Holocaust Survivor Shares Her Story At The Middle School

By Susan Coney

Holocaust survivor Judith Altman spoke recently to eighth graders at Newtown Middle School, sharing with the students her tragic story of growing up in occupied Czechoslovakia. Ms Altman forewarned the students that what she was about to tell them was not a happy story.

She said, “I am from the last generation of survivors of the holocaust. Soon none of the survivors will still be alive to tell the story. You are our future. You must listen to this story, remember it and tell your children and your grandchildren, so that no one ever forgets, in the hopes of making a better world.”

Ms Altman continued by saying that she had lived a happy, prosperous life in Czechoslovakia until the German occupation occurred during World War II. Ms Altman was from a well-established Jewish family, her father owned a general store, and the family also ran a successful farm. She told the students that her idyllic life changed drastically when Adolf  Hitler came into power.

Ms Altman described that after the German occupation of her country, all of her rights were taken away. She went on to explain how her family was removed from their comfortable home and taken by train in cattle cars and transported to concentration camps. At the time of the occupation Ms Altman was a preteen, very close in age to the students to whom she was telling her story.

Ms Altman was taken to a concentration camp where her head was shaved and she was given a dress and wooden clogs to wear. She said that her family was separated. The prisoners were allowed to shower once a week; the inmates, however, never knew if they were going to be taking a shower or if they were really going to be gassed to death, because that was a common way the Germans disposed of unwanted prisoners.

Ms Altman told of the fear, separation of families, hunger, disease, and deplorable conditions of the camps. She was an inmate in several camps, one of which was the well-known death camp of Auschwitz.

The middle school auditorium was absolutely silent as the students listened to the story. Ms Altman explained the unbelievable relief the mass of prisoners experienced one day when they first caught a glimpse of different colored uniformed officers; the British, who had arrived to liberate them. “Liberation is the most wonderful thing in the world! The British were so good to us, they freed us and brought us food,” she said. Ms Altman continued by saying that during the liberation she acted as an interpreter, providing background information about the other prisoners to the British soldiers.

Stricken with typhoid, Ms Altman was taken to a hospital to recover. She later went to Sweden where she learned a trade as a technical writer and then came to the United States in 1948. Out of her large family only one brother and one aunt survived the holocaust.

Ms Altman urged the students to make a difference by how they conduct themselves throughout their lives. “If you see an injustice, make a difference. Stand up and fight for freedom. You must carry my message. You are here to make a better, more humane world. Go home tonight and hug your family,” she said.

At the close of her presentation Ms Altman answered questions from the students. The most common question asked is “Do you still believe in God?” Her resounding answer is “Yes!”

Today Ms Altman considers herself to be blessed. She met her husband and had two sons when she came to the United States. Today she enjoys spending time with her two grandchildren.

Ms Altman came to the middle school as part of an educational unit that students from the Gifted and Talented Education Services (GATES) program are studying, exploring the holocaust through the language arts curriculum. GATES teacher Patrice Gans said that Ms Altman’s speech was part of a very powerful experience the eighth grade students have had learning about the holocaust, genocide, and social injustice.