Holocaust Memorial Day, Holocaust survivors take part in live twitter Q&A
On Sunday 27th January 2013, Holocaust Memorial Day, we held a live twitter Q&A with Holocaust survivors Zigi Shipper and Eva Clarke. Zigi and Eva each spent an hour answering the public's questions - you can read the transcripts below.
Zigi Shipper
Why do you believe remembering the atrocities of the Nazis in still important?
People should know what happened because antisemitism and racism still exist. How can we forget? Holocaust survivors can't forget that they lost whole families. Six million Jewish people, one and a half million of them children, were slaughtered because they were Jewish. We cannot forget this.
How did the Holocaust affect your belief in God?
I never thought about God during the Holocaust. I was thinking about where my food would come from. Afterwards I rebelled against God & Religion. If God was so almighty how did he allow this to happen? But as I got older I thought, why do we blame God for what we do? He isn't doing bad things. We are.
Did you ever see any of the Nazis show any kindness or mercy?
Occasionally a guard would show some mercy, but they weren't all Nazis. Sometimes a guard would throw you food. But guards were not necessarily Nazis. The Nazis did not show mercy or kindness.
Having experienced & witnessed what you did, how do you keep faith in humanity?
You've got to remember that 95% people are good human beings. People only talk about the bad people. I believe that people are actually good.
What would you say to your captors if you were face to face with them today?
There is very little I would say. How could they be there and see this? If more people had stood up to them maybe it wouldn't have happened on such a scale.
How did you cope with hunger?
With difficulty. But you had no choice. Occasionally you had the chance to steal some vegetables if outside camp. But the chance to steal food was very rare. You had to get food when you could.
What was your most memorable or positive experience when sharing your story?
When students come back to me and say "why do I hate, when people like you have been through things I haven't and you manage not to hate.” - Hatred will ruin your life. I want to share that with young people.
What do you feel when you go and visit places such as Auschwitz and Auschwitz Birkenau?
In Auschwitz Museum the worst thing I saw was the display with babies' clothes & toys. Being a parent and a grandparent you think about things differently. This broke my heart.
Did you make friendships in the camps?
Yes I certainly did. We all went though the same thing as one another. People I didn't know in camp still became my friends afterwards. We all went through same thing as one another.
What is the most important thing that you feel people can learn from survivors such as yourself?
People shouldn't hate. We should be nice to one another irrespective of race, nationality, religion or colour.
What do you say to Holocaust deniers?
Simple. I'm over 80, I don't belong to a political party, don't you think I'd rather be at home at my age? Instead I'm travelling all over Britain. I do this because I need to tell my story.
Eva Clarke
Do you forgive the people who caused you and your family so much pain & suffering?
I know it's the Christian ethic to forgive, but I think most Jewish people would say that those that lost lives are the only ones who could forgive. I would never blame any Germans of a younger generation.
Do projects like Lessons from Auschwitz give you hope that we are learning from the past?
Absolutely. I'm so inspired to meet young people whose lives have been changed by the Holocaust Educational Trust.
Do you ever wonder what it must have been like to be in your Mother's position?
Oh yes. I can't imagine how I would have coped with being in a camp for three and a half years, being pregnant twice and giving birth. I certainly couldn't imagine it when I was in hospital giving birth myself.
Why didn't non-Jewish friends help more? They must have known what was happening.
You can't generalise about bystanders. Some didn't help, some did. It's hard to put yourself in their position. You can't assume to have known what was happening in each individual case. Having said that, more people could have done something, but you can't blame them if you don't know their circumstances.
As a survivor, in your opinion, what is the most powerful way to stop discrimination and prejudice in the 21st century?
Education. And getting to know other people. We should think of everyone as individuals. Not thinking about people as large groups as that's when stereotyping occurs.
Do you feel it's luck, God, or human kindness, as well as your mother's strength, that enabled you both to survive?
My mother would say luck. She was strong physically, emotionally and mentally. She had an optimistic outlook despite everything going on around her.
How do people react when you tell them where you were born?
If they know anything about it, for example if I have given a talk to them, then most are stunned and incredulous.
Did you talk about the Holocaust afterwards? Or was it something that was too difficult to talk about?
My Mother has always been able to talk about it which is fantastic for me. She's told me lots since a young age. As I was growing up I'd hear lots about my Mother's life and she'd tell me lots about her wartime experience. She felt I could cope with the details. She did this instinctively, she hasn't had any training.
Did your Mother make any friends that also survived and were they reunited?
Yes. She was in a group of young women in the camp. Some she knew before, some she met there. In her small group many survived. They became incredibly close during and since their liberation.
What's your view of today's Germany?
If my Mother were to meet a German of the age and generation, she wouldn't speak to them. If there's someone suspected of war crimes, she would want them to be confronted by their crimes & confront their crimes. My Mother definitely wouldn't have ill feeling towards younger generations who weren't involved.