Sami Steigmann Interview

3/6/09

Interview

with Sami Steigman, Volunteer at the Jewish Heritage Museum(By Craig R. Bayer)

Facts:

Genocide:

Geno: group

Cide: murder

The term “Holocaust” was coined by a Polish Jew in 1944. It was officially adopted as the tragedy’s name by the United Nations in 1948.

I interviewed Sami Steigman about his various volunteer activities, with a focus on his work for the Jewish Heritage(“Holocaust”) museum:

How many activities are you involved in?

Nine or ten activities…

Would you care to name some of them?

The Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Jewish Heritage Museum, the Red Cross, New York Cares, the Intrepid...I don’t think it’s important for you to name all of them. I’m not an egomaniac, I don’t want this article to be about me or to make  a big deal about me.

How did you become involved in the Holocaust museum?

Right place, right time. There was  a Culturefest held in Battery Park. Various institutions were there. I met these people, they offered me a six week course, I took the course

What do people in this building need to know about the Holocaust?

Hatred leads to  murder; at the slightest injustice, do not stand idly by: the Holocaust happened because people did not stand up to anti-Semitism; it can happen again: in Rwanda, blacks killed blacks, in Darfur, Sudan, the Hutsis killed the Tutsis, 95% of the Tutsis were murdered—nobody lifted a finger; anti-Semitism is prevalent, today: hate groups like the skinheads, KKK—they have to be feared and fought. Don’t diminish the significance of fringe groups—the Nazis were once  a fringe group; accept people for what they are—don’t discriminate; hatred is taught—babies are not born hating—ask why you hate—accept what you are doing(hating—just like in ten step groups--), so that you can change; learn tolerance of  other people and  cultures; realize that we have more in common than our differences.

Do you remember the quote I used during our tour? “Not every victim was a Jew, but every Jew was a victim..” They killed Greeks, Gypsies, etc. 0f the 55 million people killed , six million were Jews. The only difference between the Jews and everybody else was that  the Jews were slated to be killed in a systematic way.

Some members of  one of your tours were students. These students were so  moved by your presentation that they did a play in your honor and invited you to see it: The Diary of Anne Frank”.  What exactly is “The Diary of Anne Frank”?

Anne Frank was  a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam, Holland. She wrote this diary while in hiding. Eventually she was captured and killed. Why? J-E-W was the reason.

The weird thing is that there is no such thing as a  typical Jew—as Jews, we only share a religion –Jews around the world we eat different foods, have different customs.

But we’re victims of stereotyping. Stereotyping is very dangerous, because in every stereotype is an element of truth: Jews have big noses, etc.. But stereotyping does not tell the entire truth.

Sami says that he is less idealistic than he was in earlier years. However, he says, he still believes that the next generation of youth can and should be taught about the past, in hopes that they can build a better world. He wants today’s youth to honor the people who suffered.

He pointed out that as a result of the Holocaust many Jews became involved in the American Civil Right’s Movement, the struggle against Apartheid , the disaster in Darfur and many other human rights struggles, helping to fight injustice wherever it may be.

We briefly discussed what Sami gets out of his many activities. He says that, like I derive from my writing, it gives him a sense of purpose, it’s therapeutic(“you don’t hink of yourself, helping others helps you get out of yourself”).

“Until 2 years ago, I never talked about the Holocaust. The course and the work thereafter helped change my life. Make-A-Wish also changed my life completely. I learned about other cultures and met people from all over the world.”

Sami recommends becoming involved in an activity you’re seriously interested in, something for which you have passion, something which you enjoy.

And so, the interview concluded…