holocaust

Bearing Witness at the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

March 22, 2020 by Stacey Saiontz

Train tracks leading into Auschwitz – prisoners were transported in cattle cars

Elie Wiesel stated “To hear a witness is to be a witness.” I am a witness. On January 27th 2020, I traveled to Auschwitz for the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with 105 Auschwitz Survivors from around the world and 50 world leaders to commemorate the victims and honor the Survivors.

The memorial service took place on the grounds of the death camp where

1.1 million, mostly Jews, were murdered. We sat under a large heated tent that straddled the train tracks that had dragged prisoners into Birkenau, often to their death in the gas chambers. As Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, stated “I am here, simply, as a Jew. And, like all Jews everywhere, this place, this terrible place called Auschwitz has sadly become an inseparable part of us. Auschwitz is like a scar from a terrible trauma. It never goes away and the pain never stops.”

Walking into the camp I quietly reflected on my grandparents stories of survival. I took in the remains of the barracks, including the barrack where my grandfather spent his youth being tortured against his will. The weather was cold but I was well bundled and couldn’t help but think about my grandfather who was forced to spend his time in Auschwitz without a warm jacket or hat or gloves.

I listened to each Survivor as they shared intimate details about their own personal stories, details that humanized the unfathomable atrocities of Auschwitz. Details that I will shout out to the world and share with future generations so they know the Holocaust happened to men and women and children with personalities and stories, like all of us, not to abstract numbers.

The Survivors all related stories about how upon their arrival at Auschwitz over 75 years ago, they were stripped of their dignity, forced to strip down to nothing in front of all, have their heads shaved, their possessions stolen and arms permanently tattooed with a number. 94- year-old Auschwitz Survivor Batsheva Dagan spoke about her arrival and subsequent assignment of being forced to sort belongings of those sent to the gas chambers. She cried to the crowd, “Where was everybody? Where was the world who could see that, hear that and yet did nothing to save all those thousands?”

Turning A Blind Eye on the Jewish Refugee Crisis

In his speech Lauder explained “And when European Jews begged the world for a safe harbor, someplace to go, the entire world turned its back on them. Even my own country–the beacon of freedom–turned out its light on the Jewish people when they needed it most. The US organized a conference in Evian, France in July of 1938 to discuss the Jewish refugee crisis. There were a lot of lovely speeches but the US did not let any additional Jewish refugees in and every other country in attendance followed their lead. There were 32 countries and none of them, except for the tiny Dominican Republic wanted any more Jews. Hitler saw this. Four months later came Kristallnacht. And again, there was no world reaction. Hitler tested the world. And at every step he saw the truth–the world did not care. That’s when he knew he could build this factory of death. Evian led to Auschwitz. Kristallnacht led to Auschwitz. World anti-Semitism led to Auschwitz.”

Survivor Josef Kreitenberg commented “I don’t know how I survived but I just kept on believing because that’s all you could do.”

Survivors are Dwindling

As the years pass and the eye witnesses who can say “I was in Auschwitz” dwindle in numbers, these Survivors made it their duty to return to ensure the world does not forget! Polish President Andrzej Duda vocalized “We have with us the last living Survivors, the last among those who saw the Holocaust with their own eyes. The magnitude of the crime perpetrated in this place is terrifying, but we must not look away from it and we must never forget it.”

For some of the Survivors it was their first trip back since that day 75 years ago when they were finally free from their terror. However, for most it will be their last. But to all the Survivors who returned the memories of what occurred inside the infamous gate bearing the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (translation: work sets you free) are no less haunting today. Survivors continue to have nightmares as their memories are still fresh. However, Survivors feel the need to share these painful memories with future generations so the world will never forget, especially today when we witness the ominous growth of anti-Semitic attacks and hatred around the world.

The author with Survivor Angela (Angi) Orosz Richt. Angi was born in Auschwitz on December 21 one month prior to the camp’s liberation.

No Graves to Visit

Some of the Survivors returned to Auschwitz to memorialize their family members murdered there. These Survivors whose family members went up in flames in the gas chambers and crematorium do not have a grave to visit. To them, Auschwitz is a cemetery. Survivor Tova Friedman said “My going back is my telling them, I remember you.”

Survivor Ben Lesser explained: “People would love to forget the hard truths and that’s why we need to keep coming back here to refresh our memories and keep the world from acquiring amnesia. Unfortunately, we can’t live forever. What happens after we are gone, I don’t know.”

93-year-old Survivor Marian Turski declared “Auschwitz did not fall from the skies.” He urged the next generation to be vigilant. “Do not be indifferent when you hear lies, historical lies. Do not be indifferent when you see the past is stretched to fit the current political needs. Do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against.”

The 11th Commandment

He explained that the 11th commandment should be “Thou shall not be indifferent.” He warned that if you “don’t heed the 11th commandment you cannot be surprised when you see (another) Auschwitz fall from the sky.” He explained that if people are indifferent when incremental steps of discrimination are implemented, then another Holocaust could happen. Turksi reminded the room that what allowed the Holocaust to happen was not just the evil of the Nazi’s but also the indifference of the world.

Lauder emphasized “We will never eradicate Anti-Semitism. It’s a deadly virus that has been with us for over 2,000 years. But we cannot look the other way and pretend it isn’t happening. That’s what people did throughout the 1930’s and that is what led to Auschwitz.”

The Nazis tried to dehumanize and obliterate all Jews of Europe. But the 75th Commemoration attended by over 200 survivors proved that Nazi’s did not win. These Survivors signify that the Jewish people won. They survived and were resilient. “There is one more part of the Auschwitz story that no one ever talks about. When the Survivors were liberated from this Nazi nightmare, they never sought revenge. They lost their mothers and fathers. Sisters and brothers… After everything that happened to them, these Jewish Survivors just walked out of these gates and went on to build new lives, raise new families, work hard and create,” said Lauder.

After the long day of memorializing in Auschwitz, we arrived back at the hotel for a late dinner. By 11 p.m., Auschwitz Survivor David Wisnia asked for a microphone and explained that he wrote a song while in Auschwitz–a parody about life in the death camp. On January 27, 2020, 75 years after the liberation, David Wisnia, a man full of life, sang this song proudly from his wheelchair to a room full of witnesses who will NEVER FORGET.

All the Survivors agree that they do not want their past to be their grandchildren’s future. The Survivors on this journey did not talk about anger or revenge, but rather their love for their new life and family. I felt embraced by love on the trip by Survivors who ironically were treated with the worst type of hate, and whose lives were torn apart by hate. Through conversations with the Survivors on my journey and with my grandparents throughout my life, I have learned that the Holocaust is not just a story of hate. It is also a story of resilience, humanity, love and kindness. People who are taught to put others before themselves; people who are taught to love, those people do not hate–rather, they choose life.

Remembering My Dad

May 31, 2019 by Marlene Kern Fischer

This Father’s Day, my family will be celebrating my husband, who is an amazing father. But I will also be thinking about my father, who passed away four years ago.

A little about my dad …

My father was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1932. When the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, both his parents were taken to Auschwitz. He was interned in a ghetto and lived with an aunt and a cousin, surviving under the protection of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. His mother escaped during a death march, running away into the woods and eventually returned to Hungary. His father died at Auschwitz in the gas chambers.

My dad emigrated to Canada after the war ended with a group of Hungarian teens who had lost parents in the war–his mother eventually emigrated there, as well. He attended McGill University, met my mom who was visiting relatives in Montreal, and moved to New York when they married. He worked as an engineer and was able to get his Master’s degree from Columbia University at night.

Although the Holocaust certainly shaped my father, he tried hard not to let it define him and he rarely spoke of the atrocities he witnessed. He made sure to live life fully, enjoying good food, wine and music. He was quick to laugh, especially at his own brand of dad humor. My father embraced his adopted country and was deeply grateful for the freedoms and opportunities afforded him here.

Having been born in different countries and in different eras, my father and I saw things from different perspectives. He was a staunch Republican, whereas I am a liberal Democrat. When I was a little girl, he would take me into the voting booth with him and teach me the importance of voting, telling me how lucky we were to live in a democracy. I always vote and when I choose my candidates, I think of him.

Although I thought of my father as more of a math/science guy, he was also more than proficient in writing–in fact he was able to edit my essays in high school and correct my grammar–pretty impressive for someone whose first language was not English. He was my first Scrabble opponent–he never went easy on me. Although it took me two years to beat him, when I finally did, he was as excited as I was.

Despite losing his own father at a young age, my dad knew how to be a good father. He taught my brother and me how to ride a bike, fish, ice skate, swim and play chess, which was a passion of his. He got up in the middle of the night with me when I was sick and dried my tears when I cried—he couldn’t bear to see me sad. He taught me a lot about nurturing and made me feel safe. When he held me in the ocean when I was a little girl, I knew I would be protected against the crashing waves.

My father was thrilled to become a grandfather and was delighted to be able to attend all five of his grandsons’ bar mitzvahs. Although he was mostly confined to a wheelchair for my youngest son’s bar mitzvah, he did manage get up so that he could have one dance with me.

When he got sick with Parkinson’s disease, he rarely complained, accepting his fate with quiet grace and even humor. In fact, a few days before he died, a nurse asked him if he was comfortable, to which he replied, “I make a living.” And even in such a compromised state, he managed to chuckle.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my father’s thriftiness, which was legendary. If saving money were an Olympic sport, he would’ve been a gold medalist. He would turn off the air conditioner on summer nights and turn down the heat in the winter. To this day, when I leave a light on, I can hear his admonishment in my head. And every time I spend three dollars on my iced coffee, I am pretty sure he does a little roll in his grave.

I suppose that’s how it is with all the people we love. We never forget them or the things they taught us. We are reminded of them in the special moments and in the ordinary moments. They live on through the people they loved and who loved them back.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads who are with us and to those who live on in our hearts.

COMPLICIT: A May 9 Film and Discussion at ChappPAC

April 22, 2019 by Inside Press

The documentary Complicit will be shown on May 9 at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center. The filmmaker, Ruth Kalish, will provide a post screening talk. A representative from HIAS will also speak about current immigration and refugee policies and issues.

Complicit follows the story of the SS St. Louis, which left Germany in 1939 and was refused safe haven from Cuba, the U.S., and Canada and had to return to Germany (the film Voyage of the Damned follows this story). In this documentary, the film puts the Roosevelt Administration on trial for their complicity in not allowing refugees to seek safe haven in the U.S.

Reduced price student tickets are available “in the hope that you will bring your children,” stated Michele Gregson, a founding member of the Friends of the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center.

See link for tickets below.

For tickets, please use the following link “and share with your friends!”

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4208627

‘Soul Witness’ Epic Documentary of Holocaust Testimonies: November 1 at the Bedford Playhouse

September 28, 2018 by Inside Press

SOUL WITNESS, THE BROOKLINE HOLOCAUST WITNESS PROJECT

After several sold-out Greater Boston area screenings, a documentary featuring Holocaust testimonies over 25 years old, comes to the Bedford Playhouse on Thursday, November 1, 2018

More than 80 hours of witness interviews, conducted by Lawrence L. Langer, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Holocaust testimonies were locked in a metal closet for decades and have never been seen by the general public. Now they have been finally thrust into the spotlight with the documentary film Soul Witness, The Brookline Holocaust Witness Project. In 2017, The film sold-out the 432 seat Coolidge Corner Theatre’s main playhouse within a few days of the release of its trailer and has sold out several screenings in the Great Boston area since.

A special screening of the film will be shown at the Bedford Playhouse on Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 7 p.m. The Bedford Playhouse, Home of the Clive Davis Art Center, is a recently renovated state-of-the-art film, arts and cultural center.

The documentary features a collection of interviews of Holocaust survivors, conducted in the early 1990s. Witnesses describe their lives before the war, growing intolerance; their lives during the war and the affect their experiences still had on them at the time of the interviews. Some of these witnesses survived death camps, some hid, others fought in resistance movements and many saved the lives of others.

Mark Skvirsky, Vice President and Chief Programming Office, Facing History and Ourselves on the film, “This film is important both for the stories that survivors share, but also for the way their voices are presented. The structure and tone of the film “humanizes” these individuals who might otherwise be perceived simply as victims.”

Following the film, there will be a question and answer period with the film’s writer, director and producer R. Harvey Bravman.

Director R. Harvey Bravman on the film, “These interviews contain some of the most epic and noble words I’ve ever heard. The stories and lessons from those who survived this unimaginable tragedy and who bravely shared their experiences 25 years ago provide an important message for our society. In many cases they talk directly about issues of intolerance, racism and genocide, as well as their immigrant and refugee experience.”

It is intended for a general audience with an advisory for children under 13.

Supporters of the film include the Facing History and Ourselves and the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

Soul Witness Ticket Link

More information on the film can be found at https://soulwitness.org.

“I Had a Little Suspicion”

June 20, 2018 by Inside Press

Pre war, my uncle Wolf, with my grandmother and grandfather, before the Nazis separated he and my dad first from their parents. In time, Mengele separated him from my father too.

By Grace Bennett

As I read of children and babies held hostage in cages–as little more than bargaining chips–my dad’s singularly monstrous experiences of separation and loss during the Holocaust have come back to haunt me.

Whether you agree that the Holocaust comparisons to the current day madness are fair or not (I admit that I find the comparisons troublesome sometimes), I think when you read this, you might at least agree there are powerful lessons to be learned and that our despair over the abuse and indignities being inflicted on migrant families and especially to the children at our border is entirely warranted.

When any category of people are treated so callously, and our President lies so brazenly about ‘who created the situation,’ as the situation persists, yes, you damn well better question authority to the max, and do not stop.

To protect helpless children, I do beg you: please lose any moral qualms about assuming the worst.

We know full well that the worst is possible. It is all our jobs now to guard against the worst. The worst, the Holocaust taught us, also comes incrementally.

But I digress because my dad’s story as a victim of rock bottom evil speaks for itself…

After being separated from the rest of his family (all of whom–except for my dad and grandfather–were killed at Auschwitz), my father and Wolf (who was two years younger) had managed to stay alive during the Holocaust after being dragged away for ‘work details,’ i.e., slave labor. Together, they suffered and together they survived a series of smaller ‘labor’, i.e., concentration, camps.

Through it all, what meant absolutely the most, what time and again would trigger their survival instinct and help the other through, was that they had each other. They looked out for each other, my dad told me. Being together meant everything.

But then they were sent to Auschwitz, too.

An excerpt (lightly edited) from my Poppy’s memoir.

“The Germans decided to send us to the concentration camp Auschwitz. Arriving there we were greeted by the S.S with the infamous Dr. Mengele. They lined us up and the Dr. was telling us that all injured or too young to do hard work will go to a special location for the injured and children, and will be taken care of.

I had a little suspicion.

He (Mengele) got in front of me, and for some reason, he asked my age. I said 16, and added that we are very good workers.

My brother (Wolf) said nothing; he was younger than me but taller and a fiery red head.

He (Mengele) told my brother to step forward and told him that he will be better off being with children.

Our (Jewish) camp leader was a 6’ tall guy. He showed the S.S. officer his damaged finger, so he told him to also go with the children and take care of them.

In the meantime my brother came running back asking for half of the bread we still had.

I begged him to stay with me, but he argued I should go with him.

One of the soldiers noticed the commotion and asked what was going on.

I said that I have the whole bread, so he said to break the bread in half and give that to him.

They went one way, and we vent to shower, change our civilian clothing into striped uniform and we all got tattoos injected into our forearms.

My # was 141940 with an upside triangle underneath.

After arriving in the quarters assigned to us, we went outside of our building, meeting people from other buildings, telling them where we came from,

I mentioned that I came here with my brother who was transferred to a camp for children.

He told me to look at the smoke in the background, and said, “That’s were your brother and all the others are, being incinerated…”

In Wolf’s memory, may the gross mistreatment, abuse, and human rights violations of children at America’s border–AMERICA’S border–STOP. We are better than this.

Grace Bennett is Publisher and Editor of the Inside Press. She has been on the board and advisory board of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center since 2007 and is a member of Women’s March for All. Her father (‘Poppy’) Jacob Breitstein is a 96-year old Holocaust survivor.