Talking about the past - The Jewish Standard

I am one of the few who went through “the final solution” and still am alive. For over 50 years I did not want to talk about my past. I don’t like the word “survive” since I live a double life. During the day, I am a husband, a father of two wonderful daughters, and a grandfather of five grandchildren. If they ask me to talk about my past, all I say is that the food was very bad. There are reasons why I don’t talk about the camps. One of them is shame, for letting ourselves be pushed into those cattle wagons like sheep to the slaughterhouse. And I live with guilt because I did not go with my parents at the selection at Auschwitz. I never forgave my father for pushing me away from him, when I was motioned to go to the right, and my father to the left. I ran after him and almost caught his coat when a capo hit me on the head with a chunk of wood and pulled me to the right. That’s why I had to have a cochlear implant. A few years ago I learned how important it is for me to talk to students. The past must not be forgotten so it does not happen again.

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