Air Force Academy Cadets Visit World War II Concentration Camps

[rangerrebew]

Air Force Academy Cadets Visit World War II Concentration Camps
 
The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) | By O'Dell Isaac
Published July 09, 2025 at 9:29am ET

Because he was born and raised in the Jewish faith, Jacob Gelder has read and heard stories about the Holocaust for most of his life.

Until recently Gelder, an Air Force Academy cadet, believed he had a clear understanding of the Nazi-led genocide attempt and its consequences. But last month, he and five other academy cadets got the opportunity to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland — an experience Gelder called “life-changing.”
 
“You can read about it, and study it, but to get the clearest picture of what it was actually like, you have to visit,” Gelder said.

The students were part of a cohort of 25 U.S. service academy cadets and midshipmen who participated in the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation’s American Service Academy Program, or ASAP. This marks the 20th anniversary of the program, which aims to teach future military leaders to apply the lessons of the Holocaust to modern-day ethical leadership.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/07/09/air-force-academy-cadets-visit-world-war-ii-concentration-camps.html

[rangerrebew]

Great education program!!!

[DefiantMassRINO]

Seeing things in person does make a difference.  I've never visited a Concentration Camp, but a family friend's synagogue had some Holocaust artifcats in a small memorial.  Until I saw it in person, I never appreciated how scarlet red Nazi armbands were - the same color as oxygenated blood.  It gave me the chills.