.com/4863802 and Amazon.com. Since the publication of the book, she has worked in conjunction with other writers and speakers of the Holocaust from Germany and the United Kingdom to share these lessons to broader audiences, and following a life-changing trip to Auschwitz for the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation, she is currently working closer than ever in a race against the clock with survivors to write their memoirs, co-write a school curriculum package, and shares their stories at various speaking engagements.