Apr. 29, 2003 - 21:30 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Parallel

This is gleaned from a long article in the Rocky Mountain News of April 29, 2003

About fifty eight years ago the prisoners at Dachau concentration camp were liberated. Retired Brig. Gen. Felix Sparks, who was then a Lt. Col. was given the order, "To proceed immediately to the concentration camp at Dachau. Once inside, you are to secure it and let nobody in or out."

By the end of April 1945 27 year old Lt. Col. Felix Sparks and the 157th Infantry Regiment had slogged through thousands of miles, all the way from North Africa. At the end of the war the 157th had spent more time in combat than almost any other unit.

On the afternoon of April 29, 1945 Sparks and his men smelled death. Then it glared back at them, from boxcars filled with bodies.

Those prisoners still alive in the camp were mere skeletons

Retired ex Brig. Gen Sparks exchanged words and looked at pictures of that time, at his home in Lakewood, Colorado with Jack Goldman one of the prisoners liberated by Sparks. He was known to the Nazis by 69970 which is still the number tattooed on his arm.

Over the years I have seen many pictures, many film clips some of which were taken by Nazis of the atrocities committed on the Jews and others in Germany.

Those folks are gradually dying off as are those of us here who can say that, "It really happened." There are groups who try to say that it didn't happen. When we die all that will be left are the film clips and pictures which will probably be destroyed, lost or stolen by those who try to say it never happened.

My Diary is titled the Wondering Jew, the Jew part concerns the few drops of unacknowledged Jewish blood in my veins (of which I am proud to possess). But the "Wondering" part of the title says what I am, always wondering, wondering why, wondering how things could happen the way they do. Wondering why so many of the people of the world don't get near enough to eat, don't have decent water, don't have reasonable shelter, don't dare speak out. Wondering why slavery still exists. Wondering about so many things. Searching for answers that could possibly solve some of them and realizing that some of the very same problems exist in our own country today.

Yes those things happened and our humans were on the moon, some died on the shuttle recently coming down from the space station. Wonder how soon someone will claim that is all hocus pocus - faked.

There is a short editorial in todays paper, titled "U.S. can't just throw away the key." It discusses the fact that people are being detained by Ashcroft's orders who should rightfully be dealt with by immigration and if illegal should be deported rather than being held indefinitely in detention.

The following words mean the world to me. In the article it mentions, "The Constitution says no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.

"Some argue that the Founding Fathers never anticipated the war on terrorism and such issues as illegal immigration. Maybe so, but they had a lot of experience with arbitrary use of government authority. The government has every right to deport illegal immigrants, but if it's going to detain them for any lengthy period, it has to accord them certain rights."

It seems to me that the movers and shakers in the government establishment are trying to deprive us of even our basic civil rights. Are they still waving the "fright flag," of terrorism ? They are still trying to extend the Patriot Act to be even more stringent than ever, it looks like to me we are in deep doo doo and just haven't got the smell in our snouts yet.

In my heart and soul I fear that there could be here a Parallel . . . . . . . . .

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