A poignant encounter between a Holocaust survivor and Donald Trump’s top immigration official has come back into the spotlight.
Bernard Marks, who passed away at age 89 in December 2018, delivered an impactful speech at a 2017 public event on immigration. His words continue to resonate across the United States to this day.
Wearing a badge that stated ‘Keep American Families together’, Marks directly addressed the then US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director, Thomas Homan. He aimed to remind Homan and the Trump administration of the historical implications of their actions.
Reading from his notes, Marks stated: “When I was a little boy in Poland, for no other reason but for being Jewish, I was hauled off by the Nazis.”
At 87, Marks made a heart-wrenching revelation, sharing that while he survived Auschwitz, his entire family perished during the Holocaust.
He continued: “And for no other reason I was picked up and separated from my family, who was exterminated in Auschwitz.”
“And I am a survivor of Auschwitz and Dachau.”
Marks courageously advised Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, who organized the gathering, not to collaborate with Homan on Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda.
“I spent five and a half years in concentration camps, for one reason and one reason only: because we picked on people,” he said, according to CBS Sacramento.
“And you, as the sheriff, who we elected as sheriff of this county, we did not elect you for sheriff of Washington, D.C. It’s about time you side with the people here.”
He concluded with a powerful statement: “History is not on your side.”
These words reverberated through the audience, prompting applause.
Marks’ brief but impactful speech continues to be remembered, especially as the Trump administration carried out deportations under a contentious wartime law without much resistance.
On Reddit, a user commented: “He’s a brave man for speaking up and sharing his traumatic experience without fear. And he’s right – elected officials are treating people like the enemy, and it’s disgusting.”
Another added: “He’s right, history is not on the administration’s side. If a Holocaust survivor told you history is not on your side, you listen and do as he says.”
“It’s scary how this is so relevant now 8 years later,” they continued.
In an opinion piece for The Sacramento Bee, Marks highlighted that anti-immigrant sentiment was a ‘danger that is all too familiar to me’.
According to CNN, he also expressed: “I feel horrible when I see or hear that a father or a grandfather is being picked up. And just because they get a traffic ticket, according to ICE they’re criminal.”
Marks was just seven years old when the Nazis invaded his hometown in Lodz, Poland, leading to his internment in Auschwitz and Dachau for forced labor.
When he was 13, American troops freed the camp on April 27, 1945. Only five members of his approximately 200-strong family survived the war’s atrocities.
In the years leading up to his death, Marks dedicated himself to educating students across the US and Europe about the Holocaust to ensure the past is not forgotten.
He established the Eleanor J. Marks Foundation, named after his late wife, which encourages students to participate in an essay contest about the Holocaust.
Marks held a belief that the US could improve, noting: “I think the more of us who like to speak up, maybe we can have a better country … a country without hate.”