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AFDW/CC opens 21st Annual Holocaust Remembrance Program

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matt Davis
  • Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. --  The Air Force District of Washington commander served as the keynote speaker at the 21st Annual Holocaust Remembrance Program, themed "Eyewitness to Evil," hosted by the Federal Inter-Agency Committee May 7.

Maj. Gen. Sharon K. G. Dunbar delivered her keynote speech at Lincoln Theatre in remembrance of victims and those killed during the Holocaust and other incidents of genocide around the world.

Soon after opening her speech, Dunbar showed a video of U.S. Army veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Tibor Rubin, who discussed his struggles and triumphs as a Korean War prisoner-of-war veteran and Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor.

"Mr. Rubin was an eyewitness to evil," Dunbar said. "While he could have allowed evil to crush his spirit, he instead chose to allow the promise, hope and courage of humankind to ignite his spirit. There was something he said that really caught my attention: 'If you feel hate for your fellow man, you'll only hurt yourself. These are words we all should live by and teach our young."

The general's speech was followed by a panel discussion by survivors of the Holocaust and Bosnian War. They shared their stories about the atrocities of war and genocide spanning generations. Speakers included Irene Fogel Weiss, Czech Jewish Holocaust survivor; Cesare Frustaci, Italian Jewish Holocaust survivor; and Sead Okic, Bosnian Muslim survivor. Each survivor shared eerily similar experiences.

"We were guilty of nothing. We were regular people, we were unarmed," Weiss said. "The wound has never healed completely."