On March 31st 2009, members of Chesapeake High School went to Coal Grove, Ohio, to hear the story of Charles Stein, a survivor of the Holocaust and World War II. After surviving a genocide, Mr. Stein came to America and fought for the United States in World War II.
World War II is often thought as the start of the second great "wave" in globalization. (World Bank) The war increased demand for weapons and metal, allowing some economies to soar. After the war, agreements and treaties, such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs, opened the borders of previously isolated countries. (American Foreign Relations) Agreements between countries, who during the war were enemies, established low taxes on imported items, free trade zones, and global recognition of patent and trade laws. Institutions, such as the World Trade Organization, were started to help govern trade between countries, and as a result, globalization flourished in countries still scarred from battle.
Although trade agreements originated from the war, that does not make the war justified; it was horrific. Events from World War II are burned into the eyes of the survivors; and the memories of the men and women who died for their countries will never be forgotten. It is important to understand what happened during the war, because these injustices can still happen today. Happening right now, in Darfur, a country not too far from home, is a genocide, the likes of which have not been seen since World War II. Countless innocent men and women have been killed in the name of a pointless political conflict. Become informed: read more about the Genocide in Darfur.
Mr. Stein survived a genocide, (although his family did not), and came to America to fight for our great country. He said it is important for us to stand up for the rights of people we have never met, seen, or, until now, knew existed. He gave a moving quote from Pastor Martin Niemoller, an ordained pastor.
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
-Martin Niemoller, 1945
Mr. Stein talks to students from Chesapeake High School about his experiences from World War II.
Plugin error: That plugin is not available.
To learn more about the event, please read the news articles published in the Ironton Tribune and in the Herald Dispatch.
For more about Mr. Stein's story, visit his webpage on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's website.