2006年VOA标准英语-Holocaust Victims Remembered at Washington Muse

By Poupeh Missaghi and Jim Bertel
Washington, DC
20 September 2006
 
watch Holocaust¹ Museum report

One of the most visited museums in Washington, D.C. is dedicated² to the Holocaust, the state-led systematic³ persecution⁴ and murder of approximately six million Jews during World War II by Nazi⁵ Germany and its collaborators. VOA's Jim Bertel has more on this monument to one of human history's darkest chapters.

 
More than 23 million people have visited the Holocaust Museum since 1993
Since it opened in 1993, more than 23 million people, including dozens of world leaders, have toured the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Many have described it as one of the most powerful experiences in Washington.

Sara Bloomfield is the museum's Director. She says, "It is meant to be a reflection on human history, on American history and also on human nature. And to encourage our visitors to think more about their own moral responsibilities in our world."

Visitors are taken back in time to the World War Two era, experiencing the conditions of life then, the Nazis⁶' rise to power, the war, and the aftermath. Through it all, Bloomfield says the Germans kept careful records of their reign⁷ of terror on the Jews.

 
Sara Bloomfield
"The Germans themselves documented their crimes and regarding the documentation of the crimes, this is probably the most well documented crime in human history. And they left thousands of photographs, millions of pages of documentary evidence that we have in the museum's archives."

One of the museum's goals is to remind visitors that the Holocaust was not about statistics but people and it tries to return individual identity to the victims.

From room to room visitors are immersed deeper and deeper into the horrors of the holocaust. In the "Tower of Faces" pictures depicting⁸ the ordinary lives of Jews in a small town on the Polish-Lithuanian border cover the walls.

"This Jewish community had lived in this town for 900 years,” explains the museum director. “And in two days, in September 1941, this entire community was destroyed by mobile killing⁹ units sent in behind the German army."

 
Anne Frank's diary is one of the world's most-read books
It is estimated more than a million children were killed during the Holocaust, including Anne Frank who kept a diary during her two years in hiding.

"I've heard it said that after the Bible and the Koran it's one of the most well-read works of non-fiction in the world. And it is still a very powerful testament¹⁰ to a young child's experience and to really what was lost," says Bloomfield.

As she walks through the museum, Bloomfield shows how the exhibits go beyond words and pictures, giving visitors a first-hand look at some of the inhumane conditions endured by Jews.

“You would have, for example, a hundred people in a railroad car like this for anywhere from up to one to three days with no sanitation¹¹, no food. As you can imagine, many people did not survive the deportation¹² itself.”

The Holocaust Memorial Museum vividly¹³ recounts the horrors endured by the Holocaust's victims. Many visitors are shocked by what they see. But the museum's curators believe this is a good thing and hope this translates into a willingness to do something about similar horrors in the world today.  

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

3 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

4 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

5 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

6 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

8 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

11 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

12 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

13 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。