interview with Zelde Eidelman Halshtuch

Interview with Zelde Eidelman Halstuch

Joey's Opinion

I have heard many different classroom lessons of World War Two and I go every year to the holocaust museum at my synagogue but it’s a completely different experience when talking to someone who is closely involved to these events. In the classroom, WW2 is seen as just something that happened. However, this interview had a special atmosphere which was “I was there, I saw it happen, and I experienced it”. It has become a growing problem, the number of holocaust survivors has been decreasing and as we all know, we must educate people about the holocaust so it never happens again. A solution to this problem is to host public demonstrations by holocaust survivors because I am now convinced that it truly is the best way to send the message that without a doubt, this horrific act to humanity happened.

Biography of Sigmund Halstuch

Sigmund Halchstuch was born on 1929 in Czortkow, Poland. His main hobby was reading/literature. When World War Two broke out the Nazi’s first shipped away anyone of a high political rank or anyone who was likely to start a rebellion which included his father (who was a lawyer). The Nazi’s’ also made the well-educated and high class minorities sweep the streets of the town until being sent to the work camp Lwow. Among these people were Sigmund and his mother (who was a professor at the time). Her aunt was given a larger house at the ghetto because she was a doctor. He hid in the closet of this house in order to stay there for the night. In the ghetto, he was assigned by the Jewish police to give out food tickets (tickets given to the ghetto inhabitants in order to redeem food). His brother later developed appendicitis and died due to unhealthy conditions. He and the remainder of his family were sent to Lwow. They hardly survived until the war ended. Once it did they returned to their home to find a furniture-stripped house, which was left that way because the housekeeper sold the furniture to buy them food for when they were in the ghetto. On the way to his house Sigmund was carrying the legal documents of his mother and due to the cold, his hands froze which caused him to drop the papers without noticing. For this reason, he does not like to carry things to this very day.

Andrea's Opinion

I think that this project was really helpful in helping us to better understand what happened during World War Two, it was a real eye-opener, because hearing a story first-hand, or even second-hand, makes it that much more real. I learned that even though the Nazis were ruthless and people were in a panic, there were others who were willing to help and I think that this shows that even though there is evil in the world there is also good to cancel it out. I also learned that hurting people physically was not the only way the Nazis defeated them, but by breaking their spirits they also made the people lose the will to live, and little hope was left. I think that having the story be heard is also very important because it keeps the record alive and makes people conscious of what actually happened during that time.

Bibliografia

1) "Czortkow, Poland."

Edward Victor. 2001. May 5, 2010. 2006/Czortkow.htm>

2) "The Judenrat, or Jewish Council."

Humboldt. May 5, 2010. judenrat.htm>

3) "Lvov Ghetto."

A Teacher's Guide To the Holocaust. 2005. May 5, 2010.

HOLOCAUST/gallery/p107.HTM>

4) "The Belzec Death Camp"

holocaust Research Project. 2009. May 5, 2010.