Because he was born and raised in the Jewish faith, Jacob Gelder has read and heard stories about the Holocaust for most of his life.
Until recently Gelder, an Air Force Academy cadet, believed he had a clear understanding of the Nazi-led genocide attempt and its consequences. But last month, he and five other academy cadets got the opportunity to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland — an experience Gelder called “life-changing.”
“You can read about it, and study it, but to get the clearest picture of what it was actually like, you have to visit,” Gelder said.
The students were part of a cohort of 25 U.S. service academy cadets and midshipmen who participated in the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation’s American Service Academy Program, or ASAP. This marks the 20th anniversary of the program, which aims to teach future military leaders to apply the lessons of the Holocaust to modern-day ethical leadership.
“We view the midshipmen and cadets to be the best and brightest America has to offer, and they are our future leaders,” said Jack Simony, director-general of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation.
“Our mission is education, and ways in which to effectuate a better world and combat hate. We hope that if we can educate these cadets and midshipmen, they can pay it forward and effectuate a better future.”
The 16-day program began in Poland, where they learned about the prewar Jewish community, visited the former Krakow ghetto, took guided tours of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau, and helped maintain the Oswiecim Jewish cemetery.
“It was eye-opening,” said Curtis Jett, who will begin his junior year at the Air Force Academy in the fall.
“We saw where the prisoners were housed. We saw the belongings that were taken from them, the hair that was shaved from them. We saw the posts where they were hanged. I thought, ‘How could anybody stand by and watch this happen?’”
According to Simony, antisemitic rhetoric and policies laid the “path to hate” that eventually led to the systematic killing of 6 million Jewish people.
“When you look at Auschwitz and the other concentration camps, it’s beyond comprehension,” he said. “But you have to understand that Auschwitz is the end of the road of hate, not the beginning. It started, decades prior, with the dehumanization of a class of people.”
The second half of the ASAP itinerary took the students to New York City, where they visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage, met with Holocaust survivors, and visited the 9/11 Memorial.
The goal of the program, according to Simony, is to use the lessons of the past to help create thoughtful, ethical military leaders.
“By going over the decisions that were made 80 years ago, that led to the greatest mass atrocity in the world, you hope to use those lessons to identify, early, when you’re going in the wrong direction,” he said.
Even amid the horrific stories and visuals, Jett and Gelder said they saw things that restored their faith in humanity.
“We saw Oskar Schindler’s factory, where he protected more than 1,000 Jewish people,” Jett said. “We learned about the rescue of thousands of Jewish people in Denmark. Even when the worst evil is occurring, there are people who will stand up and do the right thing, even at risk to themselves.”
Gelder said the experience will make him more likely to speak out in the face of wrongdoing.
“It’s important to step up and say something when you see things that are not right,” Gelder said. “That’s what I will take away from the program. I think anyone who participates in this program would definitely benefit.”
Simony said he is consistently impressed with the cadets and midshipmen he meets.
“They are outstanding individuals,” he said. “They care about creating a better world and are seeking the best ways to do that. When I look at them, and I listen to them, I have tremendous faith in tomorrow.”
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