February 4^th, 2022

Dear Kim Godwin, Producers of The View, and Ms. Whoopi Goldberg,

We are a group of Jewish Holocaust survivors who came from various countries to the United States after enduring the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust. We have all heard your comments about how the Holocaust “was not about race,” and instead was about, “man’s inhumanity to man.” We are deeply hurt by these inaccurate assertions, but nevertheless would like to extend our hands to you so we can offer some insight and can help you during this moment of growth.

From 1933—1945 the Nazi Party carried out the systematic abuse, deportations, and killing of 6 million Jews, 500,000 Roma and Sinti, and many others who did not fit into the Aryan race. The Nazi ideology was dictated by the imaginary Aryan race, a class of white supremacy. The Nazis did not consider the Jews to be white and did attack them because of their perceived race. Nazis considered even Christians who had converted from Judaism or who were the descendants of Jews to be Jews and they too were murdered by the regime. By 1945, the Nazis had exterminated a third of the world’s Jewish population.

We would also like to point out that while we appreciate Ms. Godwin’s comment that ABC News stands with the Jewish community, we urge you to do more on your network to elevate the voices and stories of Holocaust survivors. There are still an estimated 65,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors living in the U.S. today according to the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany. The lasting effects of the Holocaust affect our daily lives and we can never forget the atrocities we witnessed and endured.

About one third of Holocaust survivors live at or below the poverty line as a direct result of the circumstances we endured during the Holocaust. We rely on the help of organizations like The Blue Card, the only national nonprofit with the sole mission of aiding needy Holocaust survivors. We echo Jonathan Greenblatt’s idea of adding a Jewish host to the panel of The View to represent the Jewish perspective on matters of antisemitism. We also ask that you use your platform to educate the public on the Holocaust by inviting survivors to speak on The View about our experiences during the Holocaust and the struggles we have faced since then.

Given the dwindling number of holocaust survivors, we encourage you to reach out to those remaining, share their stories, preserve their memories and critical life lessons during this period resurging antisemitism. The Blue Card has a pilot Holocaust education program in NYC that we would be happy to provide more information about. We see this as an opportunity for you and others to learn more about the Holocaust and to join us in the fight against misinformation and antisemitism.

On behalf of 3,000 Holocaust survivors affiliated with The Blue Card.

Sincerely,