The late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” As the leader of one of America’s closest allies who fought against the Nazis just three generations ago, his words are a powerful reminder that even the darkest stories in our history books are at risk of repeating themselves if we fail to heed their lessons. This month is a great opportunity to do just that as we mark the 81^st anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, on Jan. 27, what we now call “International Holocaust Remembrance Day.”

Some moments in history are difficult to reflect on, but as we look ahead to the future that we hope to build for the next generation, the past can serve as a guidepost of what we should seek to emulate – and what to never forget. Just over eight decades ago, thousands of Jewish prisoners were freed from Nazi persecution by Allied soldiers, and International Holocaust Remembrance Day is a chance to honor them and the millions of victims who lost their lives during the Holocaust.

As stewards of the great American experiment, it is our duty to protect the principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution so our democracy will not crumble at the hands of those wishing to spread hate or oppress others. When the United States was established, freedom was of such great importance to our Founding Fathers that it was enshrined in our First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of religion is embedded so deeply in our way of life, we sometimes take it for granted. The Holocaust stands as a reminder that there are – to this day – those who would seek to deny their fellow countrymen these freedoms and thus, their very humanity.

While Houston and Dallas are home to the most Holocaust survivors in Texas, every corner of the Lone Star State has been affected directly or indirectly by the abhorrent acts committed by Nazi Germany and the resulting American involvement in World War II. This includes Texans who fought alongside other Allied troops and liberated hundreds of camps during World War II. Many of their stories are told in Texas’ Holocaust museums in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, along with related exhibits in museums across the state.

One such Texan’s story is that of Bill Orlin. Born in 1932 in Brok, Poland, Orlin was taken to a Nazi camp, where soldiers would make him march in the forest for hours until finally making him stop and stand in front of a machine gun for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. This was one of many traumatic experiences that Orlin had to endure while being in Nazi captivity. During the war, his family spent time in Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Belarus, and attempted to go back to Poland. However, antisemitism was still prominent in his home country. His family eventually ended up moving to Houston when he was 16 years old. After being in the U.S. for 15 months, he was drafted into the Army and sent back to Germany to, as he says, “occupy” those who once “occupied” him.

I am proud that my father was a B-17 pilot in World War II. He was shot down on his 26^th mission over Germany and was a prisoner of war (POW) in a German POW camp until he was freed by General Patton’s troops at the end of the war. However, his story is just one of hundreds of thousands of brave Texans who fought against the pure evil perpetrated by the Nazis.

Unfortunately, the end of World War II did not mean the end of antisemitism. After Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel on Oct. 7, I was invited to Temple Emanu-El to hear heartbreaking stories from North Texans who had family and friends who feared for their lives during the massacre. Make no mistake: there are still forces seeking to harm the Jewish people, and we must speak out against their hatred and violence.

Education plays a major role in ensuring history does not repeat itself. With antisemitism on the rise around the world, it has never been more important to spread awareness about the events that took place during the Holocaust and what the Jewish people had to endure for years before and during World War II. For the Jewish community, the Holocaust was not just a human tragedy that they or their ancestors lived through, it was outright attack on their belief system and their very humanity. We can never allow this type of attack to happen again.  

Texas schools are doing their part to educate young Texans about what happened during the Holocaust. At Wylie High School in Abilene, Kendall Harrison, a Social Studies teacher, has been incorporating creative ways to teach her students about World War II and the tragedies of the Holocaust for years. One way she has done this is by taking her 11^th graders on a gallery walk, made up of photos from World War II, so her students can visualize the events that took place during this time period.

We will never walk a mile in the shoes of a Jewish person living in Nazi Germany during 1941, and we will never know what it felt like to be taken from our homes and placed in a concentration camp, where millions faced unspeakable horrors. However, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we recognize, remember, and remind ourselves of the lessons of the Holocaust because we can never let history repeat itself.

Antisemitism has no place in the United States of America. On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we honor the millions of victims who were killed in the Holocaust, and we support and stand with those in the Jewish community who are still facing antisemitism throughout the world.