My Inspiration

In our world, it is undeniable that genocide is deplorable and should be stopped; yet, only a very few times has the term genocide been used. The proposition that people live in twilight between knowing and not knowing is naïve. After reading about the many possible rationales for why the Germans committed the atrocities of the Holocaust, I still feel as if a disconnect exists between these analyses and the actual thoughts of the perpetrators. Throughout the past semester, and especially in the past few weeks, I have learned so much more about the Holocaust, about genocide, about why the world should not allow something so atrocious to happen ever again. There has been such an emphasis on the psychology behind it, and I think I now understand why.

This trip, this emotional and intellectual journey on which our group is traveling, is not just about the events, which we could learn about through books. Instead, we are on a mission to learn about the latent evils of humanity, and the willingness to turn against one group because of our own racial and cultural prejudices, which are feelings that we must temper even now. The purpose of our trip is to go to these places seem by many as the sites of the world’s worst instance of genocide and to grasp why it is necessary for our world to truly commit to the ideals of “never again.”

Since Raphael Lemkin created the term "genocide" and brought it to the attention of the international law community, there have been many instances where information is available readily for people to read (in highly esteemed publications, mind you) about acts of genocide. I will concede that it is possible that in the case of the Holocaust, because nothing like that had been brought to the attention of most people, that would have been hard to believe; once that happened and people learned about what occurred, people should not ever have doubted the possibility that genocide could occur again.

Everyday citizens like those in Nazi Germany look the other way because it does not suit them to challenge what their government is doing. They believe in their own survival above that of any other person, especially people not related to them. Therefore, if a Hitler is committing genocide, but that genocide is not aimed at their ethnic or religious group, then they will look the other way so long as they are safe. It is this belief that attracted me to this opportunity to go on this trip, to have the ability to learn more in-depth about the signs that we must look for in order to prevent the emergence of the evil that has scarred the history of humankind. It is our duty as the next generation, and my obligation as a part of it, to make sure that the deaths of 11 million people do not just become another piece in a history book, but rather a lesson in what we must strive to avoid at all costs.

Genocide has happened many times, and through my study of this one in particular, I hope to find the answer to preventing another one।

-Grant Beard