Not Just Another Page in the History Book
By: Glynnis O'Shea
I do not remember the first time I heard about the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust. I was probably just a kid sitting in class, waiting for the bell to ring so I could go and play. I did not relate to what I was hearing, so it initially did not have a huge impact on me. I figured anything that was in a history book must have been an event that occurred so long ago that it could not possibly still have an effect on anyone still living today.
I grew up in New York City, where people often tend to be more tolerant than most toward racial, religious, or any other kind of differences one can imagine. Despite whatever problems my family may have faced during my childhood, I was still extremely privileged. I always had enough to eat. I was given the opportunity to attend one of the most outstanding Catholic college preparatory schools in New York City. I was able to learn about my culture by taking Irish Step Dancing classes and dancing in competitions. These were all opportunities I took for granted, not because I was spoiled, or had a sense of entitlement, but because from what I saw around me, it seemed that everyone had the same opportunities I did as long as they were willing to work for them. In the United States during present times, it seems that the average American can achieve whatever he or she wants, so long as he is willing to work for it.
Unfortunately, American children, such as myself, tend to forget that people have not always enjoyed the freedoms that we enjoy, and there are places where people still do not have those freedoms. We have grown so accustomed to our privileged lifestyles that we find it almost impossible to believe that there are still genocides occurring in other parts of the world, or that there are still children who do not have enough to eat. Hearing about these situations from someone who survived them is the most influential way to help us understand the tragedies that others have had to bear.
I have been lucky enough to meet three different Holocaust survivors and hear their stories. I interviewed Philip Freid, and ran the camera for interviews with Lily Margules and Margit Demeny. As I sat and listened to these remarkable individuals tell their stories, I felt like I was hearing about a whole different world. It seemed unimaginable to me that any group of people would be pretentious enough to think they had the right to exterminate and entire race of people, or that they could be cruel enough to see thousands of people suffering and do nothing to stop it. When the cameras stopped rolling, Philip Freid remarked, "I'm sure you must not believe me, because if I hadn't seen it myself, I would not believe that such things could happen."
Despite all the tragic events that occurred in Philip Freid's life, he still manages to be optimistic. Whenever I asked him how he was, he responded, "I have no complaints. There is nothing to complain about." I find that statement incredible given how much suffering he has endured. Philip has chosen life and happiness over despair. He is grateful for what he has, and makes the best of his life.
One of his proudest achievements was serving in the United States Army during the Korean War. Both Philip Fried and Lily Margules expressed great patriotism for the United States. They commented that America is a land of great opportunity, which many people take for granted. It is a place where anyone can make a living as long as he is willing to work hard. They are both so grateful for the opportunities offered to them in America, whereas those of us who were born here tend to take it for granted. Margit Demeny expressed gratitude for laws that exist in the United States to prevent racial discrimination. She contrasted our laws to those in her native Hungary, where discrimination against the Jews was part of the law.
Though the events of the Holocaust are incomprehensible to someone who has never experienced such hardship, the undeniable truth is that it did happen. People still walk around today with numbers on their arms, and pain in their hearts because of the cruelty they experienced at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. Americans of my generation are only too lucky to have never experienced such hatred and cruelty. I have come to truly believe that the only way for us to try to understand the pain of these people is to hear it from their own mouths, and see the pain in their eyes. Today, the Holocaust is the individual stories of lives ruined by cruelty and hatred, not a fact sheet about various camps and how many perished at each. We can each keep the Holocaust from becoming another page in the history book by hearing and remembering the stories of those who are generous enough to share them with us.