Teaching History Matters

We went north again and visited with survivors Yaakov and Simcha. Yaakov Barzilai just turned 90; a Tel Aviv TV crew was present to record our mission as he is a well-known poet. He greeted me with a hug; like me, he began writing poems and books later in life, his first was at age 54. He’s up to 16… 5 more than me! He read a poem for his liberators, gesturing emotionally throughout his interview, with some English sprinkled in. “Bullshit!” was one that came through loud and clear-his response to Holocaust denial. He gave me a kiss on the cheek as we said goodbye.

We had lunch and found the kibbutz and modest home of Simcha Berkowitz, his home health aide outside so we would find it. He sat at the table patiently and quietly, not knowing English, smiling beside his wife, who helped him with his hearing aids as they guys set up the shot. He remembered a lot at 12 yrs old or so; like Yaakov, he was from Hungary. Our driver Zvi translated excellently as he spoke in concise, short bites of how the Germans moved into that country in March 1944 and they were herded into the ghetto to await deportation. By a miracle, 40 people were taken off of one of three transports to Auschwitz, and placed on one heading to Austria.

In October 1944, they arrived at Belsen. He spoke of the lack of food, the filth, the bodies piling up, and meeting his cousin there, who worked at the crematorium (before it broke down). As his cousin described having to incinerate his own mother and sister’s bodies, a Ukrainian guard beat the cousin to death with a club before Simcha’s eyes.

He remembered the train, the tanks, the soldiers and his liberation very well. The soldiers were angels sent from Heaven.

It was another important, emotional day. The families are so thankful and glad that we are here. We talked about it later.

We are thankful to be on this mission of remembrance.