Chapter Eighteen: College

After several years of teaching physical fitness, I noticed an announcement in the local newspaper that Marie Victorin College was offering a three-year course geared towards enjoying an active retirement. As we had both reached the age of 60, we registered. We had to give up teaching at the Y. because this time schedule interfered with our courses.

One of the subjects we took was English Literature. The topic for a paper we had to submit was free choice, but the topic had to be approved by the teacher prior to writing. Instead of following instructions, I approached the teacher and asked her what she would suggest I write about. She contemplated for a couple of minutes and said, "from you, I want something personal."

Her comment infuriated me -- how dare she ask me to share something personal with her -- something I never shared with anybody else. I decided not to do it.

The following morning I started to analyze what transpired the previous evening, and realized that I had no reason to be upset. After all, I was the one who asked the teacher what the topic should be, and she told me, so why be upset. As I had not done anything of this nature before, I had difficulty to put it on paper. Finally I jotted down some of my experiences, looked it over, and decided to share it with the teacher. She brought it back to me the following week with a request; "would I be willing to read the paper to the class?" Momentarily I wanted to refuse her request but reason prevailed. I figured the personal experience I had written about had already been shared with the teacher, so what harm would it do if I read it to the class? My answer was none, so I agreed to read it.

The side effects of the above incident were very beneficial to me. It opened the lid of my hidden memories which I had kept tightly sealed. Although there was a need and often a desire to find relief from this heavy burden, I could not find the strength to pry open the lid.

Initiating the first step, which is the most difficult one, the others followed suit. As time passed, I noticed that the nightmares I had all these years diminished and I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

I then gave this paper to our children and grandchildren to read, who in turn asked for more. This gave me the initiative to write more about my experiences encountered during the war.

Through the intervention of our grandchildren, who at the time were high school students at Herzliah, I received an invitation to speak to the students at their Holocaust memorial. It was my first experience in public speaking and sharing my personal experiences with the younger generation. The attentiveness of the students and their reaction made me realize the importance of letting this younger generation know what prejudice can do when it is not challenged.

Prejudice often starts very innocently by voicing non-complimentary opinions about a certain ethnic group of people. The next step is when the prejudiced person avoids people from the group he dislikes.

Up to this point, he is not causing any harm. If the person continues to be prejudiced then he discriminates. He will not associate with anyone in the group he dislikes. If the prejudice is heightened, he will resort to violence and destruction, like setting fires or demolishing tombstones in a cemetery. The final step is the Holocaust with the gas ovens.

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