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Stories of Loss, Survival, and Living Memory
Holocaust Survivor Comes to Speak at Goucher
Matt Simon
Issue date: 10/26/05 Section: News
WBAL-TV 11 recently aired a commercial-free special entitled, "Survivors Among Us." The program was an hour-long tribute to Holocaust survivors who call the Baltimore area home. On Tuesday, October 25, the Goucher community had the opportunity to view an encore presentation of the feature in Buchner Hall. In addition, a question-and-answer session with reporter Deborah Weiner and survivor Leo Bretholz followed the program.
The Quindecim went to press before the event actually took place on campus. However, through intensive interviews with two of the survivors featured in the program, The Quindecim has details of the program's content, and even some information that may have been left out. Weiner is a member of WBAL-TV's special projects unit. She has done in-depth and investigative reports for the station, bringing her experience from ABC News. She is also the program developer. On WBAL-TV's website Weiner explains, "When you see an Auschwitz survivor smile, or even dance, it just seems bigger than just about anything else." Bretholz is one of the many survivors to be highlighted in the program. He was on the run for seven years from the Nazis, with almost too many miraculous escapes to count. "Every moment, every day that ended was a plus," Bretholz told The Quindecim. "And you hoped that the one you wake up to in the morning was better than the one that just ended."
Bretholz is perhaps the most well known of all the survivors featured in the special. His book, Leap into Darkness: Seven Years on the Run in Wartime Europe is in its fifth printing, and is a required reading in approximately thirty school districts around the country. "I can say I want to talk; I can say I don't want to talk... I have a choice. My mother and sisters, they don't have a choice," Bretholz recounted. "They were taken forcibly to a death camp. I have a choice; they don't have a choice."
Emmy Mogilensky was also featured in the program. She has a unique story, never having been in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. She was one of the approximately 10,000 children who were sent to Great Britain from countries like Austria, Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia via the Kindertransport. England was one of the few countries to accept Jews during this time. The Kindertransport brought Jews up to age 17 into the country. "My father and I first traveled to Munich, where the train station was. My father handed me a little suitcase and he kissed me and he blessed me, and I went on the train," Mogilensky told The Quindecim. After that day, she never saw her parents again. Mogilensky's brother was able to make the trip, and stayed with a family "very close" to where she was living. Fortunately, he survived and is living "not too far" from her.
The Quindecim went to press before the event actually took place on campus. However, through intensive interviews with two of the survivors featured in the program, The Quindecim has details of the program's content, and even some information that may have been left out. Weiner is a member of WBAL-TV's special projects unit. She has done in-depth and investigative reports for the station, bringing her experience from ABC News. She is also the program developer. On WBAL-TV's website Weiner explains, "When you see an Auschwitz survivor smile, or even dance, it just seems bigger than just about anything else." Bretholz is one of the many survivors to be highlighted in the program. He was on the run for seven years from the Nazis, with almost too many miraculous escapes to count. "Every moment, every day that ended was a plus," Bretholz told The Quindecim. "And you hoped that the one you wake up to in the morning was better than the one that just ended."
Bretholz is perhaps the most well known of all the survivors featured in the special. His book, Leap into Darkness: Seven Years on the Run in Wartime Europe is in its fifth printing, and is a required reading in approximately thirty school districts around the country. "I can say I want to talk; I can say I don't want to talk... I have a choice. My mother and sisters, they don't have a choice," Bretholz recounted. "They were taken forcibly to a death camp. I have a choice; they don't have a choice."
Emmy Mogilensky was also featured in the program. She has a unique story, never having been in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. She was one of the approximately 10,000 children who were sent to Great Britain from countries like Austria, Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia via the Kindertransport. England was one of the few countries to accept Jews during this time. The Kindertransport brought Jews up to age 17 into the country. "My father and I first traveled to Munich, where the train station was. My father handed me a little suitcase and he kissed me and he blessed me, and I went on the train," Mogilensky told The Quindecim. After that day, she never saw her parents again. Mogilensky's brother was able to make the trip, and stayed with a family "very close" to where she was living. Fortunately, he survived and is living "not too far" from her.