One Survivor Remembers

           Today in class, we watched a short film about Gerda Weissmann, a Holocaust survivor, and her memories. Gerda is a Jew from a small town in Poland. One of the most powerful scenes, I thought, was when Gerda was shoveling coal from a train car. She saw another train coming and thought to herself, if I jumped onto the tracks before the train came, it would be over in a few seconds. She remembered a promise that she made to her father that she would never commit suicide. There will be an end to the horrors.

           The Nazis dehumanized the Jews because, in many cases, the shaved their heads and made them all wear the same clothes. Gerda worked to overcome this dehumanization communicating with her new-found friends. She made a bet with her friend, Suse Kunz, that they would or would not be liberated, or freed. They bet a quart of strawberries. Gerda thought that they would be liberated. The two friends used that as a reason to push through the hardships of working in the labor camp.

           If I were in Gerda's shoes when she had to hide in her basement, I would fantasize about going swimming in a refreshing pool. I think that I would also fantasize about going to school and seeing my friends. I think that a few objects that I take for granted are running water, which I use every day several times, and electricity, which I use almost all day. I also take food for granted because I eat three meals every day.

           I think that some people, such as foreigners or aliens, are being targeted in persecution and racism. I think that to stop this from happening, we, as a human race, would need to recognize that there are many different kinds of people all over the world, and that they should all be treated the same way.

           In the film we watched, I think that the stereotypical heroes are the American soldiers who physically rescued Gerda and many other women. However, I believe that Gerda's heroes are her father, who symbolically persuaded her not to commit suicide. I also think that Suse was another one of her heroes because of the bet that that had. for the quart of strawberries. Gerda probably had many other people who helped her through the Holocaust.