https://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2005/05/10/trying-to-explain-the-incomprehensible/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 02:14:27 -0400<![CDATA[The Holocaust Memorial designed by architect Peter Eisenman opens today in Berlin betwen the Brandenburg Gate and Hitler&#8217;s wartime bunker. My first awareness of the Holocaust is associated with seeing the tattooed numbers from Auschwitz on Mrs. Mendes&#8217; arm. She was a nurse in my father&#8217;s medical office and particularly nice to me as a little boy. That must have been around 1950. I couldn&#8217;t comprehend then what those numbers were doing on her arm and in a way I still can&#8217;t. I don&#8217;t know that this new memorial will really increase understanding of this event either, but I guess I&#8217;m glad it was built. These days, with anti-Semitism appearing on the landscape again, even in the American academy, I&#8217;ll applaud whatever positive contribution anyone wants to make. Paul Siegel, a leader of the German Jewish community, feels differently.]]>Tue, 10 May 2005 23:04:39 -0400<![CDATA[Roger L. Simon]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-l-simon/2005/05/10/trying-to-explain-the-incomprehensible-n208011