On January 25th, JLSA hosted Danny Goldsmith (née Daniel Goldsmidt) at the law school for an event, Lunch with Holocaust Survivor Danny Goldsmith, in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Friday Jan 27th and sponsored by the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA). Participants learned about the importance of these events which happened in a survivors’ lifetime.
Ari Goldstein, who introduced the speaker, urges us to consider how the law profession is intimately involved in the Holocaust, reminding us that some actions of these horrific events were legally acceptable at the time: “As we listen to Danny today, and as we commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz on Friday, we do so not in the abstract but as law students: apprentices of a profession that was intimately involved in the Holocaust. Remember that the worst abuses of Nazism were perfectly legal under German law.”
Danny Goldsmith offered us his story, for which we are grateful. He’s taken part of the Shoah Foundation, where anyone can hear about these challenging stories from survivors. We can also learn more via the Holocaust Awareness Museum.
In closing, Danny encouraged us to, “Become righteous human beings who refuse to be indifferent when you see something wrong… counter the revisionists…” He reminded us that it is important that we talk about and act against evil, intolerance, anti-semitism, prejudice, and hate.