Review: Anne Frank: Paraellel Stories

I may look as Celtic-American as we come, but half my genes are Ashkenazi Jewish. 

Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, small nose.  Still 50 percent Ashkenazi Jewish. Their story is my story: the horrors of the Hitler Regime are branded in my DNA. Photos by Brian L.

Last night I viewed a new documentary on Netflix entitled Anne Frank: Parallel Stories. This well-done, beautiful yet haunting film shares with viewers the stories of several women who survived the Holocaust. At the time the subjects of this film were arrested & imprisoned by Nazis for the " crime" of being Jewish, they were around the age of Anne Frank. 

These women are survivors of one of the most evil crimes against humanity. Somehow, they endured the horrors they suffered at the hands of the Nazis and grew up to marry and produce children. One woman's grandson is interviewed, and he explains why he has his grandmother's ID number from the camp tattooed on his own forearm 

The movie, although painful at times to watch, reminds me of why I am called to work for racial equity for our Black neighbors. While the stories of Black Americans and Americans with Jewish DNA { I'm Christian , but my DNA  of my Mom's side of my family is Ashkenazi} differ greatly, all hateful acts against " others" or people " not like us" { German or White Anglo-Saxon Protestants} 

Clearly someone with my coloring has no clue what Black people face daily-- or what Black people have faced in the past four centuries. But, in spite of my " Aryan"{ and I really despise that term} features & Christian religion, I am of Jewish descent. 

In this documentary, one woman talked about how her entire family was arrested for the " crime" of  a " mixed race" family.  Nazis did not consider Jews as White { Ridiculous, no?} I am the daughter of an interfaith/ multiethnic parents. Had we { my parents, my younger brother and myself} been a family in Europe during this reign of terror we would have been deported . 

Pure accident of time & place of birth saved my family from the Nazis. 

People who, through another accident of birth, are not part of a minority ethnic group or darker skin color can learn much about how easy it is for one person or ideology to quickly become a means for a murderous rampage of " others". 

Just look to our own history with Black and First Nations people, What was done to the European Jews by Hitler and the Nazis was also done to First Nations tribes in our own nation. I'm really not at liberty to speak for Native Americans, but my own experience with my own minority status is part of why I have been active in racial reconciliation in my own community. 

I, along with other Americas of Jewish heritage, carry our own collective stories of cruelty at the hands of a ruling class in Europe. The Holocaust is real, and the stories of the survivors is woven into my very DNA. It is a big reason that drives me to work for peace, reconciliation  & understanding of the plight of Black and Brown Americans. 

It is my opinion that anyone who is interested in racial reconciliation work view this film. these women 's stories will show anyone not familiar with the horrors of the Holocaust exactly how depraved humans can act. 

Proudly " Mixed" , 

~Sarah