“I put up my hands to protect my head and I jumped from the train.”
What follows from that moment is this most extraordinary tale of loss, survival and regeneration I have heard in many a year.
“My grandmother Lea once told me a story about the woman who lived next door to her in Tel Aviv, of her capture by the Nazis in Belgium and of an unfathomable decision she had to take to save herself…. Tthis woman’s story felt different. Her pain and horror were woven with love, loss, guilt and redemption – and the epilogue was truly extraordinary. “
[Hint: Full Screen and watch it until the last frame.]
UPDATE: Fixed the video. Copies are playing hide and seek on You Tube right now.
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Truly incredible. No matter how many times I hear/read/watch pieces on the Holocaust I’m still unable to fully comprehend the depravity of it all.
Thanks for sharing Gerard.
Very touching. I was riveted by every (French) word of it. What an inspiration. Thanks for finding it.
Puts the leaky sewer riser pipe I have to deal with in perspective.
The ocean is salty because streaming tears are salty.
Still a beautiful woman. Europe has traded Jews for Muslims.
Sad, though, she seems to have lost her belief in God.
The Belgians who hid them were probably not atheists.
That Dutch lady who tapped her on the shoulder was an angel. Pay attention as God has messengers.
“Sad, though, she seems to have lost her belief in God.”
God in that crossroad – in the moment she needed to make the decision to jump. She hasn’t seen it yet.
Two things that I learned from the first Epistle of John: God is Love, and Love overcomes Fear. We all know Fear is a very powerful emotion. Love is just as powerful. But in order for Love to overcome Fear, you must accept the gift Love gives you: Courage.
The word “courage” comes from the French “coeur” – “heart.” It comes from the depths of the heart that keeps that inner strength God gives us. This lady knew she had to jump – but she feared to leave her ill father she would leave behind. That love of father/daughter must have told her that same Love will give her the courage to jump – to survive – to live. Her father had the courage to be glad she did the right thing, and to go to his reward wth gladness instead of the horror of the gas chambers.
That courage she mustered to jump – which allowed her and her husband to live a long life – came from Love. The same Love that gave her the courage came from God.
And oh yes, that Dutch lady was an angel indeed. Sometimes, we entertain them unawares. This lady must know about Abraham’s “Visitors”.
“The Belgians who hid them were probably not atheists.”
Based on what?
Why do you think that, Jewel? Because you think only those who believe can be capable of morals, principles, a sense of duty, honor…love of their fellow Man?
Surely you know that plenty of atheist, in time of war and peace, have committed plenty of heroic acts.
Such an odd thing to think that only those who hold the very same beliefs as us would be incapable of showing kindness and basic human decencies.
Cannot faith extend beyond your god and fellow travelers?
Unfortunately the video is no longer available. Is there another source?
@George, Type: I have a message for you video, in your search engine for choice. It is at nytimes.
I’m curious how she managed to get the picture of her father, and the other photos that look like when she was young; the pre-arrest days.
Maybe she was able to connect with relatives after the war?
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Fixed the video. Copies are playing hide and seek on You Tube right now.
Forger, fanatic, fearless partisan, friend. Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger’s Life
http://www.doppelhousepress.com/KaminskyNewYorkTimesVideo-TheForger.htm