Lest we forget

Lest I forget 


We had the privilege of visiting  the Skokie Illinois Holocaust Museum
I hope I never forget

The museum theme is Human Rights so there is tribute to the Black community as well as the Jewish community 
You can extend that to your own life, community.

There is much to read about...google about..so I will not cover everything, just the portion that had the greatest impact on me.

Fritzie Fritzshall ...yes that is her name and if you google    Illinois Holocaust Museum... you can see her presentation. Amazing.  She is on the board at this Museum and visits often.


She was 13 years old when her life changed. The video is very well done and she describes the events that started in her grandmothers home and moved on to Auschwitz and then to her family here is America.     The video is  appropriate  for family viewing.   Her words, however,  highlight some of the hard, very hard parts.   Then, after the video, there is a Hologram of her, Fritzie, in a red chair, right there on the stage. And she answers questions from the audience.  Depending on your audience you might hear the story that she told to us... the hardest part of experience.
                       The Boxcar

There was one window
so
no light, as obvious in the photo below taken without flash 

Fritzie and many others were loaded into boxcars 
They did not know where they were going
They were marched into the boxcars with standing room only.
No water
No food
No sanitation

She was not sure if it was a day or more that they traveled, making one stop.
That was when two buckets were placed into each boxcar.  One had water and a dipper. The other was empty.
There was enough water for maybe half the people  in the boxcar to have one spoonful.  Men, women, children, and pregnant women all hungry and thirsty.  
The other bucket was the "toilet" 
     for all to see
     overflowing and dumping as the boxcar moved

When the boxcar arrived at Auschwitz her grandfather was among the many who did not make it alive to the end.
As soldiers were posted to empty the boxcars, a Jewish soldier came by Fritzie  and whispered "you are 15 years old".   She is confidant, that saved her life.  Those 13 and under, old and feeble... they were never seen again.   

The following year or year and a half she was treated and saw her family treated in the most inhumane, cruel, unthinkable ways.    

She was the only family member to survive. She moved to America....but that is another story.  

This is Fritzie 

Hologram of Fritzie
There are  Holograms of 13 Holocaust survivors 

The rest of the tour was hard, but I could not shake the memory of that precious lady and all she endured.

I want to share a part of the story with my grandchildren.... they are young, but this is part of our history, and reminds us of how much we have to be thankful for and what we might have to fight for in our lifetime.


Thanks to Russ and Sharon for taking us to:
    Illinois Holocaust Museum  ( 3rd largest in the country )
    Skokie,Illinois 
    

( Les, I will always remember you, and the beginning of my love and appreciation for all things Jewish ) 



Then last night, an old Perry Mason
         Desperate Deception...similar content