Remember Us Quotes

“In the preceding pages, to paraphrase the words of Auschwitz survivor, writer, and Nobel Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, we share Martin Small’s personal journey not so that you will understand but so that you will know you can never understand.”
― Martin Small, Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust

“In Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel, there is a term reserved for such people as Tamara—the Righteous Among the Nations—Christians who practiced the true spirit of their teachings and became Messiahs in their own right.They were saviors who reached out to their fellow human beings because they never lost a sense of morality, dignity, or compassion. Selfless acts of humanity were in short supply, but those of us who survived will forever remember them.”
― Martin Small, Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust

“He told me that Maitchet was where his family was; he couldn’t think about leaving his mother, father, cousins, brothers, aunts, and uncles. For generations we had built a life here. Papa learned from his own father that family was more important than anything; without a family, life had no purpose. So that was that.”
― Martin Small, Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust

“This last war had sobered us to certain realities. The Holocaust, if nothing else, taught us that we could never again allow others to define for us who we are. The Jewish people would at long last create an image built on strength, resolve, respect, and self-determination. For as long as we stayed in Europe, living in DP camps, refused entrance to nations all over the world, and living without dignity, we would remain Hitler’s victims. We were tired of being victims and survivors.We wanted to be creators and contributors, fathers and mothers. I”
― Martin Small, Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust

“God bless the American soldiers. May history never forget them or what they went through.”
― Martin Small, Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust

“The German said in a soft, almost loving tone, “You want your mommy? You see that smoke coming out over there? There’s your mommy. She’ll be coming out any minute.” In the next instance, and I can still see this in my mind as it has played over and over since that day, the German pulled out his revolver and shot the little girl in the head.”
― Martin Small, Remember Us: My Journey from the Shtetl Through the Holocaust