When I was in school we did not study the holocaust. After I was out of college I was traveling in Europe and a visit to one of the concentration camps was on the itinerary.

I was shocked and appalled. I could not understand. I began to study to try to understand. I read everything I could find..."The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", "Mein Kampf" and more personal accounts than you can imagine. I studied the history of the war as well.

What I learned is how easily people can be lead. How useful fear -- even the threat of fear -- is to people who want to control others. How important it is that we not accept unquestioningly what the government...or anyone else says. And that forbidding criticism of the government is very, very dangerous.

And I learned that...just as there are bad people...and very, very bad people, there are also good people...but mostly there are people who are just trying to survive.