Holocaust Remembrance

I spent some time today not examining applications. From 11:30 until about 1:00 PM, I live-streamed a government event in another building (this was not specific to the Patent Office), in which two elderly survivors of the Holocaust, Dr. Hans Fisher and Judge Thomas Buergenthal, were interviewed about their experiences; I may write more about that at some point. At the end, when the interviewer asked about lessons learned, Judge Buergenthal said to work for a better world, where such things don’t happen. Dr. Fisher said to stand up and be brave; even the worst criminals can respect that, as Judge Buergenthal had said in the course of recounting some of his experiences. Also, learn languages, which can be useful. (As a child, Buergenthal survived partly by knowing both German and Polish.)

Hearing Judge Buergenthal’s words, I thought of the Rohingya, and the situation in Yemen. If we are to build a world where such things cannot happen, we have a long way to go.