From Auschwitz to Israel: Remembrance and Responsibility (Part One)

My October 11–22 journey with Christians United for Israel (CUFI) includes Poland and Israel alongside 32 other pastors from across the continental United States. Together, our group of 33 pastors is experiencing a journey that connects remembrance, faith, and the responsibility to stand against hatred. My visit to Auschwitz brought that responsibility into unforgettable focus.

Auschwitz was a Nazi German concentration and extermination camp established in occupied Poland. Approximately 1.1 million people were murdered there, including about one million Jews. (auschwitz.org, auschwitz.org) Yet numbers, however staggering, cannot fully communicate the tragedy. Every person had a name, every family had a story, and every child possessed a future that hatred sought to erase.

Walking through the exhibits, I encountered deportation notices, maps, historical photographs, and records documenting systematic persecution. One display identified the evidence as “Material Proofs of Crimes.” Those words remind us that the Holocaust is documented history, involving real people whose suffering must never be denied, minimized, or forgotten.

The photographs of families and their belongings brought the human cost into focus. These were people with homes, relationships, traditions, and dreams. Their humanity did not disappear when the Nazis denied it. Their worth remained, even when a murderous system treated their lives as disposable.

As a pastor, I believe every human being bears the image of God. Auschwitz challenges us to move that conviction beyond our sermons. Will we defend the dignity of others when it becomes uncomfortable? Will we challenge prejudice within our own circles? Will we speak when silence would be easier?

Including Israel in this journey broadens that reflection. Jewish history cannot be understood only through suffering. It also includes enduring faith, treasured traditions, family life, community, and hope. Remembering the murdered must be accompanied by respecting the living and recognizing Jewish people as neighbors whose lives matter today.

For Christians, this responsibility should be personal. Jesus was Jewish, and our faith is rooted in the Scriptures of Israel. We must confront antisemitism wherever it appears, including in religious teaching, careless conversation, and conspiracy theories. Love for our neighbors requires truthfulness, humility, and the courage to reject hatred without qualification.

Traveling with pastors from across our nation reinforces the responsibility we carry into our pulpits and communities. Our congregations need accurate Holocaust education. Our children need to understand how dehumanizing words can prepare the way for devastating actions. Our churches must practice compassion before a crisis demands it.

This journey is strengthening my conviction that prayer should move our feet and compassion should open our mouths. Faith calls us to remember honestly, listen carefully, and stand beside those facing persecution.

“Never again” must be more than words spoken at a memorial. It must become a commitment expressed through our teaching, relationships, and choices.

From Auschwitz to Israel, the challenge is clear: honor the past, value the living, and prepare the next generation to resist hatred. May God give us hearts tender enough to grieve, wisdom enough to learn, and courage strong enough to act with conviction whenever our neighbors’ dignity and safety are threatened.