All of us, whether guilty or not, whether old or young, must accept the past. It is not a case of coming to terms with the past. That is not possible. It cannot be subsequently modified or undone.

There were many ways of not burdening one's conscience, of shunning responsibility, looking away, keeping mum. When the unspeakable truth of the Holocaust then became known at the end of the war, all too many of us claimed that they had not known anything about it or even suspected anything.

Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance.

Whoever refuses to remember the inhumanity is prone to new risks of infection.

You may be aware that the AeA is predominantly a grassroots, member-driven organization. This past Fall, we held a series of town hall meetings around the country. Out of those meetings we bubbled up what were the major concerns of our member companies. I don't think you will find that there are any surprises here.

This remains one of the most interesting major retailing case studies in the past 20 years.