Tolerance and perspective

Holocaust survivor Josef Perl spoke at an event I was working at during the week. I have read several books over the last few months in prep for and subsequent to my visit to Auschwitz. However, neither visiting the camps nor reading about them is as moving and powerful as hearing the testimony from someone who was there; especially someone who suffered so much. 250 people, mostly teenagers, listened intently to his story: In fact the way he held the audience and its collective intensity was a measure of the power that came from the story itself and from the man. He was born in 1930 so was only 8 when Czecoslovakia was overrun and 10 when the deportations began. His message was filled with tragedy; not least the cicumstances of the death of his mother and some of his sisters. The matter of factness of the re-telling of this part of his experience contrasted uncomfortably with story of the death of his dog at the hands of a soldier and the loss of the horse that used to take him to school. No doubt that this is the only way the story can be told at all. Despite this acute discomfort and desperate sadness, his message was one of faith, tolerance and hope.

Some responses from children he has spoken to can be found here: Jo Perl/ Amazon