2023 30thAnniversaryCommemorativeBook SINGLEPAGES-small - Flipbook - Page 84
BEARING WITNESS
TODAY
During my 10th birthday
party in early 1944, we
were startled by the
drums of the German
army soldiers marching into the
main area of Budapest. Everyone
left abruptly, and our world turned
upside down. From March until
October 1944, my parents and I were
confined to a crowded ‘Jewish house’
and required to wear a yellow star
when allowed on the street. All Jews
were going to be picked up and sent
to camps by October, so we left our
apartment late one night with only
a backpack and the clothes on our
back, and went into hiding—first in
friends’ attics and basements around
Budapest, then in the farmland
outside of town. We returned to the
city in early 1945 and immigrated to
New York two years later.
As a Holocaust survivor, I’m a
member of the last generation alive
that is able to say that I was there
and can vouch for what went on.
82 l UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM LEGACY OF LIGHT GUARDIANS
Yet, some people say, ‘That was 65
years ago. Move on. It’s got nothing
to do with us now.’ And, that’s the
part that’s incorrect. We need the
United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum to make sure everyone
understands what can happen
when there is basic prejudice and
people do not pay attention to
what is happening around them.
The Museum plays a vital role in
sharing this history, using it as a tool
to teach tolerance, and preventing
such atrocities from recurring.
I’ve been involved with the Museum
since before it was built. My
mother and I recorded videos
and documented our stories, and
four generations of our family
attended the opening. The legacy
I wish to leave is a world that is a
better place through education,
understanding, and commitment
to a better life, not just for my
family, but for all families.”