Spring Break
Holocaust survivor remembers life during WWII
Josh Weaver
Issue date: 4/18/07 Section: News
"If you were a Jew and living in Europe between 1939 and 1945, everybody who just sat down would be dead."
Speaking to more than 40 people in the University Room, Yitzhak Santis, the director of Middle East Affairs for the Jewish Community Relations Council, assigned a number, either one, two or three to the audience members. He asked everyone to stand up and look around.
"Will all the twos and threes please sit down?" Santis asked, leaving a very small number of people who remained standing.
With the full attention of everyone in the room, Santis went on to explain that about two out of every three European Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
Santis was one of six speakers who participated in a panel discussion yesterday titled, "Understanding the Holocaust and Other Genocides."
Panelists spoke about various genocides that have occurred in the world including; the Native American genocide, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust and the genocide that continues today in Darfur, Sudan.
Jonathon Roth, the chair of the History Department at San Jose State University, moderated the discussion. Roth gave a brief introduction, defining the word genocide and the origins of the term.
Roth said a Polish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide and first used it in 1944. It comes from the Greek word "genos" meaning race and the Latin "cide" meaning murder.
"Genocide is a word like murder, in that it is both a legal concept and it is a general term that is used to apply to action," Roth said.
Alan Leventhal, an information technology consultant for the college of social science and an anthropology lecturer, gave a presentation discussing the history of the Native American genocide.
Leventhal said the beginning of the genocide coincided with the advent of the European colonial expansion and exploration.
He added that the mistreatment of Native Americans in California could be considered genocide as well, mentioning that they had their land illegally taken from them.
Speaking to more than 40 people in the University Room, Yitzhak Santis, the director of Middle East Affairs for the Jewish Community Relations Council, assigned a number, either one, two or three to the audience members. He asked everyone to stand up and look around.
"Will all the twos and threes please sit down?" Santis asked, leaving a very small number of people who remained standing.
With the full attention of everyone in the room, Santis went on to explain that about two out of every three European Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
Santis was one of six speakers who participated in a panel discussion yesterday titled, "Understanding the Holocaust and Other Genocides."
Panelists spoke about various genocides that have occurred in the world including; the Native American genocide, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust and the genocide that continues today in Darfur, Sudan.
Jonathon Roth, the chair of the History Department at San Jose State University, moderated the discussion. Roth gave a brief introduction, defining the word genocide and the origins of the term.
Roth said a Polish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide and first used it in 1944. It comes from the Greek word "genos" meaning race and the Latin "cide" meaning murder.
"Genocide is a word like murder, in that it is both a legal concept and it is a general term that is used to apply to action," Roth said.
Alan Leventhal, an information technology consultant for the college of social science and an anthropology lecturer, gave a presentation discussing the history of the Native American genocide.
Leventhal said the beginning of the genocide coincided with the advent of the European colonial expansion and exploration.
He added that the mistreatment of Native Americans in California could be considered genocide as well, mentioning that they had their land illegally taken from them.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
hannah wagner
posted 11/19/08 @ 9:28 AM PST
touching, the holocaust is very well...intense i guess you could say. it breaks my heart to hear that stuff and the "every 2 out of 3 please sit down", wow. (Continued…)
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