interview holocaust survivor

16. "We can’t control what’s happening. Yes, sometimes I do yell, but I’ve always been very selective about who I do it in front of. I condemn that time.”, Frenzel continued to try and humanize himself to his former victim: “I beg you to see me from a different perspective, other than Sobibor. Are people really capable of such change, going from active participation in genocide to true regret? Blatt met Frenzel in a hotel room, the only time a Nazi death camp supervisor was ever interviewed by a death camp survivor. “You want to apologize to me?” he asked incredulously. Holocaust survivor interviews won’t be possible forever, with many Auschwitz survivors now in their late 80s. “They told me I was subhuman and the only way I would get out was as a corpse,” Eger revealed. Mothers worry too much, not realizing that at least 85% of worry never happens. “You don’t know what went on inside of us. 2. Blatt published his history of Sobibor the following year. Earlier this month, a national survey revealed a shocking lack of knowledge about the Holocaust in people younger than 40: 63% of those surveyed did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and one in 10 said they didn't recall ever having heard the word "Holocaust" before. When I was 40, I was told to go for a doctorate and I said, “It’s impossible because by the time I get a doctorate, I’ll be 50.” And the person said, “You’ll be 50 anyway.” Isn’t that brilliant? In one incident, Frenzel ordered the deaths of 20 Jews as punishment for the escape of two prisoners. Narrator: During the final days of World War II, in the hills of southern Czechoslovakia, U.S. Army cameras recorded the aftermath of a little-known Nazi atrocity. And I too, have often thought about it, about justice and injustice, and I have to the conclusion that what happened then was an injustice. 12. I was shocked that just during the war, when I wanted to serve my homeland, I had to be in such a terrible extermination camp.”1. Israel's Holocaust survivor population dwindling daily 2020, the year of COVID, saw over 14,000 survivors pass away. “Oh, yes, of course!” Frenzel responded. “He ordered the execution of 72 Jews.” Frenzel denied that he had taken them to the gas chamber. Be a good role model. Another SS man said of Frenzel: "He was one of the most brutal members of the permanent staff in the camp. When Dr. Edith "Edie" Eger was 16, she watched as her parents were led to a gas chamber at Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp run by the Nazis during the Second World War. That changed Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. For Heshy Rubinstein, a Brooklyn photographer who has interviewed some 600 survivors over the past 15 years, Holocaust documentation is a family affair. It’s what now, not why me? You cannot forget; neither can I. I dream about it at night; for sixteen years in prison. His whip was very loose.”1 “Frenzel was really one of the bad ones – if he could kill people he did,” survivor Chaim Engel stated. Would other people in his situation act the way because they were ordered to? “No one can take away from you what you’ve put in your mind.”, “I created a world that gave me some comfort in my soul. Eger was discovered under a pile of dead bodies when Auschwitz was liberated in 1945. But we can choose how we respond to it. Frenzel did not deny the accusation. You’re not a mother. This is the Lydia’s incredible story. Frenzel served 16 years in prison, was released on a technicality and then retried. TODAY Interview: 18 tips for living your best life from a Holocaust survivor "We can’t control what’s happening. Holocaust survivor Flash 90 Irving Roth speaks of the gates closed by democracies, especially the betrayal by the FDR administration, to rescue European Jewish men, … This includes any people, Jewish or non-Jewish, who were displaced, persecuted, or discriminated against due to the racial, religious, ethnic, social, and political policies of the Nazis and their collaborators between 1933 and 1945. “I wanted to apologize to you in person for all that happened then. He had a more personal agenda. If you would accept my apologies in the names of the victims, it would in some small measure be a comfort to me. Sept. 23, 2020, 9:51 PM UTC I wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk between two human beings. I was able to change hatred into pity.”. If so, why did he not act in a different manner during the war? To my regret, I was then convinced of its necessity. “I condemn what happened to the Jews. Frenzel said he was warned by a Polish Kapo that a number of Dutch Jews were preparing a revolt and informed Commandant Niemann. “What happened to the Dutch Jews?” Blatt asked. Children will not do what you say, they will do what they see. Instead you say, “up until now” or “in the past.”. Families are very sick if they have secrets. Eger’s new book, “The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life,” offers wisdom on resilience, grief and finding hope in the darkest times. 17. What happened happened. The things that have stayed with you have also stayed with me. Are people capable of carrying the most heinous crimes imaginable because they were ordered to, and then truly coming to realize they were wrong? With immersive environments, Mandela promotes human rights with a clear message: all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You are a human being. I like people to be realistic, not idealistic. “Good to see you,” “I missed you.” And then you have good sex. 10. What would be an appropriate punishment for Frenzel. I am sorry about what happened there, but I cannot make what’s done undone. “That’s what it always comes down to, duty. 11. She went on to become a world-renowned clinical psychologist specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. “I would like to apologize,” Frenzel repeated. Most defendants denied they had carried out any crimes or claimed they were only “following orders.” One of the few who did express remorse was SS Staff Sergeant Karl Frenzel, one of the top commanders at the Sobibor Death Camp. To tolerate meeting with the murderer, Blatt tried to distance himself emotionally, to act only as an objective writer carrying out important historical research. “Not only am I beside myself now, no, back then, too. I don’t hold that against you. Did he truly feel remorse for his actions? 4. Don’t ask your partner stupid questions like, “How are you?” because they are going to say “fine,” even if they’re not fine. But I would like to extend my personal apologies to you.”, Blatt still couldn’t quite comprehend what Frenzel had said: “You would like to apologize?” he asked again. [Text on screen] In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the following film presents the story of one Holocaust survivor as a tribute to the millions whose stories cannot be told. Frenzel claimed that he did not recall the incident. 9. 14. But we can choose how we respond to it.". Does this make his apology less sincere? You are Karl Frenzel, the SS commandant. This extraordinary exchange raises many questions. I was not a victim. Is circumstance as important as Frenzel maintains? I have been cursing the Nazis – for what they did, and everything they stood for.”. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1997235-242, Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Interview With the Devil: A Holocaust Survivor Interviews a Sobibor Death Camp Supervisor, Allied Control Council's Law on Nazi Punishment, The Declaration of St James’s Palace on Punishment for War Crimes, http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn505563, © 1998 - 2021 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. When Blatt asked whether the murder of 250,000 Jews was his duty, Frenzel replied: “We had to do our duty. One of the many educational programs Roth developed was the Adopt-A-Survivor program, which allows a student interview a Holocaust survivor. Maybe 30 years, maybe 50 years, maybe two days, but it was a gift. For us, this was a bad time,” Frenzel answered. Oral testimony of Chaim Engel. That’s just a role that you play. 8. 7. Blatt agreed to meet to discuss details of the camp for the history of Sobibor he was writing. During his second trial, he agreed to speak with Toivi Blatt, one of the few survivors of the death camp, who had arrived in West Germany and testified against Frenzel. 6. You ranked third in the chain of command at the extermination camp of Sobibor…I was fifteen years old. I would feel the same way.” 3. Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eger's new book was released in September 2020. a national survey revealed a shocking lack of knowledge about the Holocaust, Holocaust survivor fulfills lifelong dream of receiving diploma. Blatt asked Frenzel if he felt torn between his Nazi party membership and his religious beliefs as a regular churchgoer. Blatt noted that tens of thousands of children were killed at Sobibor, but Frenzel denied having taken part in the killing of children. “I would like you to know I was always fair,” Frenzel replied. Blatt blinked. Why did you club my father to the ground immediately upon arrival? If I complain to you that I hurt my thumb, and you say, “Oh, honey, I just saw a person that doesn’t have an arm,” then I’m going to feel guilty for feeling the way I do. We can’t control what’s happening. 5. Then you won’t have sex. Frenzel claims he is sorry about what happened at Sobibor, but doesn’t apologize for his own actions, including whippings and murders, saying he was doing what he thought was his duty. I would like to ask the forgiveness of all of them. 2 United States Holocaust Museum. Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann had given speeches at many events over the years about his experiences, but none of them had lasted 16 hours or included thousands of … Blatt inquired about several other times Frenzel whipped inmates. Don’t dwell on what you could have done or should have done. For the first time, government data on survivors includes Jews from North Africa and the Middle East who were targets of antisemitic persecution. I understand how you must feel. IE 11 is not supported. Jacobs was told he is the only Holocaust survivor to design a memorial. Eger spent eight months at the death camp in southern Poland where she was starved, beaten and humiliated by soldiers. Scholars like Stanley Milgram and Christopher Browning maintain people are hard-wired to follow orders, while others like Daniel Goldhagen, reject this claim. I was greatly bothered by it all.”, Blatt collected himself and began pressing the former death camp supervisor. Live in the present. I have PTSD. With that smile on your face you could be anybody’s neighbor, anybody’s fellow sporting-club member. When someone dies, celebrate every moment you had with them rather than thinking “I lost that person.” No, you were gifted with that person. Anti-Semitism Biography History Holocaust Israel Israel Education Myths & Facts Politics Religion Travel US & Israel Vital Stats Women Nazi War Crimes Trials: Interview With the Devil: A Holocaust Survivor Interviews a Death Camp Supervisor The … Blatt never forgave Frenzel for his crimes at Sobibor. But you are not anybody. You don’t understand the circumstances in which we found ourselves,” Frenzel responded. We can’t change anything about that. Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann had given speeches at many events over the years about his experiences, but none of them had lasted 16 hours or included thousands of people from around the world. Eger will celebrate her 93rd birthday next week. Avoid using “always” and “never.” Those are absolutistic words. I can understand how you feel and that you harbor a certain hatred against us. At 90, she published her memoir, “The Choice,” which tells the story of her survival and healing. Once he found out it was an extermination camp he asked for a transfer but was denied: “So, all I could do was my duty,” he told Blatt. He often whipped prisoners and, one time when a prisoner tried to commit suicide, Frenzel shouted that Jews had no right to kill themselves. Blatt began the meeting by pointing out the enormity of the crimes Frenzel had committed: “Here you are drinking beer. Frenzel told Blatt that before he arrived at Sobibor, he was told it was a work camp. At the Sobibor trials in 1965, Frenzel was charged with personally murdering 42 Jews and participating in the murder of roughly a quarter of a million at the camp. Was that your duty?”. “I would like to apologize to you,” Frenzel responded. “I was no anti-Semite, but we had to do our duty. Be equal partners. There is no man’s job or woman’s job. “That was my innocence,” Eger, a native of Hungary, told TODAY Parents. “Duty,”, Blatt responded skeptically. “I never punished anyone who didn’t do anything wrong.” Blatt noted that Frenzel once shot a boy for stealing sardines. He noted that Frenzel not only did not prevent any of it from happening but actively took part in the mass murder. Be a compassionate listener and keep their feelings company. Do we believe that Frenzel was sincere in his apology? 3. Just as you dream about it at night.”, Blatt asked Frenzel if he carried out his actions due to anti-Semitism or orders. Frenzel, however, saw the meeting very differently. “I can only say it now in tears,” Frenzel replied. http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn505563. The former SS guard denied the incident, as well as several other murders he had been accused of committing: “It is incomprehensible to me that that I should be accused of having killed children,” Frenzel explained. Chabad of Plano/Collin County hosted Elisha Wiesel, the son of the famous Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, for a free virtual community event on Sunday and awarded the Florence Shapiro Distinguished Leadership Award to a dedicated public affairs director at H-E-B/Central Market. The Benjamin and Vladka Meed Registry of Holocaust Survivors is seeking the names of all survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi-era persecution. I was able to decide that the Nazis were the prisoners because of their guilty consciences,” Eger said. If so, what does this say about human nature? Instead, make a statement. The San Diego-based mother of three shared 18 life lessons: 1. He died a free man in 1996. Don’t talk to your husband like he’s your child. I have much on my conscience, many human lives. Worry is useless. “If he didn’t like somebody, he shot them.”2, Another survivor testified that one time Frenzel grabbed an abandoned baby in an incoming transport, smashed its skull and threw it aside, like a dead rat. Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka: The Operation Reinhard Death Camps, Indiana University Press, Bloomington: pg. 192. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Mandela: Struggle for Freedom traces the history of the fight against apartheid in South Africa, with Nelson Mandela as one of its central figures. “Ever since 1945. Eger credits her survival to her mother’s parting words of advice on a filthy cattle truck bound for Auschwitz. I was victimized. Besides me, nobody survived; not my father, not my mother, not my brother, none one of the two thousand Jews from my town, Izbica. In his defense Frenzel stated: “As I already pointed out, under the prevailing war conditions, which are now difficult to comprehend, I unfortunately believed that what was going on in Sobibor was lawful. He seems to be saying he is sorry for what happened, but not for what he did personally. In … You should both wash the car and do the cooking. Among them: Sources: The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, 1Yitzchak Arad. Don’t go to bed angry. I survived because you made me your shoeshine boy. As one of a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, Eger feels compelled to share her stories of horror, and hope. Frenzel was re-sentenced to life in prison, but was released due to ill health a short time later. “I actually prayed for them, not me. In 1980, he became the Founding Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He is President of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, an organization he and his wife created to fight indifference, intolerance and injustice. He then whipped the dying man and shot him with his pistol. Ashes of Sobibor. 13. 3Toivi Blatt. 15. After World War Two, Nazi war criminals were tried in courts around Europe. “Nothing can be done about the victims. Not one, no – 100,000 human lives are on my conscience.”, Blatt closed the interview by asking Frenzel again why he wanted to speak with him. At least a quarter-million Jews were murdered at Sobibor.”, Blatt asked Frenzel why he wanted to meet him. She witnessed unspeakable horrors, including the sight of a young boy being used for target practice and a woman in labor with her legs bound shut. Don’t suppress feelings because then you’ll get headaches and tummy aches. (1987). But we can choose how we respond to it."
interview holocaust survivor 2021