The tragedy of the Holocaust offers a host of lessons for today’s public servants, National Holocaust Memorial Council Chairman Fred Zeidman said in a speech Thursday at the Clinton School.
Speaking as part of the school’s speaker series, Zeidman said while history often focuses on those in power who gave the orders in Nazi Germany, those who carried out those orders should not be overlooked.
The Holocaust “was encouraged and staffed by exactly the kind of people in this room,” Zeidman said, challenging the Clinton School students in attendance ask themselves what they’d do when faced with such a crisis.
Conversely, many ordinary citizens and public servants who made the decision to reject orders became the heroes of the crisis, Zeidman said.
Choices made by those who aren’t in the spotlight “tell the moral story of our society,” he said.
The Holocaust Memorial Council is the governing board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Zeidman was appointed to his post by President George W. Bush in 2002.
Video of Zeidman’s lecture will be posted soon at www.clintonschoolspeakers.com.
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