Resilience and Strength After the Holocaust: Two Women Continue their Fight to End Genocide
By: Katie Meyer
As a child, I was naturally shielded from many of the grim, bleak realities that make this world imperfect. Personally, I did not witness or experience poverty, crime, or injustice. I was fortunate to have a supportive family and everything I needed was always provided. I also came from a large, well-established public school district that had sufficient funds for textbooks, dedicated faculty members, and many opportunities to excel. Like any public school in New York State, however, mine was a prisoner of the state's expansive curriculum. As a result, teachers merely skimmed the surface of intricate and complex historical events. The Holocaust, in particular, was just another moment in history to be memorized. Dates, statistics, and the names of critical figures: these were the items emphasized. The curriculum did not test us on the personal experiences behind the most tragic event in human history that might have these horrific events seem more real, or at least more significant. There simply was not enough time when the entire history of the world must be taught to students.
Entering college, however, afforded me far more intellectual freedom, and I took full advantage of this. Living in the Bronx exposed me to a world that no longer revolved around me. What surrounded me was much bigger than anything in my small suburb, both literally and figuratively. The buildings were bigger, and so were the social issues. Poverty, hunger, and inequality quickly became more than textbook terms whose definitions were determined by one's economic income or social status. Instead, I began to see the complex humanity behind many of the American crises that I had been told about throughout my formal education. I reached an epiphany, and there was nowhere to go except forward. From working with groups to increase Darfur awareness to my interviews with Mrs. Clara Knopfler, I became increasingly more invested in what was "real," what needed to be changed, and what should never be ignored.
My new approach to education continued for four years as I traveled and immersed myself within the social fabric of various communities. I learned that education is a precious tool for preserving the past and for forging proactive change in the present. My interviews with Mrs. Clara Knopfler and Hannah Kaplan's interviews with Mrs. Toby Kirsh preserve two critical aspects of the Holocaust: the human face and story. As a 21-year-old who has gone through the public education system, I believe that these films provide students unique access to two Holocaust survivors' stories with two vastly different experiences. Their deeply personal accounts illustrate the impossibility of summarizing the Holocaust in a short textbook chapter. Instead, the intimate interviews showcase the complexity of the time, proving that there is not one typical experience that can be applied to all victims and survivors; everyone has their own story to tell.
Meeting and getting to know Mrs. Knopfler has been an immense honor and privilege. Her dedication to teaching and her hope to end genocide and ethnic cleansing through her storytelling is empowering and inspiring. Her energy and charisma is contagious; she touches everyone she meets. During our first meeting, I was immediately struck by her warm and down-to-earth demeanor. Yet, it was her grace and unyielding optimism that most impressed me.
I sat and spoke with Mrs. Knopfler at great length on four different occasions. The dominant conversations during these meetings revolved around her experiences during the Holocaust. Her stories were heartbreaking, bleak, and so horrible that it seemed difficult to believe that a woman who had been subjected to so much cruelty could be so warm and kind, even over sixty years after her liberation. But, that great perseverance is what makes Mrs. Knopfler remarkable; despite her suffering, she never lost sight of hope. Her story is not one of anger or revenge. While many parts are difficult to hear as she rehashes the devastating hunger, brutal beatings, and tragic deaths that took place at her camps, woven into her heartbreaking experiences are moments of kindness and humanity, even from the Nazis themselves. Throughout her interviews, she reminds her audience - the students, but also myself-that human goodness is present even in the most unlikely of places.
As a future teacher and a socially conscious young woman, I aspire to develop Mrs. Knopfler's ability to engage and connect with her students. She understands that looking to the past is essential in reaching a greater understanding of the complex world in which we presently live. Throughout my time with her, she not only reinforced the tragic events of the Holocaust so that I would never forget them, but she also reemphasized the importance of education as a tool for social justice. Teaching is more than simply a day job for her; it is a life to which she fully commits herself. And, while her job description reads "French teacher," she also has acted as a teacher of human rights in and outside her classroom.
Mrs. Kirsh, in contrast, tells a very different story and illustrated to me that there are many different sides to the Holocaust. Both Mrs. Kirsch and Mrs. Knopfler are activists in their own right, yet their means and tools are strikingly different. Like Mrs. Knopfler, Mrs. Kirsch is an extraordinary and intelligent woman whose strength far surpasses my own. During the war, however, Mrs. Kirsch played a role distinctly different from Mrs. Knopfler's. She was a liberator who boldly fought against the Nazis by hiding Jews and bringing them to freedom.
I consider myself an activist, and Mrs. Kirsh's interviews exposed me to the great lengths other activists have gone to seek justice against inhumane acts. Furthermore, she has reminded me that being an activist is about literally being active. Mrs. Kirsh's story of dedication and bravery in an era marked with unjust cruelty and unyielding persecution is a breath of fresh air. Her actions remind me that, if change is going to occur, one must not simply speak of it, but he or she must seek and fight for it. Her life is an inspiration, and her strong acts of bravery during the Holocaust serve as motivation for individuals to continue fighting for justice against genocide.
Both Mrs. Knopfler and Mrs. Kirsch serve as two inspirational role models. Their remarkable perseverance after the Holocaust shows an incredible amount of resilience. And, their dedication to educating and fighting for a future where we can all live peacefully is a characteristic not every individual possesses. For me, Mrs. Knopfler and Mrs. Kirsch illustrate that a life means more than attaining a job and a steady income. They are a constant reminder that I cannot sit back and accept the world as it is. Instead, I must never be afraid to challenge myself to continue my education, even if it means coming to terms with tragic events such as the Holocaust. Their personal accounts remind me how important it is to actively fight against genocides that continue to happen. In an interview, Mrs. Knopfler put it best, "You have to believe that coexistence is possible." At the end of the day, Mrs. Knopfler and Mrs. Kirsch make me believe.