TEREZIN, Czech Republic — Crews, Chism, Childress, Howell, Wild, Smith, Lofton, Pearl, Tabb. And then Schlama Rosenberg.

My grandfather’s name was Hyman Rosenberg. Probably no relation to Schlama, but to see that name on a prison list, I had to wonder what crime she committed. I wondered what she had done that was so terrible that could have brought her to a place like this.

For my players to be here, and for them to understand that maybe it could have been their family name on that list and to understand what happened and to make sure that it never happens again, was important.

The players asked questions. Josh Tabb asked: “Coach, why is there anti-Semitism? I don’t understand. Why does one group of people hate another group of people?”

As his coach, and as a teacher, I’m at a loss for words. I’m not smart enough to explain it or begin to understand it.

As God’s children, for us to have the inability to tolerate each other’s differences … to (not) tolerate a difference in a skin color, or the shape of our eyes, or the way we pray, or how we believe politically, and for those reasons to be enough to go to war and kill one another.

I said, “Josh, for many reasons which we have learned, throughout history, the Jews have been an easy target.”

After World War I, Europe was in bad shape, and it wasn’t just Germany, all of Europe was in bad shape.

Adolph Hitler blamed the Jewish people for the economic hardship that was placed on the people in Germany and went about this final solution.

This was just a concentration camp; this was just a work camp; this was not a death camp. But at least they (the players) had to ask.

Mission accomplished, when Tabb asked the question.

For me, in reflection, when my daughter Leah had her bat mitzvah, I said to the congregation — as I was giving a blessing as a parent to a child — I said to Leah, “You’re now 13, you’ve chanted the blessings, you’ve studied Torah, and with that comes a responsibility to be able to continue to practice your religion.

“We are so fortunate to live in Knoxville, Tennessee, with several synagogues and have the ability to pray as we wish, without persecution, and look what your grandparents and your great-grandparents had to go through.”

When Jack Pearlmutter, my father’s father, was about 12 years old, he left Austria with three younger brothers and sisters.

Hitler was coming to power and the handwriting was on the wall. Papa’s parents did not have enough money to join the children.

But they made sure that the children were saved.

Papa really raised his young brothers and sisters, and for that, and for many other reasons, he’ll always be my hero.

He died when I was 13, so I knew him pretty well. He actually died after my bar mitzvah.

So it’s important for Leah to understand what took place, so that she and our family could enjoy the freedom to worship as we pleased.

A basketball game was played Saturday night, a basketball game will be played today. I’ll try to teach them to do a better job with their transition defense and to communicate better.

But this visit to the Terezin Concentration Camp was probably the most important lesson of our trip.

Who knows what lasting effects this will have on my players?

It’s my hope that when they’re faced with a difficult decision of what’s right or wrong, even if it’s an unpopular choice, that they will make the best decision.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that history has a way of repeating itself, and in this case we can’t let that happen again.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.