Lest We Forget

My mother was born in Holland just weeks before the outbreak of war in 1940. As a child she spoke both English and Dutch. Her father, Jan, her aunt, Ina, her uncle, Gert, and the family doctor, Dr. De Groot, were all involved in the Resistance. Prior to that, her father was rode out to meet the German Army as a member of the mounted infantry and witnessed first hand (and with much disgust) as the Dutch cannons were quickly overpowered by German tanks.

I am, of course, half Jewish, thanks to my father. His family was in the USA already when war broke out and none of his immediate family was on active duty. But they had immigrated only a generation before from all the places under siege, and though I never had the chance to speak about the war with any of them, I am sure friends and family left behind suffered and died in battle and as victims of the Holocaust.

The summer of 1995, 50 years after liberation, my mother and I travelled to Holland to visit family. That summer was a drought and it was hot and dry and everywhere the normally verdant gardens and meadows were scorched and brown. On one day, we went with my mother's uncle to a small war cemetery not far from our family's home and abutting the German border. It's in one of the few hilly places in Holland. I had never visited a war grave before and although it was small, perhaps no more than 1000 graves, it was no less affecting. White headstones stretching out in carefully tended plots, cared for by school children, bearing crosses and stars of David and other symbols of faith. Most of the buried were Canadian soldiers. And there, just over the next hill, was Germany. It was deeply affecting and I carry still the memory of my outrage at the loss, the disrespect of human life, the utter insanity of the Nazi cause. Tears of rage coursed my cheeks as I screamed at the rolling hills beyond.

War and armed conflict are abhorant to me. If as much money were poured into diplomacy and peace-activities as is currently spent on war, I have no doubt this world would be a very different, better place. I am non-violent, which is not, by the way, the same as being a pacifist, but believe in standing up for one's beliefs and rights and in defense of that which is held dear. I could not imagine serving in Canada's armed forces, or any armed forces for that matter, although if it were a requirement of active citizenship, I probably would not oppose it. All that aside, regardless of whether or not I agree with the missions, I support the men and women who join and who are willing to fight. And I am grateful to the sacrifices of the past, the tremendous, bloody sacrifices men and women have made in defense of Canada, the world, and humanity.

Lest we forget.