Holocaust Survivors Dialogue Reflection
Inge Auerbacher (Child)
This activity was really interesting and different from most of the discussions, it was more engaging and I enjoyed it! We get to know more information about each Holocaust individual and have a conversation from their point of view. I thought this was fun! I choose Simone Arnold and the person I responded to choose Inge Auerbacher. We had fun conversations back and forth and got to connect and learn more about one another. During our dialogue, we simply talked about our experiences during and after as we were both liberated. We not only talked about our experiences butt connected on topics and issues we experienced during this time. Ellen who was Inge Auerbacher mentioned her experience of going to Terezin and how she hoped it would be better and it wasn't. We just got to know one another and our individual children who experienced the Holocaust and lived through it. Our dialogue was quite interesting and I feel we learned a lot about one another. Our dialogue is included below.
Ellen Rogers as Inge Auerbacher:
"Hello, I am Inge Auerbacher. When I was four years old, I lived with my mother and father, grandmother and grandfather in the foothills of the Black Forest. I loved to search the woods for fairies. Sometimes my grandfather took me fishing at the lake nearby. And every Friday night we went to temple for Shabbat with our neighbors.
My house was grand and beautiful. It had 17 rooms, even though I am the only child in the family. But one night, rocks rained through our windows and shattered the glass. We heard angry voices threatening us from outside. My mother pulled my grandmother and me out the backdoor and we hid in our shed. The next day my father and grandfather were gone. The windows of our synagogue were also broken. Now I’m seven. It’s 1941, and I am on my way to a place where we will be safe through the war. It’s called Terezin.
Madison Blinkman as Simone Arnold:
"Hello Inge Auerbacher, I'm Simone Arnold. It's scary that you went through that experience. How did you feel? Where you hurt at all? I'm sorry your father and grandfather were gone. I lost all my family when I was 12 years old as I was sent to a children's reeducation center in Germany at age 12 as I was seen as being corrupted by Jehovah's witness teachings as I refused to say, "Heil Hitler". I lost all my family and all the love I was surrounded by and treated poorly by the Nazis. However, 2 years later I was liberated by the French Army and reunited with my family again. I was safe and protected just like you. How was Terezin? What experiences did you go through in Terezin?
Ellen Rogers as Inge Auerbacher:
Hello Simone, thank you for your compassion. The night our windows broke and my father and grandfather disappeared seemed like the worst night of my life until we moved to Terezin. It was supposed to be a beautiful place for us to rest while the war continued, but it was just as scary as that night. When we arrived they took everything from us. I managed to keep my doll, but that was it. I was always hungry, and often sick, as was everyone around me. It was nothing like we were promised. But my parents are wonderful. They scrounged up a potato to make a cake for me on my 8th birthday. The next year, my mother had sewn me an outfit for my doll out of rags. And when I turned ten, she wrote me a poem. Every time I made a friend, they would disappear. Rumors told our family that those that disappeared were being transported to death camps. I don't know why we were spared. We were liberated in 1945 and left Europe for America a year later.
Everyone around me was Jewish. I'm so sorry that you, as a Jehovah's Witness, also went through so much pain and loss. How did that time change you?
Madison Blinkman as Simone Arnold:
Inge,
I'm sorry your experience at Terezin wasn't as positive and beneficial as you were hoping. It sounds like your parents made the best of the situation for you as they could, they wanted the best life for you. Your family sounds dedicated to giving your the best life and protecting you at all costs. It sounds like you all made it through those hard times, did you all make it through in the end, did you all survive together in the end, nobody died from lack of food or disease?
I was a part of the camps for two years. It was hard being away from my loving family and being surrounded by violence, hate, and lots more. However, I learned to stand strong and not let certain situations change who you are. Who would I be if I changed my thoughts and signed a declaration to be free and saying I agree with something when I don't? You have to be strong and brave, and that is exactly what I did. I then got to go home two years later with no regrets as I stood my ground and my beliefs the entire time while being apart of those camps. I was reunited with my family after being liberated by the French Army. I'm glad you were liberated and spared, just like me! It's not fair to those who weren't spared and who had so much life to live.
Simone Arnold (Now)
- 90 years old (still alive)
- Wrote a book called: Facing the Lion: Memoirs of a Young Girl in Nazi Europe
- 86 years old (still alive)
- American Chemist
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