In solemn commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) are honored to share this message from long-time MRFF supporter Walter Plywaski, a truly heroic and stalwart survivor of one of the most horrifying events in the history of mankind: the Nazi holocaust. You can learn more about Walter in this video.
The rapid rise and consolidation of Nazism was partially expedited by existing ties between church and state — in this case, the German state’s tax-supported subsidization of the Catholic and Protestant church. This relationship resulted in collusion between sections of the clergy and the Third Reich, which demanded loyalty from religious leaders who were obligated to either support the government, remain silent, or be cut off from state funding. While the Nazi regime’s relationship with the church was contradictory, the deeply-rooted theological anti-Semitism of the church played no small role in enabling hideous Nazi atrocities, as James Carroll notes in his book and documentary, both of which are entitled “Constantine’s Sword.” Additionally, let us remember how the Nazi military carried out their unholy mission under the Prussian slogan Gott mit uns ("God with us").
As we continue MRFF’s fight to safeguard the Constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, let’s take heed of the lessons offered by Mr. Plywaski, as well as all those who have tragically perished due to hateful prejudice, state-sanctioned bigotry, and ethnic/religious oppression.
Mikey Weinstein, Founder and President, Military Religious Freedom Foundation
On January 27, 1945, the Soviet army entered Auschwitz and liberated more than 7,000 remaining prisoners, who were mostly ill and dying. It is estimated that at minimum 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945; of these, at least 1.1 million were murdered.
- U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, “The Liberation of Auschwitz”
Please keep in mind that the rest of much more than 10 million people cold-bloodedly slaughtered by starvation, beatings and point-blank bullets. This took place in the 20,000 to 30,000 concentration camps (several being purely slaughterhouses for people) throughout Germany at the end of World War II.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an international memorial day on 27 January commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. It commemorates the genocide that resulted in the death of an estimated 6 million Jews, 1 million Roma, 250,000 mentally and physically disabled people, and 9,000 homosexual men by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.
Please be kind and joyful with the life you are living now.
- Walter Plywaski (Wladyslaw Plywacki), long-time MRFF supporter, ex inmate of Lodz ghetto, Auschwitz and Dachau
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is up against well-funded extremist religious organizations. Your donations allow us to continue our fight in the courts and in the media to fight for separation of church and state in the U.S. military. Please make a fully tax-deductible donation today at helpbuildthewall.org.
Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein, Esq. is founder and president of the 7-time Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), an honor graduate of the Air Force Academy, and a former J.A.G. in the U.S. Air Force. He served as a White House counsel in the Reagan Administration and as the Committee Management Officer of the "Iran-Contra" Investigation. He is also the former General Counsel to H. Ross Perot and Perot Systems Corporation. His two sons, daughter-in-law, son-in law, and brother-in-law are also graduates of USAFA. In December 2012, Defense News named Mikey one of the 100 Most Influential People in U.S. Defense. He is the author of "With God On Our Side" (2006, St. Martin's Press) and "No Snowflake in an Avalanche" (2012, Vireo).