How do I respond to the Horrific Reality of the Holocaust

How should churches and Christians respond the horrific reality of the Holocaust?

"Silence is golden." This is an old cliche we have all used, usually when we are babysitting a rambunctious toddler. Unfortunately, silence is not always golden and sometimes it can kill . . . even kill millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.

And the greatest crime of Christian churches during World War II, as it relates to the Holocaust, was an almost worldwide silence. In 1938, the S. S. St. Louis attempted to dock in New York with 938 Jewish refugees from Germany on board. The president and the Christian church in America turned their back on these desperate individuals fleeing from a madman and they were forced to return to Europe. While a few survived because there were granted entrance into England, most relocated to Holland and the Netherlands and were swallowed up in the evils of Nazism. In fact, 95% of the passengers of the S. S. St. Louis did not survive the war.

Therefore, Christian churches must both acknowledge and seek forgiveness from the Jewish people for the silence and the apathy which were the primary ingredients for the demise of 2/3 of the Jewish population in Europe. If the church in Germany had stood up in 1933 and said no to the machinations of a madman, Hitler would have been a 90-day wonder and a mere footnote in history. But the church in Germany for the most part did nothing to stop the deaths of millions. And for this shame, they (and we) will have to answer.

Obviously there were exceptions to the silence - Corrie ten Boom, the nation of Denmark and Dietrich Bonhoeffer fought against the silence. But there were far too many "Christians" who did nothing and pretended to see nothing even while their neighbors and friends disappeared forever.

And I personally believe that genuine contrition, while standing firm on our belief that Jesus is the only way to God, might be one of the first steps to reaching the Jewish people with the Gospel. For they must first see our hearts to know that we care about their souls.