JAKARTA - The riots that took place on Capitol Hill, Washington DC, United States on January 6 have received criticism from various circles in the world. One of them is Bill Harvey, a 96-year-old survivor of the Nazi-owned Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland.
On the eve of the 76th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation which falls every January 27, Bill is furious that there are still anti-Semitists, people who carry the Nazi symbol. Yes, the symbol and appearance were carried by supporters of Donald Trump while making a mess on Capitol Hill.
"I never thought I would live in this country and witness something like that. It's very, very sad," he told Reuters.
Harvey, who was interviewed by Zoom from his home in Los Angeles expressed concern that the lessons that should be drawn from the Nazi Holocaust in World War Two are fading.
The Nazis and their allies killed an estimated 6 million Jews, as well as others, in German-occupied Europe. More than one million people, most of whom were Jews, were killed in Auschwitz, southern Poland, which was liberated by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945.
Harvey said he lost 37 members of his family in Auschwitz, including his mother and father.
"It's incredible how much hate we are experiencing right now, so I'm very sad and disappointed," he added.
He said the attacks on Capitol Hill in Washington reminded him of the misinformation and propaganda that accompanied the Nazi rise in pre-war Germany.
After the war, said Harvey, he never expected to see the swastika again.
"None of the symbols really represent what we experience every day," added Harvey, who has spent the last few years teaching high schools, prisons and museums about his wartime experiences.
The images have also shocked people like Michele Gold, who runs the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles, whose mother is a Holocaust survivor.
"When we ponder back on January 6. It was terrible," Gold said in an interview with Reuters.
"That's not a tipping point, but I think it's a very powerful reminder of what can happen if education, memory and history get out of hand." he recalled bitterly.
Gold paid particular attention to the T-shirt with the words 'Camp Auschwitz' on the front and 'stick' on the back, which was worn by a rioter.
"We never want Holocaust history to be a footnote in history books. We need to talk about the Holocaust, we need to teach about the Holocaust because this is the most effective way to fight anti-Semitism and racism in all its forms. And it has never been more important," he added.
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