Last night, I was struggling with a topic for this column. I could not believe that my mind was such a blank! My intent had been to write about something light and with little impact on the reader. My idea was to compose a pleasant little escape for the visitors to this page. With a tentative plan in mind to be worked on late in the night, I sat down to tape Steven Spielberg's historical Schindler's List.
 

Three and one-half hours later, writing a cheerful little piece was the last thing on my mind. My thoughts remained with Mr. Spielberg, Oscar Schindler and the millions of people slaughtered during the reign of the Nazi party. That staggering number included not only Jews but Poles, Czechs, Germans, Russians and anyone else who were considered nonessential or imperfect.
 

Twelve million is just a number. A number that signifies lost lives and includes members of my family that did not get out of Czechoslovakia in time to escape the horrors. In the face of so much destruction and pure evil, Oscar Schindler's story is truly unique. How many people would have survived had that not been the case?
 

I do not intend or know how to retell the sad facts of what transpired more than fifty years ago. My wish is that every person who reads this article: Go to a video store and rent Schindler's List to see for themselves one example of the nightmare that all of humanity suffered. Go to a library and borrow books that relate to that period in our history. Access the vast number of documents available on the World Wide Web just by typing a few simple words such as 'Holocaust' or 'Simon Weisenthal' or 'Survivors of the SHOA' into your favorite search engine. Visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. or Miami or anywhere that there is an exhibit and take your children with you. Only through keeping the memory alive can we not make the same mistakes.
 

Too many of us look at the past as a unique and naive period in time. For the millions born since the end of World War II, this is just another retelling of a story that probably will not effect much impact. We think that we are so savvy that nothing like that can get by us. Well, wake up and smell the poison! It is happening in great proportions all over the world. The target may not always be the same and the reasons may vary but it is becoming ever more prevalent. Spending twenty minutes viewing CNN will prove this beyond any doubt. Every individual has the power of an Oscar Schindler to save lives. Our weapons are knowledge and the ability to look at the past and learn. The benefits are immense.
 

If my suggestions and writings bother you, then I have accomplished something worthwhile. Those who survived the death camps to tell their stories have found it within themselves to forgive and not forget. Let's not permit the last of those survivors to pass on and their stories die with them.