On Monday, we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum here in Israel. It was very different from the museum in Washington D.C. It was very interesting for me to see the perspective of an Israeli. It was an extremely emotionally intense day. There were some things in particular that really disturbed me. I don’t know how man can be so unbelievably cruel to another man. I know genocide is still happening around the world too. That’s the worst part.
Later that night, we had a branch activity.
There was a 95 year old man named Elias. He was easily one of the
cutest, happiest old men I have ever met. He lives on the top floor of
his apartment building, and does yoga a couple of times a week. He was
born in Poland in 1917. He came from a very religious family, and had
six brothers and sisters. He recalled the Germans invading Poland. He
talked about how his town was turned into a Ghetto, and how hungry
everyone was all the time. The SS needed men to go work and, he signed
up to go work so that he could get money for his family. By the time He
came back, his Father had died of starvation, and the rest of his family
had been killed in a camp. He worked in a total of 9 different
concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and Dachau.
The tattoo on his
arm is there to prove it. He told us how hungry he always was. He joked
said his pajamas he was given to wear weighed more then He did when he
was freed. (He weighed 79 pounds when he was liberated) He said how food
was all they could think about. Working meant that he got a small bowl
of soup and piece of bread. He spoke spanish, so Shawn and Neil were
translating for us. At the end we had the opportunity to ask him so
questions. He was asked how he was so happy. He said, “ My happiness is
my revenge against the Nazis.” He then kinda laughed and said, “I got
out of this, and Hitler didn’t.” Someone asked if He had been back to
Poland. He said, “ All my family is dead,why would I do that? To see big
buildings? To see Auschwitz? I’ve already seen that... (when he said
that, he laughed and smiled.)” He had us laughing that’s for sure. He
told us how much he liked to work. That’s what helped him move on from
the awful experiences he had. He worked with normal people and normal
society.
He told us, that he
talked so that people will know what happened. He said that is his
disease, he loves to talk. He will talk to anyone who will listen. He
was so happy! He got married, and had children. When we asked what he
wanted us to learn from his experience he said,
that people can do bad things. We can’t do these kinds of things to one
another. Life isn’t always easy, and it can be very hard sometimes. Life
isn’t always a straight path forward, but have patience. You can get
through it.”
One thing that I really thought about was how the only thing that nobody can take from us is our attitude. Despite the horrendous circumstances these Jews were placed into, some still had happiness, and hope. It might have been rare, but it did in fact happen. There was a quote that I saw in the museum it said, "even back there in the shadow of the chimneys, in the breaks between pain, there was something resembling happiness... for me that happiness will always be the most memorable experience, perhaps."- Imre kertesz fateless
The tattoo on his
arm is there to prove it. He told us how hungry he always was. He joked
said his pajamas he was given to wear weighed more then He did when he
was freed. (He weighed 79 pounds when he was liberated) He said how food
was all they could think about. Working meant that he got a small bowl
of soup and piece of bread. He spoke spanish, so Shawn and Neil were
translating for us. At the end we had the opportunity to ask him so
questions. He was asked how he was so happy. He said, “ My happiness is
my revenge against the Nazis.” He then kinda laughed and said, “I got
out of this, and Hitler didn’t.” Someone asked if He had been back to
Poland. He said, “ All my family is dead,why would I do that? To see big
buildings? To see Auschwitz? I’ve already seen that... (when he said
that, he laughed and smiled.)” He had us laughing that’s for sure. He
told us how much he liked to work. That’s what helped him move on from
the awful experiences he had. He worked with normal people and normal
society. 
He told us, that he
talked so that people will know what happened. He said that is his
disease, he loves to talk. He will talk to anyone who will listen. He
was so happy! He got married, and had children. When we asked what he
wanted us to learn from his experience he said,
that people can do bad things. We can’t do these kinds of things to one
another. Life isn’t always easy, and it can be very hard sometimes. Life
isn’t always a straight path forward, but have patience. You can get
through it.” 
It was a humbling experience to hear from him. I know it's one that I will never forget.
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