History Comes to Life

This past week has been draining for everyone in New Jersey, the United States, and the World and we unite to battle Coronavirus. 

Each day as more liberties are taken away from us, I thought about the Holocaust. No, I do not expect people to be put to death from this (other than from the virus), but growing up I wondered how and why Jews accepted their world changing. 

Taken from https://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/voices/info/decrees/decrees.html

1934: Jewish students excluded from exams in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and law
2020: SATs and ACTs cancelled

1935-36: Jews banned from parks, restaurants, and swimming pools; passports for Jews to travel abroad restricted; many Jewish students removed from German schools and universities.
2020: Parks, restaurants, and swimming pools closed. Borders closed not allowing any international travel; all students removed from schools to do distance learning instead.

1938: Special identity card issued to Jews; Jews excluded from cinema, theater, concerts, exhibitions, beaches, and holiday resorts.
2020: Letters given to essential employees to be allowed to travel after curfew; all cinema, theater, concerts, etc. are banned.

1939: Jewish curfew established
2020: Everyone under curfew

1941: Jews forbidden to leave the country
2020: Everyone forbidden to leave the country

Again I repeat, I am not expecting mass exterminations. 

Losing our rights this past week has made me see these parallels. 

First the schools closed. Then the libraries. Then the non-essential businesses. Then the parks and beaches.

Only ten days ago I had to convince my boss to postpone the gala, even though the governor was allowing events of under 250 to take place (since lowered to 50, then 10, now it might be just immediate family). 

The first sign a business would be closing is the employees wore gloves. Within 48 hours that business would be closed for the indefinite future.

These are scary times. There is no sign that life will return to normal in our lifetime. Once borders reopen the anticipation is there will be a second, third, fourth, etc. wave before this disease disappears, only to be replaced by a new one. Covid-19 (as it is called now) has already mutated once. It will mutate again. The cures being worked on now might not work by the time they are ready for the general population. 

Hang in there everyone.