This evening we went to hear a holocaust survivors panel, "Living On: Portraits of Tennessee Survivors and Liberators" sponsored by the East Tennessee Historical Society. Mira Kimmelman, was on the panel of survivors. There was another woman, Sonja Dubois (born Clara Van Thyn) holocaust survivor/hidden child on the panel with a different kind of story. Part of her story that stays with me: Both of her parents being taken to Auschwitz concentration camp when she was just a baby of 21 months. In order to save her baby daughter's life, her mother gave her to a non-Jewish couple without children immediately before they were taken to Auschwitz. Both her parents were murdered in Auschwitz. It was later at the age of 12, when she had to sign her passport, that she learned of her biological parents and her Jewish heritage. There were many stories that stay in my mind. [Photo is of Ethel Berger.]Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desparately. Elie Wiesel - Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech in Oslo December 10, 1986Other related online resources:
What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their voices are stifled we shall lend them ours, that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs. Elie Wiesel - Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech in Oslo December 10, 1986
Tennessee Holocaust Commission
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority
Simon Wiesenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance
The Holocaust Cybrary
The History Place
The Nizkor Project
Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
***
First They CameWhen the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
- Friedrich Niemöller
2 comments:
I have been trying to leave comments for you but since I switched to beta blogger, I am having a hard time. Someone told me to email you so you can help me with some issues. Are you able to? My email is betheescobar@yahoo.com
BTW, my dad is a holocaust survivor and I enjoyed your post.
Hi Beth,
I am also using beta blogger. I haven't had a problem loading photos at all - just with commenting on other blogs. I think the trick is to use 'other' and fill the the space with your name and your webpage/blog URL. I forgot to do this earlier on another blog and my comment was 'anonymous'. See if this works for you.
(This may be a ridiculous question, but...) Has your father told you his story? I think it's so important to have a record of their experiences - there is much for us to learn. On this panel that I went to, there were 3 children of survivors that told their experiences. That was new to me - very interesting.
Sarah
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