Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence: A Survivor's Story
By: Liz Harris
My copy of Elie Wiesel's Night-a Bantam paperback printed in 1960-is covered in notes taken when I studied the work for the first time as a tenth grader at St. Francis Prep and again as a sophomore at Manhattan College two years ago. Looking back at this same copy in preparation for a non-fiction unit I'll be teaching my own tenth graders at Agua Fria High School in Avondale, Arizona this semester, a number of things jump out at me. Reading Night was the first time I really learned about the Holocaust in detail, and after skimming my notes all the question marks I'd scribbled in the margins still glare at me. Night provides a devastating testimony of human injustice and immorality, and my conversations with Mrs. Gisela Glaser further challenged my own social consciousness and inspired me to take action by educating others.
Dr. Sondra Perl's lecture at Manhattan College in fall 2005 eventually led me to interview Mrs. Glaser. The central message of Perl's talk is one I will always remember: we, as students, are responsible for breaking a conspiracy of silence that surrounds difficult subjects like the Holocaust. After thinking about Perl's talk in relationship to the material I'd been learning in my Intro to History course, I signed up for Dr. Jeff Horn's Holocaust and Genocide class the following spring. When the Resource Center offered two grants to record interviews with survivors, I knew I had to apply.
Interacting with Mrs. Glaser was a unique, unforgettable experience. She is an amazing person and an exemplary teacher and role model, and engaging her in conversation is one of the greatest privileges I've ever received. In our five interview sessions-and at any other time I was in her presence-she set examples of courage and grace just by sharing her experiences with me.
Before coming to Manhattan College, I saw the Holocaust as a nightmare of the past that I was fortunate enough to have escaped. I had learned about it in global history class and seen Schindler's List but did not understand its effect on the human spirit and had no idea it would shape my own outlook on life. But one of the many things Mrs. Glaser taught me is that while the Holocaust is an historical event of the past, genocide is an issue that persists in our world today and must be stopped.
The first time I interviewed Mrs. Glaser I had no idea what to say to her. Although I had prepared questions, none of them seemed appropriate as we sat face to face in her living room. I had read history books and thought I knew how to conduct interviews from working on my college's newspaper, but I will never forget the first time I sat down with her. I felt nervous, uncertain, and in many ways intimidated. I was afraid to ask her how she felt when the Gestapo dragged her six-year-old brother toward the gas chambers in Plaszow because I didn't feel I could relate to the situation. None of my ancestors had been forced into ghettoes or concentration camps. Mrs. Glaser was the only member of her family alive at age 19, but I was just a college sophomore living in a dorm fifteen miles away from both parents and a younger sister. I felt unprepared and inadequate, but nevertheless I started from the beginning and asked about her family life before the Nazis invaded her home.
Mrs. Glaser looked me right in the eyes and began her story, speaking with conviction the entire time. During our first session, she described her home in Tarnow, Poland, her school, her family, and her happy life prior to Nazi terror. I soon forgot about my own fears and became engrossed in what Mrs. Glaser was saying.
The stories that followed, however, were heartbreaking and difficult to hear. Mrs. Glaser shared her experiences living in the Tarnow ghetto and explained what it was like to work in five different concentration camps, interact with Gestapo officers, lose friends and family members, and travel between camps. Although the Nazis humiliated and threatened her everyday for years, Mrs. Glaser remained hopeful and also helped her friend, Felah, survive.
While in Plaszow, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, and Mauthausen, Mrs. Glaser displayed fortitude and hope that continue to shine through as she shares her experiences with others and creates dialogue on a difficult issue. Mrs. Glaser's story and example taught me the value of inquiry and encouraged me to challenge injustice. As a result, I tell my students everyday to question what they encounter both at school and in their daily lives and to be proactive, independent thinkers who never lose sight of hope.
The first essay I wrote as a history major was a response to the prompt, "Why do you study history?" I don't remember what I wrote, but I know it had something to do with my curiosity of the past. After meeting Mrs. Glaser, however, I realize that the study of history has more to do with the future than it does with the past. Mrs. Glaser taught me that it's important to study history not only to prevent mistakes of the past from reoccurring but also to create a better future by learning from the achievements and examples of those who came before us. Ignorance is a great evil, and to live without understanding, recognizing, and stopping genocide perpetuates a cycle of hatred and deems injustice acceptable.
Gisela Glaser is one of the greatest teachers I've ever had. She inspired me to question the world around me and share her message with others, and she also taught me that we must work relentlessly to achieve peace and justice.