It’s hard to find the words to start this piece. The topic of antisemitism is controversial in itself, especially in the case of humanitarian rights and acts of violence, as cited by UNESCO, but it needs to be discussed in light of recent events within the Dickinson community. 

I don’t know of any context where saying that would be remotely okay. In the video, this individual also made claims that the Holocaust helped benefit the German economy and “redistributed wealth” among the masses. While this may be true, does that suddenly make up for the deaths and murder of six million Jewish people at the hand of a brutal dictator?

The video was originally posted four January 24, 2021 by the YouTube account “Dson Action Now,” and this video is the only one posted by this account. The video features the individual in front of a student hall, and as of the writing of this piece, has about three thousand views. There are rumors floating about that this video was made a few years ago but there’s nothing solid to confirm or deny it. The person filming the video, which the video description states as a senior at Carlisle High School, was laughing at various points throughout the recording. 

I didn’t realize who the individual was until I talked to a mutual group of friends. Either you have some experiences with them, good and bad, or you have never heard of them in your life. Regardless of your own connections and relations with the person behind these anti-Semitic statements, it doesn’t excuse the extreme lack of disrespect for the millions of lives lost during the Holocaust.

Although I myself am not Jewish, my family has a history with World War II. My grandfather fought in the war and was with one of the troops that helped fight and free one of the concentration camps. It scarred him so much that he refused to talk about the war. When I played the video in front of my mother, she commented that her father would be turning in her grave to hear those things being said.

The video shouldn’t have been made. Making the Holocaust a joke shouldn’t have happened in the first place! What lack of humanity does one have to make the deaths from several forms of torture, as well as the lives lost from fighting in the war to free those enslaved at the camps and various other causes mean nothing? Clearly none. And if you side with them in any regards, you clearly share that lack of sympathy for humanity or the loss of lives. 

Kids in Germany in school are required to visit a concentration camp to demonstrate how bad the history of the Holocaust was; to prove that this is something that shouldn’t be repeated in history. It’s being taken seriously there. So why can’t it be taken just as seriously here?

No one deserves to be shamed and harassed based on their religion. To hurt one is to hurt hundreds. We are a community, and we stand by our friends, regardless of your background, sexual orientation, identity, or any other traits that define you. To make a video of this standard is beyond disgusting, and is in no way, shape or form acceptable. I plead to the college to do something about this in a proper and speedy manner, because even though some of us may still be remote, I can speak for my peers as well as myself when I say I do not feel safe with this individual being allowed to attend our institution.