The first newspaper article John was paid to write:

Holocaust Memorial Committee Plans...

"The Voice Of Your Brother's Blood Cries Out To Me." Genesis 4:10

Long Beach--That the Holocaust was real, that millions of people were killed and that it must not be forgotten was the message expressed by the by the Holocaust Memorial Committee of Long Beach at their monthly meeting Wed., Aug. 25.

Speaking in the Allard K. Lowenstein Library before a large audience which included Senator Carol Berman, Assemblyman Arthur J/ Kremer and many other religious and political leaders, Dr., Stanley Robbin, the group's chairman, said, "The Holocaust can never be forgotten. It has to be taught as a historical fact in the formal curriculum of public, parochial and private schools."

These remarks were part of a four point plan the committee has adopted to insure that the tragedy of the Holocaust not be forgotten by future generations. The plan also includes the establishment of scholarships for students at all grade levels to study and research the Holocaust; creating a modern museum to exhibit memorabilia, letters and art work works from the period and erecting a monument to the victims as a perpetual reminder of this brutal era.

The committee is also planning a huge rally to be held Sunday, Oct. 24. "U.S. Senator Al D'Amato has agreed to be the keynote speaker there," said Bd member Joseph King. The rally is titled "Mobilization for Humanity and Religious Understanding."\In addition to Senator D'Amato, Father Tom Donohue of St. Mary of the Isle Church will also speak at the rally. There will be choral groups from St. Ignatius Church, Temple Beth Shalom and the Christian Light Baptist Church.

The importance of teaching the Holocaust in our schools, both private and public was stressed by Board Member Matthew McCarthy, a NYC High School teacher, who noted the ignorance of many of our young people about this tragic era in history. He cited a Westbury man whose 16-year old son was arrested for desecrating a synagogue. The father said, "My son didn't know what a swastika really meant."

It is because of incidents like this that "We can't let students get out of high school without knowledge about the Holocaust., "McCarthy continued. He explained that "The chief difficulty in getting teachers to cover the Holocaust for any length of time that it is not asked about on the Regents an the teachers are reluctant to spend class time on a subject on which their students will not be tested."

Assemblyman Kremer said "We cannot let future generations pass this way without knowing what the Holocaust was." He also said he would  "speak to the Regents Commission to see what couold be done about putting Holocaust questions on the Regents Exam."

Senator Berman, in her talk, said, "I congratulate Dr. Robbin and all of the Holocaust Memorial Committee, and would like to say that in a lifetime every one of us will look back and say that joining this group was the sing most important thing I did."

Bd member Robert Link reminded the audience of the need for money to achieve the goal which had been outlined at the meeting. He called the committee members who who were present the "backbone" of the project, and reminded them that the Holocaust is "everybody's problem."

Dr. Robbin expanded on this final point, saying "All men should be brothers." He explained that in addition to the 6 million Jews, who perished in the death camps, many other non-Jews were put to death or gave their lives trying to save innocent people.

Dr Robbin likened the work of the committee to an immunization. "The best way of preventing disease." he said, "is in the form of vaccine. The Holocaust was the vaccine against anti-Semitism, and it was working for a good number of years. Continuous revaccination in the form of reminding the people of the story of the Holocaust is necessary to immunize the new generation, and thus eradicate this scorch of humanity, ANTI-SEMITISM."

by John D'Angelo