A Morning in Dusetos

Today, we traveled to Dusetos with the mayor of Antaliepe to meet a lady named Maria who witnessed the events of the Holocaust in her backyard. We had the honor to witness the retelling of her story, specifically in the context of her town and how it was shaped by the Jewish community prior to World War II. Around ninety percent of the town had been Jews before being murdered, which estimates to over five hundred people, which shows how even the most quaint and small community in the heart of the Lithuanian countryside was not immune to the evil sweeping across Europe. She told of how neighbors turned in neighbors, which meant their deaths. As we walked from the art gallery to the town square, Maria pointed out different houses and buildings that had once belonged to Jews. Now, there is little to no active Jewish life still present in Dusetos.
After our walk, we met the principal of the local school. He took us inside and we were welcomed into a classroom filled with students. Each of the Xavier students had brought gifts from their respective hometowns to present to the school. Rabbi Abie spoke in front of the class about his connection to the Holocaust and the importance of begetting evil from our hearts. Love is much stronger than a leaf blowing on a winters wind because wherever it settles, hopefully it will find a new place to call home or to start over. For many Jewish people, they did not get the choice to live. That fate was chosen for them. Rabbi's story of his parents was very impactful because "God gave me two eyes, two legs, two arms. If he gave me two hearts, I could love with one and hate with the other. But he only gave me one, so you have to make the choice to hate or to love."
That is a choice we all have to make someday- to be consumed by a quest of rage and hatred, or to embrace the humanity and celebrate our differences. It is not rocket science.
-Lauren Dencker