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MONROE: Holocaust survivor says camps like ‘a cemetery’

By David Kilby, Staff Writer
   MONROE — Eighth-graders of Applegarth School learned what hatred can lead to when Holocaust survivor Frida Herskovits told her story to them Friday.
   In 1944, at 17, Ms. Herskovits, 85, entered the Auschwitz concentration camp and spent a year there just trying to survive.
   About 140 eighth-graders gathered in the Applegarth School cafeteria to hear her speak last Friday.
   Ms. Herskovits, from Sewell Road in Monroe, said the Nazis took her and her family away from their homes in Czechoslovakia in 1944, stripped them naked, shaved off their hair and gave them just one dress. The Nazis then made her work on highways and walk in the snow barefoot before leading many of them to the “crematory” where they were gassed to death.
   ”To me, it is a cemetery,” she said, speaking of the concentration camps. “We were so tired all of the time I don’t remember the faces or names of the people I was with.”
   The Nazis killed seven of her 10 sisters and brothers.
   ”After so many years, it still hurts to talk about it,” she said.
   Susanna Sullivan, an eighth-grade language arts teacher, asked Ms. Herskovits if she knew what was waiting for her before she was taken away to the camps.
   She said she didn’t know because there was no television, radio or newspaper in her small town.
   ”What did they say would happen to you,” student Alan Zhang asked.
   Ms. Herskovits said they didn’t tell her anything, and no one was allowed to ask any questions.
   She said when the war was over, one of her sisters came to take her away from the camp, but didn’t recognize her because she was so malnourished, even when she called out, “I am your sister.”
   After the British freed her April 15, 1945, she worked as a nurse and got married in Palestine, or current day Israel, in 1948. She now has five daughters and three granddaughters.
   After telling her story, Ms. Herskovits gave a PowerPoint presentation with pictures from when she visited Auschwitz.
   The PowerPoint also had pictures of her family, which led her to speak of the joy that followed surviving the Holocaust.
   Ms. Herskovits, who said she is a very devoted Jew, said her faith provided her with hope and perseverance while in the camp.
   ”I do believe in miracles,” she said. “That I am alive is a miracle.”
   She added she feels good she is doing something to help prevent something like the Holocaust from happening again.
   ”We have a lot of good people in the U.S., but we don’t have enough who care,” she said. “At that time Roosevelt was president, and they knew what was going on, but they didn’t care.”
   She revisited the memories of the concentration camp when she went back to Auschwitz in 1994 and was reminded of the Holocaust yet another time during the terrorist attacks seven years after that.
   ”On 9/11, I was thinking of the crematory and the people that were lost,” she said. “It never goes away.”
   But through it all, her message was one of perseverance for the students and teachers at Applegarth School.
   ”Don’t bully people because they look different,” she said. “Hate is a disease. We have to work hard to find a cure for hate. It doesn’t matter what culture.”
   The eighth-graders had many different reactions to Ms. Herskovits’ presentation.
   ”When you get the story from someone who was there, it affects you more,” said student Giulianna Post. “We don’t want something like this to happen again because of some stupid name calling. Bullying in school can go so far whether it’s meant as a joke or not.”
   ”We try to teach children how to prevail in bad times,” said Chari Chanley, principal of Applegarth School. “She’s the real thing. You could tell she speaks from the heart. She’s phenomenal.”
   A handful of students sang Ms. Herskovits a song she later said brought her to tears.
   ”I believe in the sun even when it isn’t shining,” they sang. “I believe in love even when I don’t feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent. Through every trial, there is always a way.”
   The song was based on the words written on a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany, where Jews hid from the Nazis.
   The talk was part of the tolerance and humanity unit in the eighth-grade curriculum. As part of that unit, the eighth grade also is acting out “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
   After the presentation, which was coordinated by eighth-grade teacher Bonnie Cisco, students expressed their thanks to Ms. Herskovits.
   ”Not only did you survive the Holocaust, but you are willing to talk about it,” said student Joey Ciccone. “Some people who survived the Holocaust can’t say how they feel about it, but you were willing to tell us your story and about your family.”
   ”Hatred does not cease by hatred,” said student Dave Metel-Okoh. “The things that you do are what inspire people to do better things. You inspire me to spread peace.”
   ”You inspired me to push harder to reach my goals, to never give up,” student Krystina Clarksen said.
   ”She tells her whole story,” student Greg Puc said, adding Ms. Herskovits’ willingness to share her memories spreads a message of love over hate.
   ”It’s really important that she shared her story so we can use this knowledge in modern days to teach people about stereotypes that may affect people,” student Kristofer Costi said.
   ”It’s important for children to bear witness that they met a Holocaust survivor,” Ms. Cisco said, “so they can say this really happened, and say ‘I met a woman when I was in eighth grade who survived the Holocaust.’ Holocaust survivors are getting older. They won’t be around much longer. It’s also important for them to make the connection in their lives so they can ask themselves ‘how can I stop hate and become more tolerant?’”