Ray+Allen

It wasnt a history book. It wasnt a museum. It was right there.

这发生在并不遥远的过去。这不是历史书，不是博物馆，这一切就在眼前。

There was a small hole in the kitchen floor that led to a secret crawl space. That image is burned into my memory. The space was maybe five feet long by five feet wide.

厨房地板上的一个小洞，通向一个秘密的藏身之处。这幅景象深深地刻在了我的脑海了，那个藏身之地大概只有1.5米乘1.5米这么大。

The owner of the house said，"They used to fit six people inside there. When the Nazis would come."

房子的主人说：“纳粹出现时，他们会在这里藏六个人。”

His name was Tadeusz Skoczylas， and the house we were in had belonged to his family during World War II. It was a small brick house in the town of Ciepielów， Poland.

说这话的人名叫塔德斯·斯科兹拉斯，那栋位于波兰小镇希佩洛的砖制房子，二战期间是他们家的财产。

I had been in Poland for a few days already， and the horror of the history I had experienced was overwhelming. But this was something different. This was so personal.

我来到波兰已经数日，令人恐惧的历史让我震惊。可这里有些不同，这里夹杂了个人情绪。

Im looking at this tiny space. And Im imagining six people down there， hiding from death. Six real people. Crawling through that little hole right in front of me. Not that long ago. It wasnt a history book. It wasnt a museum. It was right there.

看着这个狭小的空间，我能想象六个人藏在那里，躲避死亡的样子。六个真实的人，从我眼前小小的洞口爬进去。这发生在并不遥远的过去。这不是历史书，不是博物馆，这一切就在眼前。

Tadeusz explained that one day in 1942， Nazi soldiers visited the house on a tip. Someone in the village had told them that the family had been harboring Jewish people. There were supposed to be 10 Skoczylas living in the house. On this particular day， the youngest boy in the family was not home when the soldiers came by. The Nazis grew suspicious and began tearing the house apart. They found the hole and the crawl space， but the Jewish people the family had been hiding were not there. They had already moved on.

塔德斯说，1942年的一天，收到线报的纳粹士兵来到了这里。村子里有人告密，说他们家藏匿了犹太人。斯科兹拉斯一家有10个人，但是纳粹士兵出现的那一天，最小的男孩并不在家。纳粹起了怀疑，开始四处搜查。他们发现了洞口和藏身所。不过本该藏在那里的犹太人并不在那里，他们已经转移了。

Without saying a word， the Nazis went next door to a neighboring family and took their young son. The punishment for hiding Jews was death for the entire family， and they had a quota to fill. The soldiers took all 10 people out back and executed them right in front of those barns and shacks that are still standing there today.

納粹士兵一句话没说，他们直接去了邻居家，抓了他们最小的儿子。藏匿犹太人的处罚是全家处死，纳粹还有杀人配额。纳粹把十个人带出来，在至今仍然存在的小木屋前杀死了他们。endprint

When the little Skoczylas boy returned home， he found his entire family dead.

当最小的斯科兹拉斯回到家时，他发现所有家人都死了。

That little boy was Tadeuszs grandfather. The house stayed in the Skoczylas family， and his grandfather lived in it. Now Tadeusz and his mother live in it.

那个小男孩，就是塔德斯的祖父。斯科兹拉斯一家留下了那栋房子，如今，塔德斯和他的母亲仍然住在那里。

I couldnt believe it. And as I walked through the rest of the house， this feeling sort of took over me. There was all this history right in front of me. And it was real. I could reach out and touch it. I could feel it between my fingers and smell it in the air. It was a tangible thing.

我不敢相信。參观房子剩余部分时，这种感觉淹没了我。整个历史就在我的眼前，真实的历史。我能亲手触摸，我能在指尖感受，能在空气中闻到历史的味道。历史是有形的。

I took that trip just a few months ago. It was my first time in Poland. I went there to learn more about something that had fascinated me since I was a teenager： the Holocaust. Id read so many books and articles about it， but reading words on a page is not the same thing as seeing things up close.

几个月前的那次旅行，是我第一次到访波兰。拜访那里，是为了了解我从小就有兴趣的事情：大屠杀。我读过很多书和文章，可看纸上的文字和如今近距离的见证一切完全是两回事。

Then I visited the Holocaust museum in Washington， D.C.， for the first time. It was 1998， and I was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. I was in D.C. meeting our owner， Herb Kohl， over the summer. We had some time free time on my last day in the city， and Mr. Kohl suggested we go to the Holocaust Museum on the National Mall. Ill never forget how I felt after those two hours in there - I could have spent two days. My immediate feeling was that everyone needs to go there.

后来我第一次参观华盛顿的大屠杀纪念馆。那是1998年，当时我还在雄鹿。夏天时我在华盛顿和球队老板赫伯·科尔见面。最后一天我有一些空闲时间，科尔先生建议我们一起去国家广场参观大屠杀纪念馆。我永远忘不了参观两个小时后的感受——我可以在那里待上两天。当时我就觉得，所有人都该去那里。

There was one room in particular， though， that I think about often. Its filled with photos of Jews from a town in Poland. The pictures line the walls and extend up toward the sky， where light floods in from a window. Almost 90% of the people in the images were sent to their death. Before they were taken to concentration camps or executed， they would leave their prized possessions behind with friends or family.

我经常想起里面的一个展厅，里面都是波兰一个小镇里犹太人的照片。挂在墙上的照片一直延续到了天空，光线通过头顶的一个窗户照射进来。照片中90%的人都被杀了。在他们被送往集中营或者被杀害前，他们会把自己的财产留给朋友或家人。

The people of these Jewish communities were pushed to the absolute limit of their human instincts. They just wanted to survive. And from that， the tales of brotherhood and camaraderie are so awe-inspiring. It was a reminder of what the human spirit is capable of - both for good and evil.endprint

这些犹太人被推到了人类本能的极限，他们只想生存。在此之上的兄弟情义和同志情谊，同样让人感动。这无时无刻不在提醒我们人类精神的力量——无论是好是坏。

Honestly … it made me feel sort of irrelevant. Which was a strange thought to have as a young NBA player who was supposed to be on top of the world. I was realizing that there were things outside of my bubble that mattered so much more. I wanted my teammates to feel that as well. So every team I played on after that， whenever we were in D.C. playing the Wizards， I would ask our coach if we had time to go through the museum. Every visit was different， but each guy came out thanking me for taking us there. I could see in their eyes that they had a different perspective on life after that experience.

说实话，这让我产生了一种无关紧要的感觉。对于一个本该站在世界顶端的年轻NBA球员来说，这是一种奇怪的感觉。我意识到，在我的小圈子外，世界上还有更重要的事情。我想让队友了解这种感觉。所以之后不管效力哪支球队，只要在华盛顿和奇才打客场，我都会问教练是否有时间去纪念馆。每一次参观都是不同的，但每一个参观完的人出来都会感谢我。从他们的眼睛中我能看出，这段经历让他们对人生有了不同的看法。

I thought I knew what the Holocaust was， and what it meant. I went to Poland with a few close friends to learn more. But I wasnt prepared for how deeply the visit would affect me. I had seen so many documentaries and films on Auschwitz， but nothing really prepares you for being there.

我以为自己知道大屠杀，了解大屠杀的意义。我和几个好友一起去了波兰，希望了解更多。但我没有想到，这段旅行对我会产生这么深远的影响。我看过很多关于集中营的纪录片和电影，可是再多的准备也是不够的。

The first thing I felt when I walked through those iron gates was … heavy. The air around me felt heavy. I stood on the train tracks where the prisoners of the camp would arrive， and I felt like I could hear the trains coming to a halt. I had to take a breath to center myself. It was so immediate. So overwhelming.

走過那些铁门时，我的一个感受就是……沉重。周围的空气都有一种沉重感。我站在运送犹太人的火车轨道上，我仿佛能听到火车停车的声音。我必须深呼吸，才能集中精神。这种瞬间袭来的感觉让我难以承受。

We walked through the barracks and gas chambers and what I remember most is what I heard： nothing. Ive never experienced silence like that. Apart from footsteps， the complete lack of sound was almost jarring. Its eerie and sobering. Youre standing in these rooms where so much death has taken place and your mind is trying to come to terms with all thats happened in this space.

我们走过了营房和毒气室，印象最深的是听到的声音，或者说寂静无声。我从来没感受过那样的寂静。除了脚步声，这种寂静让人非常震动。那是种奇怪又让人警醒的感觉。那么多人在这里失去生命，而你只想理解这里发生的一切。

One question keeps repeating over and over and over in your mind： How can human beings do this to one another？

你的大脑会不断重复一个问题：人类为什么会对彼此做这样的事情？

How does somebody process that？ You cant.

怎么才能理解这样的事？事实上，你理解不了。

This is not history. This is humanity. This is now. This is a living lesson for us as a people.endprint

这不是历史。这是人性，就是当下。对所有人来说，这是活着的教训。

After Tadeusz Skoczylas took us through his familys home， I stood outside for a while by myself， thinking about everything I had experienced.

塔德斯带我们参观完他的家后，我一个人在门外站了一会，回想我经历的一切。

Why do we learn about the Holocaust？ Is it just so we can make sure nothing like this ever happens again？ Is it because six million people died？ Yes， but theres a bigger reason， I think.

为什么我们要了解大屠杀呢？只是为了保证不会再发生同样的事情？还是因为600万人失去了生命？这些都没错，但我觉得还有更重要的原因。

The Holocaust was about how human beings — real， normal people like you and me — treat each other.

大屠杀关乎人类——和你我一样真实，普通的人——关乎我们如何彼此相待。

When the Skoczylas family was risking their own lives to hide people they barely knew， they werent doing it because they practiced the same religion or were the same race. They did it because they were decent， courageous human beings. They were the same as those people crouched in a hole. And they knew that those people didnt deserve what was being done to them.

当斯科兹拉斯一家冒着生命危险藏匿几乎不认识的犹太人时，他们不是因为拥有同样的信仰或者属于同一种族才做的这件事。因为他们是体面，勇敢的人，才会做这样的事情。他们和躲在洞里里的人一样，他们知道那些人不该承受那样的命运。

I asked myself a really tough question： Would I have done the same？

我问了自己一个问题：我会和他们做一样的事吗？

When I returned home to America， I got some very disheartening messages directed toward me on social media regarding my trip. Some people didnt like the fact that I was going to Poland to raise awareness for the issues that happened there and not using that time or energy to support people in the black community.

回到美國后，这次旅行让我在社交媒体上收到了一些非常让人痛心的回复。一些人不喜欢我去波兰，提醒人们关注过去发生的事，他们不喜欢我没有把时间和精力用在支持黑人社区上。

I was told my ancestors would be ashamed of me.

有人说，我的祖先会因我而羞耻。

I know there are trolls online and I shouldnt even pay attention， but that one sort of got to me. Because I understood where they were coming from. I understand that there are plenty of issues in our own country right now， but they were looking at my trip the wrong way. I didnt go to Poland as a black person， a white person， a Christian person or a Jewish person - I went as a human being.

我知道互联网上有恶意挑衅的人，我本不该投入精力，但这些说法刺激了我。因为我理解他们的出发点。我知道我们的国家现在有很多问题，但他们对我的旅行的看法却是错误的。我不是作为黑人，白人，基督徒或者犹太人前往波兰的——我只是作为一个人去了那里。

Its easy to say "I went to make sure these things dont happen again." But I went to learn about the true reality of what happened during the Holocaust， and what we can take from that. The people who believe that I am not spending my time the way the right way … well， theyre missing the entire point.endprint

“我希望保证这种事再也不会发生”，这话说起来很容易。但我了解了大屠杀的真相，知道我们从中能学到什么。那些认为我没有正确利用时间的人，他们根本没有抓住要点。

We have to do a better job breaking through ignorance and the close-mindedness and the divisions that are plaguing our society in 2017.

我们需要消除时至2017年社会上依然存在的无知。

I remember being a kid in elementary school， and we all used to have a couple pen pals from around the world. I was so excited to hear back from people in different countries. I wanted to know about how they lived. I was curious about their lives. And I feel like weve lost that a little bit. It seems like now， we only see us. We only want to look out for us. Whatever us even means.

我還记得自己小学时，每个人都有一个来自世界其他地方的笔友。我特别期待从不同国家的人那里收到回信。我想知道他们如何生活。我觉得，现在的我们在这方面有点迷失了。似乎现在的我们只看得到自己，我们只关注自己。“我们”到底是什么意思，并不重要。

I think about the Tadeusz family. Who did they define as us？

我想到了塔德斯一家，他们是怎么定义“我们的”？

They saw us as every human being， regardless of what they looked like， or what they believed. They thought everyone was worth protecting. And they were willing to die for it.

他们把“我们”看作每一个人，无论长什么样子或者信仰什么。他们认为每一个人都值得保护，他们愿意为此付出生命。

That is something worth remembering， always.

这才是值得记忆的事情，值得永恒记忆。endprint