Yes, the past is in the past, but not the words of this holocaust survivor who condemned the Trump regime and his administration back in 2017.
Bernard Marks, 89, may have died in December 2018, but his words from 2017, when he confronted the then US Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director, still live on to this day and resonate with the current situation.
He addressed the ICE acting director
Marks spoke in a public forum addressing immigration issues in 2017, wearing a sticker that read: “Keep American Families together.”
He then spoke to ICE Acting Director, Thomas Homan, to send the message that history would neither be on his side nor the Trump’s administration.
He recalled his gut-wrenching experience
Reading from a piece of paper, as reported by CBS Sacramento he said: “When I was a little boy in Poland, for no other reason but for being Jewish, I was hauled off by the Nazis.”
“And for no other reason I was picked up and separated from my family, who was exterminated in Auschwitz. And I am a survivor of Auschwitz and Dachau,” he continued.
He also addressed the sheriff
“I spent five and a half years in concentration camps, for one reason and one reason only: because we picked on people. And you, as the sheriff, who we elected as sheriff of this county, we did not elect you for sheriff of Washington, D.C. It’s about time you side with the people here,” Marks added.
As well as Homan
“And when this gentleman [acting ICE Director Thomas Homan] stands up there and says he doesn’t go after people, he should read today’s Bee. Because in today’s Bee, the Supreme Court Justice of California objected to ICE coming in and taking people away from the courts,” Marks explained.
“Don’t tell me that this is a lie. You stand up here Mr. Jones. Don’t forget—history is not on your side,” Marks assertively concluded.
How this speech relates to the current situation
People still reflect on Marks’ words as the Trump administration is still deporting immigrants to this day.
Reddit users agree wholeheartedly with Marks, with one of them saying: “He’s a brave man for speaking up and sharing his traumatic experience without fear. And he’s right – elected officials are treating people like the enemy, and it’s disgusting.”
Reddit users heeded Marks’ calling
“He’s right, history is not on the administration’s side. If a Holocaust survivor told you history is not on your side, you listen and do as he says,” another user added.
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“It’s scary how this is so relevant now 8 years later,” a third user replied.
Marks took his time to educate before he died
Marks made it his life mission to educate people about his life during the holocaust, to ensure that “we do not forget the past,” as only five of his family members out of 200 survived the holocaust horrors.
He also founded the Eleanor J. Marks Foundation as a tribute to his late wife, where he invited students to enter a writing competition about the Holocaust.
