Remember Auschwitz

Today marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Russian troops.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-27-voa52.cfm

A recent poll showed that nearly half of the British population knew nothing about Auschwitz:

http://www.sundayherald.com/47227

So it is so important that we make a point of remembering, not only for ourselves, but for those who know little or nothing about it. The same is true of the many other atrocities committed in the 'civilized world' in the past centuries.

However, we mustn't remember ourselves into a big ball of sadness and despair - which I think would be the outcome if we truly open our hearts to the suffering of our (even recent) history. Remembering must be done so that we can see and avoid history's tendency to repeat itself. Remembering must be done so that we, ourselves, can make broadly informed decisions about how we act in the world. But we must also act - and live in the moment, and in the future, as well as the past.