Advice From A Holocaust Survivor

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." -- Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities".

Every generation believes that its experiences of trauma and terror are the worst in history..

BUT-  Terrorism and trauma are far from new. . . . Human cruelties and atrocities date back to ancient times.

At the time when Jesus was born, Herod was enforcing a census of all recently born Jewish boys, in order to hunt down Jesus and kill Him.

In approximately 64 AD, Emperor Nero of Rome blamed the burning of Rome on the growing Christian community. In a campaign of persecution, Nero executed disciples Peter and Paul.

In more modern times, Adolf Hitler master-minded the extermination of millions of Jewish people.

On Spetember 11, 2001, close to 3,000 people died in terrorist attacks.

I have moments everyday when I am almost paralyzed with anxiety and hopelessness over the abuses that I faced as a child. It seems inconceivable to me that my own family could be the cause of my permanent psychic scars. After all that I have been through, I am struggling to find meaning in my life.

I mean -- HOW can we possibly go on, after such atrocities as the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and on the Pentagon in 2001; and more recently, the mass shootings of young children in Newtown, CT or the bombings at the Boston Marathon?

Some time ago, I had the privilege of speaking to a Holocaust survivor. He is now age 88. When he was 14, he and his family were rounded up and transported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. His parents and his sister perished in the gas chambers.  At such a young age, he was forced into hard labor.

When Auschwitz was liberated, he had only his lice-ridden clothes on his back. He had no money, no clean clothes, no food, no job and no place to live. The only country that would accept him was America. All others to whom he applied denied him entry.

Here is his advice:

1) Stay busy-- Too much time on your hands is not a good thing.

2) Stay positive-- Surround yourself with positive people. Lose the negative ones.

3) Give back-- He lectures regularly, and has even been tapped by a prestigious university, to help develop a program to treat domestic abuse survivors.

4)  Believe in the Good-- There ARE good people.  There are also "lousy people". Unfortunately, sometimes the lousy people are in your own family. . . .

5) Stay grateful-- You are lucky to be alive! He counts himself as truly blessed.

6) Live by the Golden Rule. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.

7) Pray-- The power of prayer is astounding. Prayer heals.

8) Stay in the present-- Take every moment in, because you never know what will happen. . . .

9) Forgive-- Whoever has done wrong has to suffer consequences. But you HAVE to forgive! Do not hate, it will eat you alive. [I would say, if you give into hate for the rest of your life, then your enemy has won.]

10) Look to the Future-- What happened, happened. You cannot change that.

11) Don't overthink-- You will make yourself crazy.

12) Keep the Faith -- Join a church or a temple. Stick with whatever faith tradition is familiar to you.


This Holocaust survivor is energetic. He is grateful, even joyful!

He is not bitter, depressed, negative, bleak or angry!

I count myself blessed to have met him. I am going to make his list of advice into my new "bucket list".

This man has changed the way I see my life. He has changed the way I see our world!

[Related posting: "The Replication of Evil", November 8, 2012].

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