By Kathy Lynch
Over the past week, I have received numerous e-mails, text messages, voice mails and even a poke on my Facebook. To what do I owe all this extra attention? People were upset about an advertisement placed in The Louisville Cardinal by someone attempting to disprove the atrocities of Auschwitz and other concentration camps.
I would like to take a moment of your time to explain that first of all, as editor, I saw the ad the same time you, our readers, did. Although this individual wanted to run the ad again, it was up to me to make the decision of whether or not it would. I decided without hesitation to pull the ad; it will not run again.
Second, let me explain how the paper works. The Cardinal is broken into two groups, the editorial side and the advertising side. This paper is an independent student newspaper, a non-profit organization that makes all its income via ad sales. Those of us on the editorial side do not have anything to do with the ad sales part. Although, I am sure when this particular ad was purchased, our ad people were under the assumption it was a legitimate request for assistance in a research project, which we get all the time.
And finally, I would like to apologize to anyone who was offended by the ad in question. As the niece of one of the first American troops to enter Auschwitz; I have heard personal accounts of the mayhem committed against an entire race. The genocide has left a scar on mankind, which will never fade. It is important for us not to forget what happened; I know when my uncle thinks back to entering the camp, he becomes emotional. This man, larger than life, the monarch of our large family, cannot escape the memories of what he saw that day.
I am not Jewish; I did not lose anyone in those camps. But I know it happened. The heartrending and hopelessness I sensed through my uncle’s words of the carnage and destruction of human life he and the other troops found left a profound imprint on his soul. But, even as the proud soldier he is, my uncle donated the medals he was awarded to the Patton Museum in Ft. Knox. I have always thought he did not need medals to remind him of that war, or what he experienced during it.
This individual who placed the ad, offered to buy a beer for anyone who can find the evidence he is looking for to disprove this event. I would like to see him spend 10 minutes with my uncle; he would need more than a beer.
Setting Things Straight:
For as long as I can remember, hearing stories about the war and my uncles experiences during it; I have always thought it was Auschwitz he was speaking of. After a phone call and catching up on the family, it came to light that I was incorrect. It was the “Dachau” concentration camp. For that, I apologize. Everything else was as I wrote. The horrors witnessed and the memories stashed away could be similar for any soldier, no matter which concentration camp (of the many) that was entered.
Kathy Lynch
