Remembrance days as ANZAC day last weekend are not created to keep stuck in the past, but to learn lessons for the future. They shall not forget, became a command, not to be stuck in bad memories, but to memorise the lessons learned.

The Great Pandemic 

On the 25th of April, Australia and New Zealand celebrated ANZAC day. Originally the day honoured the soldiers of the Gallipoli Campaign in the Great War (1914-1918), but overtime ANZAC day became the Remembrance Day for all those Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

The Great War might be more than 100 years behind us, but we are fighting another war: the Great Pandemic. As a matter of fact, both wars contain wise, parallel lessons which we should not forget.

Therefore, this week I’ll share with you why ‘they shall not forget’ is a command, not to protect the past, but to protect the future; post by post I will remember us how these events have never been as relevant as today. Today, I’ll start with a thematic poem:

They Shall Not Forget

They shall not forget,
For they shall not pass the line;
They shall not forget,
for their memory will not become mine.

 

They shall not forget,
The atrocities and darkness of the past
They shall not forget,
The cruel memories that forever last

 

They shall not forget
The phantoms of the death in their dreams
They shall not forget
The echoes of the slowly dying screams

 

They shall not forget
The soldiers side by side on a mission
They shall not forget
The commanders top-down and under with or without a vision

 

They shall not forget
The gun shots, the screams, the crying
They shall not forget
The survivors, the wounded, the dying

 

And yet returning of the battle field,
They would not forget
And yet blending back in daily life
They could not forget

 

And yet taken away their comrades, compatriots and friends of all kind
They would not forget
And yet restored the peace of land, never did the peace of heart nor mind
They could not forget

 

Each year, the Last Post echoes through Ieper’s battlefields
Demanding not to forget
Each year, the poppies flower back on Flanders’ fields
Whispering not to forget:

 

“They shall not forget,
For they shall not pass the line;
They shall not forget,
for their memory will not become mine.”

Tomorrow we dive into history and future at the same time, with history’s most important lesson we must build the future upon.

This article is part of the series of Hope in Times of Corona. Read

1. how this times of self-isolation should not mean loneliness,
2. how you can contribute to this battle, 
3. how gratitude lights up the dark,  
4. how united we will stand strong
5. on the most util strategy in awake of a crisis 
6. how I got blown of my feet as well, but caught by many caring hands, 
7. how being calm can get us through the storm.
8. about Love in Times of Corona
9. how to discover your own talents 
10. why we need stories to hold on to 
11. how you can be creative and innovative.
12. how to spend your mot valuable assets in times of Corona.
13. how to listen to the sound of silence. 
14. How breate taking Corona really is.
15. discover the other freedoms Corona has shown us, 
16. about the new-born freedom Corona gave us.
17. about another way to exceed your personal bubble.
18. about the position of nature in this entire story
19. about nature bouncing back
20. about the crucial choice between resilience and resistance
21. about the game to play
22. about star gazing in dark times
23. About looking for Meaning
24. about what Easter and Corona have in Common
25. About the Shark and the Turtle
26. About the Irony of Distance
27. Why to Hold on
28. Fake News
29. about The Big Unknown we live at
30. about Feeling Alive
31. about what the Birthday of my nephew learned me about life 
32. About where we should go from here?

Or wait until tomorrow, when I’ll shine another light on yet another positive corner of this dark times.