Tonight I attended a Holocaust Survivor's Story, at Seton Hill. Though I did not wish to go of my own accord (Connections assignment), I look back on the experience with amazement and grateful sentiments.
It is so easy to have some kind of preconceived notion about these lectures. Graphic pics, sad faces, tears.
Robert Mendler didn't express that side of the Holocaust, as he stated, it was his "own personal experience". No tears.
Well, not from him. From me.
His ability alone to speak of his experiences in concentration camps, losing everyone in his huge family, and immigration to the United States left me awestruck at the immense capabilities of the human spirit.
I want to re-rent Schindler's List and try The Pianist to get a better understanding (they were both Academy Award winners--good viewing material).
"The Holocaust is a period that should not be forgotten...for fear of reproduction in future generations," I am misquoting terribly, but he said something like that.
I don't want to forget; I don't want the children of the future to live with nightmares of gas chambers, mass graves, and lost loved ones killed at the crushing hands of bigotry.
It is our responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen. Through education we can prevent it--even through movies. Let us rise to that place.
Posted by Amanda Cochran at September 23, 2003 10:46 PMLet me also recommend "The Scarlet and the Black" (Christopher Plummer and Gregory Peck, 1983)
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at September 23, 2003 11:37 PMNever heard of that one. I do like Christopher Plummer, though. Saw him in The Sound of Music...liked him, not the singing--more like a dying cow than man.
Love Gregory Peck.
I hope we can prevent this in the future. I am not optimistic. I look around the world, there is hate everywhere, and mass murders and genocide occur occasionally.
The speaker showed you the immense capabilities of the human spirit. Unfortunately, the whole episode shows the very darkest side of the human spirit.
Posted by: Paige at September 24, 2003 11:12 AMyes, I was also very moved by the whole experience. I have attended presentations in the past given by Holocaust survivors, and the result is always the same--the audience does more crying and gasping than the speaker. It's not unheard of, anyway.
Amanda, when and if you rent the movies, can I come over to watch?? It's been awhile since I've seen them, too. B-)
Until then, I am left with the awe of how those that have lived through one of the most devastating events in history can talk openly about it. No matter how many times I witness this, I will continue to be plagued with sheer wonder at this feat.
Posted by: KarissaKilgore at September 26, 2003 2:31 PMi love you all who had to go through that rough time god bless
Posted by: katie at April 6, 2004 8:33 PM