Survivor Testimonies

Today at Yad Vashem we began with two lectures; The Decision to Kill the Jews - 'The Final Solution and Its Implementation' and "How Was It Humanly Possible?" After lunch however, we came to the highlight of the day. We met and heard the testimonies of four Holocaust survivors and then broke into smaller groups where we were able to talk with them and ask any questions that we had. One of the aims in providing these teacher training scholarships to Israel is to educate us in the stories of the survivors. As more and more survivors sadly pass, their stories go with them and so does their legacy. The survivors we met were Rena Quint from Poland, Daniel Gold from Lithuania, Yehudit Kleinman from Italy and Tibi Ram from Slovakia. We heard stories of horror and terrible choices that these people as young children in the Holocaust had to face just to survive. Most of these survivors came out of the Holocaust with entire families gone and completely alone. Despite the traumatic events that I can't even begin to understand they have continued to live productive and happy lives, they have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When I asked Rena, as a survivor, what legacy she would like us to pass on to our students in Australia she said, "Tell our stories. Teach your students to solve problems without war. We should do everything in our power to make sure that there is peace, never war. We should learn to be tolerant." The other thing that struck me was that all the survivors said that if they had a place to call home in 1938 the Holocaust may never have happened. I finally had some understanding of why the land of Israel is so incredibly important to the Jews. As they said everyone needs a land to call home and I was saddened to realise that these survivors are unlikely to see that peace in this country in their lifetimes.

The following photo is my Yad Vashem 'family' and the survivors. The four seated survivors are from left to right: Daniel, Tibi, Yehudit and Rena.

After the session today they didn't just pile us on the bus back to the hotel as usual, we had an extra hour after the survivors left to debrief. We heard some really distressing testimonies so it was really good to talk and for some of us, to have a cry or ask for a hug. I call these teachers my Yad Vashem 'family' because we look after each other just like a family. As we are all so far away from home and in an environment that can be quite unnerving at times we have formed special bonds.

When we returned people headed out in all different directions. Some stayed at the hotel for an early dinner and early bedtime and others went out to drink away their stresses. Many called home (even though it was the middle of the night) to talk to their loved ones because they were so distressed. I (along with a few others - don't worry Mum, I didn't walk the night streets alone) went to the Mahane Yehuda open air market, affectionately known to Israeli's as The Shuk. The market has more than 250 vendors who sell fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, fish, meat and cheeses, nuts, seeds and spices, wines and liquors, clothing and shoes, housewares and textiles. Following are photos from this market.

On Friday before the Shabbat is welcomed in, you can barely move in this market as all the Jewish people are stocking up for their Shabbat feasts. I think I will go just to experience the atmosphere.