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WORLD WAR II: Never forgetting the horrors

We, as a country and world, cannot forget the horrors that came from World War II. One of the greatest problems, however, is we keep losing so many from the Greatest Generation.

Last month, at the Dunkirk-Fredonia Rotary Club, a survivor from that war — who was held at a Concentration Camp — spoke to more than 50 people in attendance. Cornelius Feenstra, 95, and currently a resident of Portland spoke with authority and vividly about his time in the camp.

“It was bad. We had to line up in the morning to be counted, and it sometimes took forever. The next day that we went out, they hanged up three people. And one was Dutch boy that tried to escape, and they made an example (out of him),” said Feenstra, who was held as a political prisoner. “The camp was surrounded by electricity: 15,000 volts. But quite often, people went out there to get shot. To get killed. They weren’t able to stand it.”

Earlier this week we celebrated our veterans. But we cannot forget the horrors of past wars. There are lessons in even the worst of times.

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