Brian Cohen & The Holocaust

How do the Holocaust survivors suffer?

A life spent in hiding, a life spent in fear, a life spent waiting to be murdered. This was the life of the Jewish people, and many others, alive during the Holocaust. The life of the SIX MILLION Jews persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime. The life of the disabled, the Jehovah’s Witness, the homosexual and so many others.

I cannot help but look to my Jewish ancestry.

 

 

 

German, Russian and Polish.

 

 

Killed, killed and killed.

 

 

As a kid, I remember meeting a relative and seeing the numbers tattooed on their arm.

Many who have these tattoos considered themselves lucky.

This was because they may not have to go to the sauna (gas chamber).

It is said that with a number they may live.

For a number showed that they were deemed good enough to be slaves. 

No number almost certainly meant death.

So then we had to march in rows of five, which became the daily norm, and we walked through the night, and we heard music, and we heard all kinds of miserable noises. When it was almost light, we came to the sauna. We came to big low buildings and whoever was left was numbered. I was number two…and they kept telling us how lucky we were that we might be able to live because we have a number.

–Anita Mayer

I have been to a Holocaust Gas Chamber.

We were told to lineup.

We were told that we were going to get to wash the filth and stench of death off of us.  

Two lines they said. We lined up as we were told.

Men go this way and women and children go that way.

We were told to take off our clothes so that they could be disinfected.

We were given haircuts.  

“Down this path,” they said and we did as we were told. We were told to go in the room and we did as we were told. The door slammed shut as we were all crammed in. Next, the “showers” turned on.

Then we were all dead.  This is the story of my ancestors, this is our history.

I was at a Museum but my ancestors were in Nazi-occupied Germany.

At this museum, which I had visited with my son’s class, we met a lovely man.

This man is a Holocaust survivor.

He is considered lucky though many of his years were far from lucky. He tells us of a time long, long ago but not very long ago at all.  

When Hitler came to power he was just a young boy. His family moved around a great deal in hopes of not getting caught and prosecuted for being Jewish.

Unfortunately, this only worked for so long.

He was 13 years old. This young man, who was no longer young at all, was taken with his family and they were all sent to a concentration camp. He was tattooed with an ID number on his left forearm. He worked very hard tending to the fields, cooking food and cleaning toilets. Later he would be given more work.

What little food he had he gave to his baby sister because he was worried about her. The food did not help, she still died. He saw his father get whipped to death and watched his mother get raped. He was beaten until his skin was raw.

Humiliation was felt every day.

He was sent to be killed but he did not die.

Instead, he hid.

He hid underneath the dead bodies until that day’s killing stopped.

He was found and given a new job, one that he would have for many months to come. This job was to untangle those that perished in the gas chambers, remove gold fillings and check orifices for valuables. Then he was forced to shovel up the bones and charred bodies of his relatives; of our relatives.

This was his life; this is the suffering that many had to endure.

His story is not unique.

I cried and cried when this lovely man spoke and I cry now as I type. The kid’s in my son’s class looked at me; they were surprised by how upset I was. My last name is “Ho” so they certainly did not put it together that I am Jewish. My son explained that we are Jewish and Buddhist. They are not exclusive to each other. We, as Jews, will never forget the suffering of our people.

We will never forget.

Today a Holocaust survivor is in their 80’s or 90’s. Dr. Ruth Westheimer is a survivor, she was “lucky” because her mother and grandmother sent her to Switzerland after her father was taken by the Nazi’s. She grew up in an orphanage and eventually learned that her parents had been murdered.

Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, survived the Holocaust. He lived two years in hiding with his wife, two daughters and four other people. When they were discovered they were all sent to Auschwitz and he was forever separated from his family and friends.  Otto Frank was the only survivor.

25,000 of the remaining Holocaust survivors live below the poverty level.

Finally freed from the Holocaust many were ill, weak and unable to take more than a menial job. They are now in their 80’s or 90’s and have little, to no, pension, Social Security or Medicaid. Struggling to pay for the most basic of expenses is the norm. They often must choose between paying rent and visiting the doctor, getting dental care or paying for hearing aids. This is the reality of the Holocaust survivor.

The Blue Card Fund is a charitable organization that sets out to change that. They are proud that “100% of annual contributions made by individuals go directly to aiding needy Holocaust survivors.”  We can help these people who have endured so much more than anyone ever should have to. Showing our support of these Holocaust survivors is important and we can do so in many ways, including making a donation.  We can look to people who make efforts to remind us to never forget.

This person is Brian Cohen, my brother.

Brian is my inspiration for digging deep and writing this article. An article that I should have written, and wanted to write, two years ago when I visited the Museum of Tolerance. This visit changed so much for me; it has stayed in my heart and has been so difficult for me to put into words. I strongly encourage anyone visiting the Los Angeles area to visit this museum.

I so appreciate my brother for giving me the courage to share some bit of this with you.

Brian will run the 26.2 mile New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 3, 2013, for the first time in 21 years.

He is digging deep within himself as during those 21 years he has not been training for something of this magnitude. In addition, during this time he has not always eaten correctly or stayed in what he considers the ideal shape.

He is now 52 years old and worries that he may not have trained well enough.

However, he perseveres because raising the money to help the Holocaust survivors “that suffered to stay alive and are still suffering” means more to him than the aches, pains and cramps. It means more to him than the missed sleep, early mornings and boredom that sometimes plagues him when he is out on a three-hour run. Yet, each day he wakes up early and he trains, runs, eats a very strict diet and calls folks to see if they might support his Blue Card fundraising efforts. His goal is to raise a minimum of $3000.

This is inspirational. This is my brother.

Follow Brian’s journey on race day by calling into Strategies of Success  (760- 283-4619) at 11 am PST. This will be 4 hours and 30 minutes into the marathon, Brian will be coming to us live as he strives to carry all of us across the finish line with him.

(Updated with podcast post marathon)

To donate to Brian’s Blue Card efforts please click here or cut and paste this link: http://www.imathlete.com/donate/BrianCohen .

Who do you find inspirational? What is their story? What about them inspires you? I would love to know.

Naturally Yours, 

Elise Cohen Ho