January 27, 1945 is acknowledged as the official beginning of the end of the Nazi Holocaust. International Holocaust Remembrance Day annually correlates with the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration-death camps.

More than seven decades after the horrific era known as the Holocaust, the debate is ongoing. How could such an atrocity occur in civilized modern society?

Fingers justly point at Hitler’s Nazi regime. The vast majority in the faith community, however, chose to ignore the most basic of biblical principles. When you see evil, do something about it (Job 29:17).

Here’s What Happened When People Ignored The Evil

In March 1939, everything changed for Jewish people. Hitler was responsible for lighting the fuse that ignited World War II. I heard Holocaust survivor share his experience firsthand.

Nazi soldiers were everywhere and Nazi propaganda constantly blared from loudspeakers. Military convoys and troops streamed through his village as Hitler carried out his expansionist ambitions.

The development of these activities alone was troubling. Even more disturbing, the elderly man spoke of the rapid and fundamental change in attitude toward the Jewish population of Czechoslovakia.

Until the Nazi occupation, his family had many Christian friends. His childhood buddies and schoolmates were Christians. His father had Christian colleagues, clients and employees. His family socially mingled with Christian neighbors.

Overnight, the community including long-time Christian friends abandoned them. Approximately 263,000 Czechoslovakian Jews died in the infamous Nazi concentration-extermination camps of Theresienstadt, Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

When you read historical accounts, the speed that latent anti-Semitism surfaced and pervaded Europe can easily be missed. In his soft-spoken manner, what the Holocaust survivor conveyed was like a lightning bolt that shocked me to the core.

The environment in Europe prior to World War II teaches that attitudes toward the Jewish people can change overnight. When Jewish families were herded into ghettos and deported to death camps, few Christians came to their aid.

The tragic reality is that when Hitler targeted the Jewish people, the faith community covered their eyes while plugging their noses to the stench of the cremation ovens. That the Nazis were obsessed with record keeping and marked victims with correlating tattoos is proof, however, that the Holocaust is historical fact revisionists cannot erase.

Remembering The Evil Is A Choice

Our view of the Holocaust must be clear. And, Bible-believing Christians must be willing to see what is happening in culture today so that we can act on conviction to confront Jew-hatred. The Old Testament provides a stellar example in the testimony of Job who had no problem identifying the evil around him.

“I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth” (29:16b-17).

Job’s response is a template for confronting evil in society. He paints a graphic word picture that is timeless. We must to do all in our power to aid God’s Chosen People who are not just the victims of anti-Semitic lies, but a campaign of misinformation that dares to deny the historical facts of the Holocaust.

Every January 27, we remember the atrocities of the Holocaust to affirm our resolve to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people. We remember because we can never forget. For biblically authentic Christians, a solid grasp of God’s Word leaves no other choice (Gen. 12:3).

IMAGES:
1) Child survivors of Auschwitz (1945). (Photo credit: By Alexander Voronzow and others in his group, ordered by Mikhael Oschurkow, head of the photography unit./[Public domain]/Wikimedia Commons/Enhancement, MKM Portfolios).
2) “We Remember” montage (Memorial Ceremony at the Raoul Wallenberg square in Stockholm with Holocaust survivors. 27 January 2013, International Holocaust Remembrance Day.) (Photo credits: By Frankie Fouganthin/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0/Enhancement, MKM Portfolios)

Copyright © 2018 Charles E. McCracken, comments only. Repost/Reprint with permission. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Charles E. McCracken is an international Bible teacher, long-time friend of Israel and advocate for the Jewish people. Rev. McCracken authentically communicates biblical truth making his presentations relevant for those seeking to understand the significance of Israel and the church in Bible prophecy. He staunchly supports the nation of Israel and the Jewish people’s right to exist and live in peace.