Closing Remarks

Looking back and analyzing my life, in spite of some tragic and painful periods I went through, life is definitely worth living.

I consider myself to be a fortunate person for many reasons. The most important one was finding Bela after the liberation from the concentration camps. She was my first and only love. Just thinking about her gave me the will and courage to survive the most difficult periods in the camps.

We recently celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary. She is a person with many qualities. She has raised our two daughters, instilling in them love and devotion to each other and remaining good friends with their mother.

We arrived in Canada in December 1948, penniless, without knowledge of English or French. I was not yet a fully qualified cabinetmaker but having the will to learn, I was convinced that I would succeed. I worked during the day and attended courses in the evenings, and as time went by, I was promoted from one position to another.

I enjoy meeting challenges, which gives me a feeling of accomplishment and helps me to look for new challenges. As an employee in a managerial position for a large company, at peak periods I had close to 200 people from different ethnic groups in my charge. I was always fair in my decisions in order to satisfy both parties the owners and the unionized employees. As I meet employees who worked under my supervision from time to time, I can look them in the eye without any fear or misgivings.

Financially we have always lived within our means with an eye to the future. Bela and I furnished our home and in addition, Bela made her own clothes, as well as our daughters', which in itself was quite a saving. So now being retired, we can afford to carry on with our life style as before. I retired voluntarily on my 70th birthday, having worked for the same company for 41 years.

With pride, I state that from the day I arrived in Canada, until the day I retired, I have never collected unemployment insurance.

It is a known fact that life presents constant problems to be solved, and because of these problems one grows mentally and spiritually. As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those things that hurt, instruct." It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that one learns as I did.

When we were in the concentration camps we saw some of our inmates behaving like animals, while others behaved like true human beings. It seems that man has both of these potentialities within himself, which one he actualizes depends on his decision, not so much on the condition, although man is known not to be completely free from conditions, be they biological, physiological, or sociological in nature. But as Victor Frankl states, "Man always remains free to take a stand toward these conditions. He always retains the freedom to choose his attitude toward them."

I proved this while in the camp when I was whipped, naked under a stream of cold water, on a cold concrete floor. But not a sound or a plea did I utter. I decided there and then, no matter what the consequences would be, I would not allow myself to play their game, to beg or cry for the whipping to stop. However, my friend Leon, facing the same conditions as me, chose a different attitude, which proves that each individual chooses his own style of action. I have chosen my style of life and I am satisfied with my choice and achievement up to the present day.

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