tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-576813717291116657.post6965601826115834138..comments2023-11-02T03:52:54.712-05:00Comments on Czech out your Ancestors!: How should I respond when I find out someone's ancestors were on Schindler's list?Kate Challishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12635514280917316353noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-576813717291116657.post-78568966996811563042013-12-19T16:23:22.737-06:002013-12-19T16:23:22.737-06:00When I was 14, I visited Auschwitz as part of a sc...When I was 14, I visited Auschwitz as part of a school exchange program with Poland. I already knew about the Holocaust of course, but being there really hit me. I remember rooms filled with baby shoes, tooth brushes and photos and seeing the signs how the pile was less than 1% of all the shoes that were collected. I still get goosebumps when I remember. I also remember how the guide told us they would be forced to sleep with 12 people in a single bed, and I noticed that the bottom consisted of 12 wooden boards of 3" a piece so they had just 3" per person. And then we walked across the Himmelweg, into the 'showers' and came out on the other side where the ovens were. I felt that I could still smell the stench. I lost some of my innocence that day. <br /><br />To answer your question: I don't think there is a correct way to talk about these things. For families directly affected, there are so many things that hurt that it's hard to know what to say. I think the most important thing is to do what you're doing: show respect and don't keep quiet just because it's difficult to talk about. <br /><br />From working with survivors of Nazi persecution or relatives of victims I also know how important it is to avoid the euphemisms. People did not 'pass away' in concentration camps or 'did not return,' they were murdered.<br /><br />I had a client who asked me to look into her Dutch family, whom she knows nothing about. I quickly found out that her family was Jewish and several of her father's half siblings were murdered. Before I shared that with my client, I first asked her if she was aware that the name was Jewish, and that there might be some tragic stories ahead. She told me she knew and wanted to finally know the truth, and that that is why she hired me. It was hard to find the words to tell her that her grandmother and three of her aunts and uncles were murdered but at least she now has some closure. Yvette Hoitinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10807310204372870735noreply@blogger.com