0 Place Of Hope
Israel's unity must be preserved for present and
fisturegenerations.
LILLY EPS'IEIN, DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Ta
The March Of the Living taught me haunting lessons of the Holocaust.
LISA ZAKS, NORTH FARMINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
f
ll alk of spring break
filled the classroom.
People were telling
stories of tanning on cruises, ski-
ing in Aspen, and visiting their
grandparents in Florida.
Everybody had such happy
memories.
As my friends bantered joy-
fully, I sat alone, pondering my
vacation. I can't say that it was
fun. Even so, the March of the
Living was an experience I will
never forget...
I boarded a plane for Poland
and Israel to do an intensive
study of the Holocaust. Through
a selective application and in-
terview process, I was elected to
represent the Michigan Region
B'nai B'rith Youth Organization
on the 1992 March Of the Liv-
ing.
I, along with 6,000 other Jew-
ish youth from around the
world, learned an important les-
son about history, about the
tragedy of the Holocaust and
about the dark side of human
nature.
Did bystanders not hear the
screams of the people as they
were brutally murdered? Could
they not hear the cries of the
children as they were gassed to
death? And could they not smell
the stench from burning bodies
in the ovens that were made to
cremate so many people? These
thoughts and questions will al-
ways remain in my mind and
heart.
Treblinka: On the site were
17,000 stones, each represent-
ing a village, town or communi-
ty of murdered human beings.
I often wonder what the site
would look like with 6 million
stones in memory of Jews mur-
dered in the war. Here, in this
death camp, I shed my first
tears for the victims of the Holo-
caust, where hell was created
on Earth.
Auschwitz: I hesitantly en-
tered the gate with the words
Arbeit Macht Frei, which means:
Work makes free. I touched the
fingernail scratches on the walls
of the gas chamber. I saw the
hole to the chimney, where so
many people exited the crema-
torium in the form of black
smoke. I felt sick to my stomach.
As I saw these remains, I
wrote down my feelings in my
journal: I shall never forget the
hair, shoes, glasses, suitcases,
clothes and lives of these vic-
tims. The image is forever en-
graved in my mind. I hurt. I feel
nothing but sorrow, sadness and
anger.
Majdanek: I went numb at
the sight of the dark, ugly bar-
racks, once filled with human
beings. Now they hold only what
countless human beings left be-
hind. There were rows of pris-
oners' hats, pants and shirts.
Three barracks were filled with
shoes. These artifacts made me
realize that each person mur-
dered in the Holocaust was an
individual, not just a statistic.
The March Of the Living:
Maybe it was appropriate that
the sun was not shining on the
day of the march. The clouds
wept with me. When the pro-
cession began, all the Israeli
flags were waving in the air and
all 6,000 Jewish students from
around the world marched from
Lisa Zaks
' y mom recently
told me of a con-
versation she had
with a friend about the Jewish
holidays. As she tried earnestly
to explain the meaning of
Chanukah, the woman re-
sponded: "Oh, it's kind of like
our Christmas."
I face similar misunder-
standings almost daily at De-
troit Country Day, a
cosmopolitan, yet primarily gen-
tile, school. I have always been
a minority. I always thought
that this was quite normal —
until last summer.
In June, my family and I vis-
ited Israel with a group from
Temple Beth El. I quickly be-
came one small person amidst
hundreds of people just like me.
No longer was I the one ex-
plaining my heritage, but rather
the one hearing the explanation.
It occurred to me that I was
no longer alone; these were my
people. This was my homeland.
I had always hoped to find a
place like this — a place where
American Jews could live as
part of a Jewish majority.
The deeply-grooved moun-
tains, the desert, the Sephardic
and Ashkenazic Jews — every-
thing and everyone seemed to
have a personal connection.
In no other place but temple
had I been around so many
Jews. Even the waiter at the ho-
tel joined our prayer service on
Shabbat!
I was overwhelmed with a
feeling of closeness and unity to-
ward Chasidim at the Western
Wall, toward passersby in
Jerusalem, toward teen-agers
partying in the streets of Tel
Aviv.
This oneness, I believe, is part
of the magic of the country that
brings people back toyisit again
and again.
Lilly Epstein planting a tree at
the Jewish National Forest.
People of All ages and differ-
ent backgrounds comprised my
travel group. Some had never
been to Israel before; others had
been there numerous times. At
first, our differences seemed like
significant barriers. Later, the
diversity became a foundation
for unity. We traveled with a
common mission: to learn about
our homeland.
I realized that Israel's unity
must be preserved for people
and for the next generation of
Jews who will want to live in a
Jewish state.
During this school year, I of-
ten reflect on my experiences in
Israel. I came back a person who
has experienced living as a ma-
jority.
Now, I'm part of the minori-
ty again, but I realize that there
is a place of unity — even if it is
thousands of miles away, or
seemingly inaccessible. There is
a place of hope. ❑
Auschwitz to Birkenau — in si-
lence.
Never before had I felt so
proud to be Jewish, yet at the
same time, I grieved for those
who walked this path straight
to their deaths.
That was the day I discovered
the purpose and mission of my
journey: Never forget the
tragedy of the Holocaust.
Since my return, I have felt it
is my responsibility to educate
To take part in "Taking Notes" — our new high school
others about the significance of
the Holocaust. In a world filled student section — come to The Jewish News' pre-Chanukah
with prejudice and hatred and dinner meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 1993. Kosher food
suffering and rage, lessons of the will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will last until
Holocaust must be taught.
Through slide presentations 8:00. It will be held at the offices of The Jewish News: 27676
detailing my trip, I inform Jews Franklin Road, in the Regency Office Center between 11
and gentiles, whites and blacks, and 12 Mile roads.
youngsters and the elderly
Please RSVP to Ruth Littmann, staff writer: 354-6060. If
about the history, as well as the
meaning, of the Holocaust.
you are unable to attend the meeting, call Ruth to discuss
Just as I will never forget, article ideas over the phone.
they too will learn to re-
member. ❑