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The tragic and poignant footnotes of Western Civilization's chronicles provide gripping lessons from the past that seize the imagination and shed light on man's character. History is peppered with instances of high drama in which abject, unfortunate individuals have been fated to endure devastating circumstances caused by others. Recently, while skimming through history books at the University of Georgia's Main Library, I read about a horrific incident that is perhaps one of the 20th Century's most tragic episodes, and it reiterated to me the depths to which human depravity can sink. On September 4, 1942, in Lodz, Poland, a multitude of desperate parents were forced to relinquish their children for deportation and certain death. These pathetic parents were informed of their impending loss less than twenty-four hours before they had to give up their children. It was at these parents that Chaim Rumkowski's "Give Me Your Children" Speech was directed. (Click the above link-phrase to read the speech in its entirety.)
