With a name that evokes the birth of Jesus Christ, Robert Christmas would not likely be mistaken for a Jew. But on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, the soft-spoken World War II history buff, who is Episcopalian, felt compelled to acknowledge the Holocaust in a public yet personal way by inviting the mostly Jewish members of his regular poker group to join him in a Holocaust observance.

“I had read that it was International Holocaust Remembrance Day that day, and that the reason Jan. 27 was picked was because it was the day the Russians liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau and the world learned how bad the Holocaust was,” Christmas recalls. Knowing that two-thirds of his six poker buddies were Jewish and that two of them had close family members who had survived internment in ghettos and concentration camps during World War II, Christmas believed his friends would agree.

In case you’re wondering if this kind of thing is a regular practice for this group of men, rest assured it is not. Poker player Bill Bender, who helped found the group 50 years ago, says he doesn’t recall ever doing anything like it in the half-century they’ve played cards together. His friend David Bloom, whose late in-laws were Holocaust survivors, remembers feeling “stunned” by Christmas’s request. “I should have known better because Bob is a learned man when it comes to history and a dear friend,” Bloom explains, noting that the men have discussed “different historical topics” during their games. In addition, Bloom was deeply moved because “the topic is important to me and my wife, Janet, and that he brought it to the floor in such a heartfelt way.”

After a brief period of quiet to gather his thoughts, Bloom agreed to speak from the heart. “I asked that we all remember the suffering and lives that were lost, and what happened up to and during the Holocaust, not only to people of the Jewish faith, but all the other groups that suffered at the hands of the Nazis,” he recalls, and he encouraged his listeners to speak out against “the hatred that has infected the world today.” He ended with the phrase, “Never forget,” followed by a moment of silence.

Bringing forth a Holocaust remembrance with his poker group seemed fitting to Christmas, who calls the Holocaust “a worldwide event that should be mentioned every year,” and says, “Every human being on the face of the earth should be reminded and remember it.” What surprised him was the effect of his suggestion on his longtime friends. “Every one of them during the game or after texted me to thank me and say how honored they were,” he describes. “I was really shocked that they were that moved.”

Bender, who refers to Christmas as his “brother,” was among the players who called the next day to say how thoughtful he felt the observance had been. “Bob said, ‘I thought it was the right thing to do,’” Bender recalls. His wife, Ellen Yanofsky Bender, also sent an email to Christmas in which she wrote, “Dear Brother, Billy told me what you did at poker last night and you are a Super Mensch! I’m really touched.”

“If being a decent human being makes me a mensch, then I’m honored,” Christmas wrote in his response.

At a time when acts of antisemitism and hate seem like a daily occurrence, one person’s act of righteousness offers hope that the future may be brighter. Christmas will do his part by putting International Holocaust Remembrance Day on his poker group’s calendar every year. “Absolutely,” he said. “It’s a must now. I’m not going to forget. I’ll never forget.”

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