POSTED 06 DECEMBER, 2006

Never Forget, Do the Math

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

Lamentably, within a matter of months, the U.S. total fatalities in the Iraq conflict will approach, if not exceed, 3,000 men and women. This horrible loss of life, in a period of time now being compared to the length of World War II, will undoubtedly receive an inordinate amount of comments by the usual cadre of media bystanders. While contemplating this comparison to the carnage period of the greatest war of the Twentieth Century, the number of six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust came to mind. Incredibly, the math indicates that on average, three thousand souls lost their lives each day for almost five-and-a-half years, due to the “final solution” policy of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. This astounding statistical reality is difficult to fathom given today’s almost universal emotional outrage when the rabid media focuses on just one infant who falls in a well, or when a few beleaguered persons are trapped in a mineshaft. However, the historical facts demonstrate that the extermination of Jews, gypsies, Christian sympathizers, and others deemed “malcontent” was not only extremely efficient, but relatively void of widespread media protest. How could that be?

While the Internet and cable television did not exist in the 1930s and 1940s, the relatively infant modern technologies of telephony, photography, cinematography, radio, and mass circulation newspapers were available. The ability to conceal the mass murder of thousands per day is difficult to imagine, given the number of people who had to know that something was definitely amiss. Questions beginning with “why” will forever traumatize the curious. Were the German people and those who traveled to Germany, or the diplomats and business people who worked in Germany, absolutely ignorant, simply apathetic, or perhaps blatantly complicit in not reporting the mass executions? Perhaps the thought of people systematically exterminating other humans was just unbelievable. Only God knows the answer, but everyone will be accountable for what he or she knew and what he or she did with their knowledge.

From a distance of sixty to seventy years later, the world’s collective vision is hazy and fading. But still, there are millions alive today that lived during that horrific era who can testify to the facts. Thankfully, some modern-day alarmists are attempting to remind people of Hitler’s written and spoken declarations that he was going to eliminate the Jewish people by warning politicians to not repeat the appeasement policies of the late 1930s, especially when it comes to dealing with Iran’s leadership. Comparing Hitler’s intentions to the stated goals of the Holocaust, denying President Ahmadinejad the opportunity to destroy Israel and the Jews, is beneficial. However, if they acquire nuclear weapons Iran will have the capability to murder nearly six million Israeli Jews with a few strategically placed bombs in a matter of days. One does not need to be connected to some Internet “blogosphere” to understand this potential existential threat.

So what are you going to do with this? Are you going to pretend you did not know about the possibility of the mass annihilation of the Israelis? Or are you going to raise your voice in protest and let those who can influence or make governmental policy decisions hear your concern? Will you be counted with those who deny or want to forget—or those who never forget?

Three thousand people dying for a noble cause over the course of three-and-a-half years is admirable, and worthy of praise and media comment. Nevertheless, it pales in relative significance when you consider the nearly three thousand people exterminated daily for five-and-a-half years—simply because they lived in a region where a madman dictated murderous policies. Now watching and listening to another charismatic leader state a similar policy to wipe Israel off the map should be taken seriously. After all, when someone is openly declaring that he wants to kill nearly six million people by atomic bombs, only the complicit would turn a deaf ear. Certainly, if the ratings-hungry media needed some viewers, this is one story that should not be denied until something is done to eliminate this insanity. Or perhaps it is just unbelievable!

Where do you stand? Never forget, do the math.

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.