jews d
in
the
Lessons
Learned
From
Survivors
F
Charles Silow
TOP: Survivors and
second-generation family
members dance at a Café
Europa event hosted by
the Program for Holocaust
Survivors and Families.
or the past 25 years, I
have had the honor to
work with Holocaust
survivors through the Program
for Holocaust Survivors and
Families of Jewish Senior Life. I
have had the privilege of getting
to know them and learning from
them. As we mark Yom HaShoah
today, April 12, I would like to
share some of the life lessons I’ve
gained as I have gotten to know
survivors.
Let me add the qualification
that survivors are unique individ-
uals and it is always important
not to generalize. That said, I’d
like to share some of my obser-
vations about survivors and the
gifts they have given me.
As I make my observations,
please know these lessons are
from my own experiences.
1) From the survivors, I have
learned to more greatly appre-
ciate life itself and to have
gratitude for all that we have.
Survivors know how precious
life is. For years, they lived under
unbelievable circumstances,
losing their families, enduring
starvation, beatings and the con-
stant threat of death. Survivors
created new life after the war.
One survivor reflecting on his
own resilience stated, “What is it
about us that we never give up,
that we keep going? I always say
to myself, ‘Never give up; there is
always hope.’ I count my bless-
ings everyday. I appreciate life
because of what I went through.”
Another survivor, the only
survivor of 10 children, says
that “every day I thank God for
everything that I have. Boruch
Hashem, (thank God), I’m alive.”
2) From the survivors, I have
learned to more greatly appreci-
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ate the importance of family.
After the war, survivors came
to the United States, Canada,
Israel and other countries and
built new lives. They married,
had children and worked hard.
Their children were named
after their deceased relatives so
that their names and memories
would live on. In my own case,
I was named after my mother’s
father and my father’s father.
Also, raising children helped
give survivors a sense of pur-
pose and joy. Seeing grand-
children gives them a greater
sense of gratification knowing
their families and the Jewish
people have continued. One
survivor commented, “It never
goes away. Hitler left quite an
impact on all of us, some more,
some less. What makes me
happy now is to see the grand-
children and know that they
are OK.”
3) From the survivors, I have
learned to more greatly appre-
ciate my Jewish heritage and
religion. As the survivors
converse, joke and sing with
one another in Yiddish, I have
gained a sense of how lively
and energetic the Jewish world
of Europe had been. It’s very
impressive to see how some are
very learned in the Chumash
and Talmud and are easily able
to quote from Torah. Survivors
love and cherish the State of
Israel. They say that had Israel
existed then, the Jewish people
would have had a refuge from
the Nazis. They are proud of
Israel and proud to be Jewish.
4) From the survivors, I have
learned to more greatly appre-
ciate the importance of the
freedoms we enjoy in the U.S.
For the most part, survivors
grew up with anti-Semitism in
their home European countries.
After the Holocaust, most left
Europe to seek a refuge from
anti-Semitism and the possi-
bilities of a better life. Survivors
are very patriotic and cherish
their freedom in America, in
particular freedom of religion,
to be able to practice Judaism
without fear and with the pro-
tection of the law.
5) From the survivors, I have
learned to more greatly appre-
ciate the importance of doing
good for others. Survivors know
how people can be intolerant
and brutal to one another. Six
million innocent Jews were mur-
dered simply because they were
Jewish. When survivors see pres-
ent-day images of refugees or vic-
tims of disaster, they understand
the pain. Because of their pain,
they understand the pain of all.
At the Portraits of Honor: Our
Michigan Holocaust Survivors
exhibit at the Holocaust
Memorial Center and online at
portraitsofhonor.org, more than
550 Holocaust survivors have
been interviewed. They are asked
what message they would like
to leave for future generations.
Invariably, they answer that no
one, no people should ever expe-
rience such a horrible tragedy,
that we must all love and respect
one another and try to live in
peace.
6) From the survivors, I have
learned to more greatly know
that we must try to enjoy life and
take care of ourselves. One of
things that has always surprised
me is that despite the tragedies
survivors have endured, many
are able to enjoy life. I remem-
ber going to Shaarit HaPlaytah
(Holocaust survivors organiza-
tion) dinner dances and being
pleasantly surprised to see sur-
vivors’ love of living expressed in
dancing, shmoozing and enjoy-
ing each other’s company.
When survivors came to
America, they formed social
organizations and smaller
groups of friends who would
socialize with one another. One
group of four couples would
regularly play cards, Bingo and
go on cruises together. In a sense,
they were re-creating extended
families and new communities
for themselves.
7) From the survivors, I have
learned to have a greater overall
perspective about life. I remem-
ber the story Manny Mittelman
told in Portraits of Honor about
when he was traveling in the U.S.
“I was in an airport and they can-
celed our flight. A lot of people
were upset, angry and yelling at
the people behind the counter. I
had my books and my food with
me; I found a little corner and
was waiting for the commotion
to settle down.
Someone came up to me and
said, ‘Excuse me; I’ve been notic-
ing you; everyone’s upset and you
seem so calm. How do you do it?’
I said I’m a Holocaust survivor.
I close my eyes and think, ‘I’m
in Auschwitz!’ Then I open my
eyes and say to myself, ‘I’m not
in Auschwitz! I’m a free man. I’m
in America. I’m alive, thank God.
I’m in an airport. I have a roof
over my head. I have food. There
will be another flight.’ Auschwitz
taught me it’s not the end of the
world; there is a tomorrow.” •
Charles Silow, Ph.D., is director of the
Program for Holocaust Survivors and
Families of Jewish Senior Life.