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Members of the KMC gathered at the Ramstein Community Center April 12 to attend the Holocaust Day of Remembrance event.
“We must always remember the past and learn from its mistakes to create to a better present and future for ourselves and our children,” said Chaplain (Capt.) Gary Davidson, 86th Airlift Wing. “The Holocaust in my opinion is one of the darkest chapters in human history and there are a lot of lessons we need to learn from to build a better life.”
The event started with a violin solo, performed by Alexandra Panchina, and Airman 1st Class Lawrence Laryea, 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron material manager, read a poem about the Holocaust.
Marianne von Hagen-Baralt spoke about her grandfather’s cousin, Albrecht von Hagen, who assisted with the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and her experience growing up in post-war Germany.
Von Hagen was assigned to the Africa campaign during World War II, where he got to know Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg. They discovered they had mutual feelings for the fate of Germany’s future and joined the resistance movement against the Nazis.
“(Von Hagen) was the courier between the locations where he retrieved the explosives (to who needed it),” said Hagen-Baralt. “(Von Hagen) was sentenced to death and hanged on Aug. 8, 1944, for his involvement (in the assassination attempt on Hitler.)”
Von Hagen’s explosives were used during Operation Valkerie, the most successful attempt on Hitler’s life, during a meeting at the secret military headquarters, known as The Wolf’s Lair.
“(Marianne von Hagen-Baralt’s) relatives were involved in fighting against Hitler and those who supported him,” Davidson said. “Today, we heard from her how important it is to defend justice and freedom, and she wants to pass the lesson on of peace and tolerance to the next generation just as I do.”
