Page 6-Tuesday, December 5, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Survivor describes death camp
(Continued from Page 1)
friends. Now she has rebuilt her life and
is living in Buffalo with her husband,
Kurt Klein and three children.
GERDA WEISSMAN was 15 and
living with her family in Bielitz,
Poland, when the war came in Septem-
ber, 1939. Her only brother, Arthur, had
to register for the German draft, but he
was later able to escape to Russia.
fAlthougl they corresponded for a
while, she never saw him again.
Three years later she and her parents
were moved to separate work camps.
Her father also wrote for a while, but
later the letters stopped coming.
Klein said she refused to believe her
family was dead. "One snowy evening
in a concentration camp, when I was 18,
I asked for one wish. I pictured the
living room of my house during my
childhood. My father would be reading,
my mother would be doing her
needlepoint, and Arthur and I would be
doing our homework.
"I USED TO think of those evenings
as boring, but in that concentration
camp I wished for just one more
evening at home like that. This wish
was my drive for survival.
"The meaning of life can't be found in
the heights of fame and fortune or in the
depths of tragedy, but in the boring
days known as everything."
Klein clung to a few friends during
her three years in camps. "We knew
only hunger, pain, and barbed wire. But
there was never a single suicide or ner-
vous breakdown. I think this is a tribute
to the spirit of young people.
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"THE LOVE, caring, and sharing in
camp gave us reason to hope for the
ultimate good of humanity."
Late in 1944, 4,000 women from
Klein's camp and from Auschwitz were
put on a "death march" to
Czechoslovakia in order to escape the
advancing Allied forces. At the end of
the march in the spring, only 120 sur-
vived to be freed by the Americans on
May 6, 1945.
Klein's friend Ilse died on the death
march, exactly one week before the
liberation. "Ilse left me a legacy of
memories. She gave me my life. She
was 18 when she died. As I held her in
my arms, she made me promise that I
would keep on for one more week. I was
freed after that one week."
KLEIN MET her future husband, Lt.
Kurt Klein, on liberation day. She said
she and the other survivors were locked
in a barracks to which the Germans had
attached a time bomb. A night rain kept
the bomb from exploding, and the next
day the women were let outside with the
news that the war was over.
She remembers feeling nothing at
all;' the six years of war had been
emotionally draining.
Lt. Klein came to usher the survivors
to the hospital. Klein acted as an inter-
preter, and she remembers the first
words he spoke to her. "He asked, 'May
I see the other ladies?' That was the fir-
st time anyone had called us ladies for a
long time. He held the door for me as we
entered the barracks. That gesture
restored me to humanity.".
Like death, Klein sees the holocaust
as a taboo subject. "The holocaust is
like a dark, ominous cloud on the
Jewish horizon. People' are afraid to
touch it, afraid that it will spill out
again."
Klein has written a book about her
experiences entitled, All But My Life.
Recently she wrote a second book, The
Blue Rose, about a mentally retarded
child. She is one of the founders of the
Blue Rose Foundation, which hopes to
provide a facility in western New York
where retarded young adults can farm
and care for animals.
Klein has received many awards for
her work in community affairs. Her
philosophy of life, she said, can be
summarized: "When the night is very
dark, the dawn is brilliant."
Whiti ngf
(Continued from Page 1)
think he moves too far too fast. Another
part of that opposition would support
Hua because they don't think he
deserves that kind of treatment."
Whiting said any move by Teng to
coopt power now would also set back
Teng's own goal of attracting foreign
investment. "Who would want to
support a regime that can't hold its
leaders in line for eight months?"
Whiting asked.
INSTEAD OF AN indirect attack at
Hua, Whiting interprets the wall poster
attacks on Mao as Teng's two-pronged
attempt to clear his own name on the
one hand, and to let the Chinese
populace know they have a freer reign
under the new leadership than under
Mao.
"Teng has been determined to really
change people's behavior in China, a
behavior that has been conditioned over
ten years. (The Chinese) before had to
look over their shoulder to see who was
carrying a knife. So pushing the wall
posters was one way of offering proof
that the limits are greatly expanded."
The Chinese citizens apparently
showed last week that they would take
full advantage of their new freedoms.
Throngs of Chinese gathered daily to
talk with foreign diplomats and
journalists about domestic politics.
Previously, Chinese were reluctant to
give a foreigner the time of day.
OVER THE weekend, the Chinese
leadership apparently decided to bring
the leash in just slightly, as the citizens
were warned in official directives about
letting the recent wave of wall posters
and rallies get out of hand.
Last week's events were coupled with
a seemingly unrelated announcement
from Peking this weekend that Chinese
businesses will open in Japan next
year. This unprecedented joint Sino-
Japan business venture is an example
of this regime's repudiation of
Chairman Mao's self-reliance
principle. Instead of condenning
foreign technology as the first step in
foreign domination, China - following
the new modernization policies of Teng
- is now openly soliciting foreign
investment and shifting towards a more
market-oriented economy.
As for China's apparent new course
away from self-reliance and towards
ikternational trade and foreign
investment, Whiting said, the trend
"cannot be reversed. The basic policy
has too many vested interests.
THERE'S A tremendous amount of
resistance to these policies and that ca
be tapped," Whiting said. "It wa
tapped in 1976 when the Gang of Fou
went all out against Teng and hi
policies as counter-revolutionary. Fo
ten years, Chinese youth wer
socialized into believing in Mao and th
Gang of Four ideology."
But Whiting believes tha
"institutionalized democracy is boun
to increase. It's one of the post-Ma
regimes express pledges. There'll be n
party other than the communist part5
but it does mean accountability. It doe
mean wall posters, it does mea
greater use of the media to expres
grievances, letters to the editor, etc."
The future of China, according t
Whiting, may depend on the mortalit
among the top leaders. Hua is 57-years
old, Teng is 75. Should Teng
proponent of the Chinese modernizatio
policy - stay alive long enough to s
his policies in motion, China will not b
able to revert to its past attitudes
according to Whiting. If, howevei
there is a leadership change soon, th
policies begun under Teng could b
continued or totally abandoned in favo
of a move back to self-reliance.
As Whiting said, "We can only se
China in futures of three to five years.'
oresees freer China
* SACUA'
(Continued from Page 1),
rules and regulations..."
The Dec. 18 meeting will mark the
second time the Faculty Senate Assem-
bly has reviewed a policy proposal on
intelligence agencies in the last year.
-The 70 member group rejected a prop-
sal last May because of numerous ob-
jections by faculty members. The
guidelines were sent back to the CLB
for reworking at that time.
Schedule Change - Tonite (not the 6th)
ALAIN RESNAIS
1959
Hiroshima, Mon Amour
An actress in Tokyo making an anti-war movie meets and falls in love with a
Japanese architect. Immediately Resnais introduces us to things within things-
the filming of a film within a film; an actress playing an actress in the midst
of a part; an anti-war film within an anti-war film. Resnais subtly mirrors the
many layered levels of our lives, carefully and skillfully placing the boxes
within boxes, his meaning within layers of meaning. This film gives us a
vivid insight into the reality of our world and thrust Resnais into the forefront
of the nouvelle vogue and French Cinema. Cannes Film Festival.
FRI-Kinky Sci-fi, A BOY AND HIS DOG
SAT-Truffaut's THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN
SUN-LIFE OF EMIL ZOLA & MRS. MINIVER
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Senator
nearl
killed
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -
Senate Majority Whip Ted Stevens
(R-Alaska) was seriously hurt and his
wife, Ann, reportedly was killed
yesterday when the private plane they
were in crashed at Anchorage Inter-
national Airport.
Stevens was listed in serious but
stable condition at Providence Hospital
here, according to nursing supervisor
Yvonne Cairns. She said he suffered
possible head, arm and neck injuries.
SHE SAID STEVENS was "alert and
awake."
Witnesses at the scene said Mrs.
Stevens was killed.
The Stevenses had five children.
Irafts sp guidelines
OBSERVERS WERE unable to that "there certainly have bee
predict the chances of the current modifications in the direction I woul
document receiving approval by the like to see it modified," but maintaine
Assembly this time. However, most that "I'll have to be convinced we reall
seemed optimistic that, after need such a document."
discussions of wording and content, a NAYLOR ALSO sad he was unsur
vote would be taken on the principles in the guideliens would be effective an
the document. that he was apprehensive about" rule
SACUA member Jesse Gordon, and on things faculty are not allowed to do
professor of Social Work and which include "an implied punishmer
Psychology, said he was "rather mechanism."'
strongly" in favor of the document, Should the guidelines be approved
though he did want to suggest some the Assembly, they must then
changes. Gordon agreed with opponen- recommended to the Regents by t
ts that the guidelines are an encroach- administration. The Regents must the
ment of academic freedom, but he said approve the guidelines for them t
he thought they are "an appropriate become University policy.
one." SACUA Chairman and history Pro
"Academic freedoms can only cover Shaw Livermore, who has acted as ir
honorable activities," he said. termediary between the CLB and tl
BUT ENGINEERING Prof. Arch administration for much of th
Naylor, another SACUA member, said discussion on the guidelines, was o
he would probably vote against the timistic about the possibility of such
guidelines when the Assembly meets. recommendation.
Naylor stressed that he had not "I think they (the chances) a
thoroughly read the present draft and good," Livermore said.
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By KEVIN ROSEBOROUGH
James Thiry will take over as the
University's director of personnel
January 1, University Vice-President
James Brinkerhoff announced Novem-
ber 29. He will succeed Russell Reister,
who will become director of plant
operations on the same date.
In accepting the position, Thiry ends
an absence of over four years from the
University. Thiry joined the University
staff in 1964, as assistant manager of
staff benefits. Two years later he was
named manager of staff and union
relations, and was named assistant
director of personnel in 1974.
Thiry left the University in July of
1974 to accept the position of personnel
director of the University of Rochester
in New York. He is resigning from that
position toreturn to Ann Arbor.
Brinkerhoff chose Thiry from over 30
candidates recommended by a
specifice selection committee. "Jim
Thiry's homecoming will be welcomed
at Michigan," said Brinkerhoff. "He is
a highly capable administrator who
knows our personnel operation, with the
additional factor of having been in total
charge of a similar office at another
major university."
Thiry feels that his experience at the
University of Rochester has prepared
him for the personnel directorship at
the University. "There are a lot of
similar characteristics in the quality
and orientation of the two universities,"
said Thiry. "Although Rochester is
smaller, it maintains a major medical
program, runs a 750-bed hospital, and
has a major part of the faculty involved
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The first priority for Thiry when h
starts work in January is reorientin
himself with the policies and concern
of the University. "I won't assume tha
anything is the same," he said. "Just a
people change, institutions an
relationships change." As director e
personnel, Thiry will be charged wit
union and compensation matters, a
well as dealing with non-instructions
University staff.
A native of Green Bay, Wisconsir
Thiry is a graduate of the University C
Wisconsin. He also studied at Indian
and Purdue universities.
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