Tiny Feet… (for the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day 2013)

By the end of the World War II, the Nazis had taken the lives of six million Jews, over one million of them children and teenaged youths.  Due to the fact that children were considered non-productive and symbolized the continuation of Jewish existence, they were among the first victims who were sent to their deaths in order to ensure the total destruction of the Jewish people.

As time moves further away from the actual events of the Holocaust, more and more survivors are ready to testify about past experiences.

Most of these survivors are former children, who only now feel ready to tell their stories.  Via these thousands of testimonies, new insights into the lives of children are being discovered.
The diaries and testimonies shed light on how Jewish children and youth viewed their peers, their responsibilities toward society and their future in the shadow of war and persecution.
The historical investigation of children during the Holocaust is important for it keeps alive the memory of those who died and safeguards the experiences of those who survived.  It enables us to understand, more fully and more extensively, the impact of the Holocaust.

~Text taken from ‘Yad Vashem’, the world center for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust. http://www.yadvashem.org ~