My family purchased four plots at Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery a few years ago. These are the forever homes of the souls buried in these sacred grounds. Many veterans of World War II fought to suppress the tyranny of Hitler’s regime, and many who are buried here paid the ultimate sacrifice.
This proposed Holocaust Memorial will have an emotional impact on families whose relatives are interred here and is already being felt by the townspeople. It is divisive in its current controversial form. This quote taken from the formal documents submitted by Dr. Lozman paints a vivid picture, “It will be a physical memorial designed to simulate the experience of a concentration camp. The memorial is intended to instill in visitors the feelings of stark existence and hopelessness experienced by the Jewish people during the Holocaust. …”
I agree with the sentiment that the tools of the oppressors shouldn’t be used to commemorate the victims. This should be a memorial that unites our town, not divides us. We’re the residents of the town of Niskayuna. We aren’t Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Protestants. We’re neighbors, friends and fellow townspeople.
We’re now being tasked with making a grand statement of the character of our community. Perhaps we should be asking: Do we want a memorial that divides us or one that brings us together and leaves a lasting legacy we all can be proud of?
Please write the town board members, clergy and the bishop with your concerns so we can keep this in the forefront until a decision we agree upon has been reached.
Tara Peterson
Niskayuna
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Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion
