Fifty years have passed since the end of World War II, but often, I smell, hear, taste, or see something that reminds me of the horrible years that I spent in the camp. The voice of an SS officer commanding, “Move, let’s go, women and children to the right and men to left” continues to haunt me to this very day. After the war, I emotionally shut down and I would not speak to anyone about what occurred to me in there. I tried, quite unsuccessfully, to erase those years of my life, but no matter how hard I tried the memories remain embedded in my mind. As soon as I embraced the Holocaust as a part of my identity, I traveled to schools throughout the United States to teach people that it is wrong to terrorize, brutalize, and massacre millions …show more content…
Everyone anticipated the death of another prisoner so that they could take their clothes and other belongings. You all may think this is barbaric behavior, yet this behavior was necessary to survive in the camp. To ease my mind, I told myself that the men that had passed forgave us because we only did it for survival. Of all the men that I stripped clothes off of, I never imagined that I would have to strip my father’s, but one day, I woke up and found that my father had died in his sleep. After my father’s death, I did not care to live and often thought of suicide but I could not bring myself to do it. Eventually, I made friends in the camp, but as soon I developed a bond with them they also died. So, I kept to myself in order to avoid the suffering. With death all around me, I constantly worried that I would be next, but I survived the forced labor, malnourishment, and harsh weather for years by thinking about memories with my family and planning the day when we would all be together again. Finally, one day I saw a group of soldiers approach the camp and I remember thinking that I was going to die that day, but one soldier said, “It is over. We are here to help you. No one can hurt you anymore.” I cried while thinking, “Yes, I made