This April (Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month), I was able to travel to Berlin, Germany as part of a civil society convening on atrocities prevention as well as visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The images captured remind us of why the promise of “never again” is a commitment we must keep.
On the positive side, after years of research and development, the U.S. government has new, non-military options to better prevent genocide and mass atrocities. However, these new tools are under threat as devastating cuts to diplomacy and development are being proposed by the new administration.
We are working with Congress to support their leadership and policy oversight in protecting these core prevention structures and resources. Join us by taking action to support critical atrocities and conflict prevention funds, and stay tuned for more opportunities.
While I was in Berlin meeting with other civil society groups and government representatives, it was made clear that the U.S. government has played a catalytic role in support of atrocities prevention. However, critical questions remain about what commitment and role the U.S. will continue to play on this bipartisan, global issue under the new administration.
(Pictured right to left, top to bottom: marker for the Berlin wall, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, panel at the Berlin civil society convening, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag where the lower house of the German parliament meets, Bundeskanzleramt or German chancellery.)
As we remember what happened in the past, we are compelled to act to prevent atrocities and genocide from happening in the future. It’s a moral call to action, but prevention is also in the national security interest of the United States. We know prevention is possible, and that it is the most effective and least expensive way to save lives and support peace.
Tragically, April marks the commemoration of many instances of genocide and mass atrocities that have occurred throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In setting the stage for the Holocaust, Hitler noted that no one cared to speak of or remember the annihilation of the Armenians, using it as justification for future violence targeting the Jewish populations of Europe.
Entire Jewish communities in Europe like those who lived in Eishyshok (in what is now Lithuania) were completely cleansed. The photographs depict Jewish life in the town before the Holocaust.
While in Berlin, I got to visit what was the national central headquarters of the Gestapo, the SS Leadership, and the Reich Security Main Office during Nazi Germany. Now, the site stands as a documentation center and place of remembrance. What I found particularly striking was all the historical commentary (example pictured) about how the Holocaust and the policies leading up to it would not have been possible in the absence of the support and consent of the people.
However, some people did make decisions to stand up for their neighbors. (Pictured: a series of three images from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum)
So many lives were lost. We knew what was happening. The outcome was not inevitable. How many points along the way could more have been done to prevent such violence and stop the genocide? How many more times in the future will we ask ourselves the same questions?
I cannot think of a better call to action than the flag of the U.S. embassy in Germany flying over the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The memory of those who have been lost must serve as a sacred commitment that we will never fail to act to prevent mass atrocities and protect civilians in the future.
Fortunately, there is hope. The U.S. government has new tools to better prevent genocide and mass atrocities. But, they are at risk. Urge your members of Congress to support key prevention accounts today.
(Pictured above is the Children’s Tile Wall at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.)
