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Human Duty

Miep Gies

Amsterdam, 1942. The German occupation of Holland has commenced. The Nazi Gestapo oversees the deportation of Dutch Jews to concentration camps continuing implementation of the Final Solution. Hidden in an office annex, behind a secret door, eight desperate individuals seek to avoid capture by the Nazis. One brave young girl, Anne, chronicles the details of their confinement in a diary.

The world will always remember Anne Frank and her diary as a story of hope during the dark days of the Nazi rule. Still, this story may have never been shared if it were not for the courageous actions of one woman, Miep Gies. Gies had worked for many years for Anne’s father, Otto Frank. When his eldest daughter, Margot, received orders to report to a force-labor camp, Frank appealed to Gies for help. He had plans to hide his family, but he needed someone who could be trusted to bring them food and give them news of the outside world. Without hesitation, Gies made the decision to help the Franks and fight against the racist Nazi regime.

In her own words, Gies agreed to help the Franks, because she “was extremely concerned about (Frank) and his family”. By this time during the war, the Nazi Anti-Semitic policies were being ruthlessly enforced in local communities. Additionally, most Europeans were aware that the Nazis had established labor camps for prisoners of war across Europe. Within the occupied territories, there were whispers that the Nazi labor camps were in fact extermination camps as people who were deported simply disappeared. Geis recalled that, “Every day (she) saw trucks heading for the railway station, from where the train left for the camps. Nobody ever heard from them again…” Despite the oppressive nature of the Nazi regime, some sought ways to resist. Some, like Gies, made a decision to fight. Gies simply could not allow the Franks to disappear without a trace.

Gies risked helping the Franks, because it was the right thing to do and because she “saw no alternative”. At the time, she claimed she could “foresee many sleepless nights and an unhappy life” if she refused to act. For her, such a refusal would have led to “permanent remorse” having “fail(ed) to do (her) human duty”. Moreover, she believed this failure would have been “worse than losing her life”. Beyond solely helping her fellow man, Gies’s selfless decision to aid the Franks saved her from a lifetime of regret.

Ultimately, Gies was unable to save the Franks from the Nazis as their hiding place was discovered. The Gestapo ransacked the secret annex, and all of its inhabitants were sent to the labor camps. When Gies returned to the annex to assess what remained, she collected the pages of Anne’s diary. She kept the diary safe throughout the remainder of the war. At the war’s end, Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the Frank family, returned to Amsterdam. Upon being reunited with Gies, she shared with him his daughter’s diary. Frank made the decision to publish it contents, and the diary continues to be a source of inspiration for millions. Without Gies's heroic actions, Anne’s story may have never been told.

Gies serves as a role model for us all. Through her actions, she taught us the importance of standing up for others. She taught us that one cannot live in fear. She taught us that we must always strive to do that which we know to be right. People are worth fighting for. Justice is worth fighting for. Honor is worth fighting for.

Miep Gies died in January 2010 having lived 100 years.

"The Lorax"

Revisit the childhood favorite, "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss.  What is the Lorax telling its audience to fight for?

Somalian Plight

"August 29, 2011. Refugees in Hagadera, Kenya, scramble to load their belongings onto trucks that will relocate them to a newly opened camp near Nairobi. About a thousand new refugees fleeing famine in Somalia continue to pour into Kenya each day."

Time magazine posts what they deem to be the best inspirational photos from around the world each week. This photo showcases the plight of the Somalians. Every day, thousands of Somalians fight to survive another day, the famine forcing them to leave their homeland behind hoping to find help. Read more to understand the severity of Somalia's famine in the article, "UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle."

"I Dream a World"

Art by Wassily Kandinsky 1909

"I Dream a World" by Langston Hughes

I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom's way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind-
Of such I dream, my world!

Growing up in a society where all was not equal, James Langston Hughes, fought back with his words.  In this poem, renowned African American poet, writes of a utopian world.  Read his poem to discover what Hughes believed was worth fighting for in his 'dream world'.

"Is life a thorn or a flower?"

"Ms Ghimire has published four volumes of poetry, two books of short stories and many newspaper columns."

 

 

 

Thomas Bell, BBC journalist, writes that "a young woman with cerebral palsy, whose only way of communicating is by writing with her foot, has won Nepal's most prestigious literary prize."  Jhamak Kumari Ghimire has spent a lifetime fighting for her right to life and education as a result of being born with a disability in a poor village.  Read the article "Nepal's prize winning poet with cerebral palsy" to be inspired by Ms. Ghimire's journey of determination to achieve her dreams.

Imagine - A Perfect World

"In Utopia, where every man has a right to everything, they all know that if care is taken to keep the public stores full, no private man can want anything; for among them there is no unequal distribution, so that no man is poor, none in necessity; and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich; for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene and cheerful life, free from anxieties."

THOMAS MORE, Utopia

It was all the way back in 1516 that Sir Thomas More was dreaming of a society that would be perfect for all - no person left wanting for anything.  Of course, I believe, although most societies have tried (and keep trying) to reach this ideal, nobody has gotten it quite right.  This means we need to continue to strive for a perfect world because there is no point in living and working together if we don't have an ideal we want to reach.

If I were to create a new society, the one characteristic I most hope this society would have is the establishment of good institutions.  I think it is important to have strong norms and laws in place that are good for everyone in the society.  I want these laws and norms to allow all people to live in peace.  Inside this realm of maintaining a peaceful and safe community, I want members to have the right to all freedoms.

In this society, people will be allowed to question and have a say in all decisions.  I also want there to be laws in place that insure justice is carried out in a very careful and equal manner, so that anyone who wants to cause harm to the society will be detained humanely.  It is of utmost importance that the institutions established have the ultimate goal of peace, safety, equality, and goodwill for all of its members.  

Just imagine a world like this.  

Can you?

...Imagine all the people
Living life in peace                                    

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one 

                      -John Lennon, Imagine