Elie Wiesel’s insistence that we never forget the Holocaust

To the editor: To we whose immigrant relatives barely survived the Nazi nightmare, the late Elie Wiesel’s tales of the barbaric horror of daily life reminds me of my late grandmother’s words, “You simply cannot imagine what we endured.” (“Elie Wiesel dies at 87; Nobel Peace Prize laureate and renowned Holocaust survivor,” July 2)

My grandfather used to say, “Memories not shared are history lost forever.” I believe it is the obligation of we whose very lives are owed to these remarkable European survivors of the darkest days of mankind to speak of their experiences.

I am the son of a former Berliner who is now 91. My mother survived on bread made with 40% sawdust and saw others incinerated alive. She received a death sentence by hanging that was never carried out and sang at Easter service in April 1945 with a gun aimed at her head.

Wiesel was so right that preserving and sharing our experiences is a sacred duty. We must to not let complacency allow us to forget.

Craig Carr, West Hills

..

To the editor: No doubt, Wiesel survived the Holocaust for a reason — to raise awareness — in efforts to stamp out any lingering sentiments of intolerance, including anti-Semitism, hatred and bigotry.

But after making it his life’s mission, who now will carry the torch?

JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater, Fla.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook