Ms. Nakada's Blog for guest speaker Eva Nathanson

Agenda
Guest speaker Eva Nathanson

HW: RJ 7.1-7.4 due pages 371-384

What a day we had in class today. We got started right away with Eva Nathanson, a Holocaust survivor, sharing her story during World War II in Hungary. She spoke about her grandfather who was helping Jews, and when he was caught they were punished by being taken away.

She and her mother survived because they hid. They were caught a couple of times and the last time, they were there, at the Danube, right at the end of the war and stood before a firing squad. One of the men recognized her mother and spared them so they could testify for them after the war. They were left there, along the river with the dead, but survived so they could testify.

She came to the US when she was 16. Hungary, under communism, was pretty similar to living under the Nazis. They had to change their names from Rosenberg because it was too germanic. She described the game they had to play to survive under communism, paying off bribes and such.

She talked about her nightmares and how they haunt her when traumatic things happen, how when you survive such traumatic experience, you have issues. There are things that still haunt her, certain smells and claustrophobia. She always notices exits and eats and going to the bathroom quickly. 

After the war, her parents hid the truth from her because she was so sick after the war. She couldn't even talk about it for years. It took years for her to say that she was a survivor.

When she found out her father had been killed and her step-father wasn't her real father, she was devastated. Her mother and step-father were the two people she trusted. She survived this trauma and the teenage years by reading. She overcame her dyslexia or writing difficulties by memorizing things.

93% of her family was killed during the Holocaust.

She talked about how her Jewish practice changed after the War, how she keeps her faith in her own way, and how she tries to be a good person. She was always glad she was a Jew.

At the end of the war, the hiding was easier. They didn't have to be quite as hidden. The Russians liberated them and gave them chocolate.

She is glad to be here in America but is concerned about any continuing oppression and growing antisemitism in Europe.

Eva spoke about the most frightening experiences she's had from standing before the firing squad, a tank in front of her home by the communists, and being held at gunpoint while being robbed.

When asked about how she deals with other Holocaust stories, books, movies, and hearing other stories she said she thinks it's important, but doesn't want to wallow in the awful details.

She talked about all of the impacts her experiences from early childhood have on her still today. She does everything fast and still can't cry because of staying silent through all of those years in hiding.

Eva, your visit was so inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing your courageous journey with all of us.