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Holocaust survivors share their stories
NHS students hear from author
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL
Holocaust survivor Leo Bretholz of Baltimore tells Northern High School students Thursday that he was listed as dead in a compilation of names of 70,000 Jews that were sent by the pro-Nazi Vichy Government of Southern France to extermination camps run by the Nazis. Bretholz avoided death by escaping from his captors as he had done before.
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Northern High School teacher Adrienne LaGier most likely never thought she would use the words "Holocaust survivor" and "James Bond" in the same sentence. But then again, this was no ordinary school day.
"Spending a week in the summer learning about the Holocaust; even my mom said ‘can you get out of it?' But these two rays of light just enriched my life," said LaGier on Thursday as she introduced Holocaust survivors Leo Bretholz and Halina Silber to the audience at schoolwide assembly.
Bretholz, who was compared to Bond himself in a letter LaGier received from a student, spoke first, detailing his escape from the Nazis, which led him all over Europe.
"If we don't remember the victims, we kill them a second time," said Bretholz, who authored the memoir "Leap into Darkness," along with journalist Michael Olesker.
The book became a part of Northern High's curriculum this fall and Bretholz's discussion with the students on Thursday highlighted much of this story. One of the first parts of the book of which Bretholz spoke was the last time he saw his mother and sisters before he left Vienna, which had just been taken over by Germany.
"It was the most emotional and tender moment of all my time on the run," said Bretholz of saying goodbye to his family members, who later died in concentration camps.
Bretholz's journey took him to Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Switzerland in a seven-year period. During this time he crawled under barbed wire, escaped from police by climbing out of a bathroom window, slept sandwiched between two cows in a barn and spent nine months in jail.
One of his incentives to keep running was the phrase "if you succeed, you'll be able to tell the story." These words of encouragement were said to Bretholz as he was on a train bound for a concentration camp.
Bretholz later jumped from the train.
His journey eventually took him to a hospital in Southern France after he collapsed from a ruptured hernia. While receiving treatment, Bretholz woke up to what he said was "an angel talking."
The voice Bretholz heard was from a nurse at the hospital, who told him "as long as I'm in the hall, you have nothing to fear."
This occurred in 1944 and Bretholz would never forget this woman. He reunited with his "angel" in 1999 while vacationing in Europe with his wife, Flo.
Nancy Fairchild, a high school band director from Wisconsin, was so inspired by Bretholz's story that she could "literally hear music" as she read his memoir.
Unable to ignore this motivation, Fairchild composed a piece of music that chronicles Bretholz's journey. It was played for the second time ever by Northern High's band on Thursday after Bretholz spoke.
Fairchild, who had flown in from Wisconsin for the assembly, introduced her composition and lauded Bretholz for his bravery.
"None of us would be sitting here in this place today had he not had the courage to leap from that train," Fairchild said.
The assembly was concluded by Halina Silber, who was No. 16 on Oskar Schindler's list. Silber said she is still shocked to have made it through the Holocaust alive.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be in America, standing in front of students and talking about the Holocaust," Silber said.
She also addressed Schindler's reputation for "business dealings, drinking and womanizing," saying "one does not need to be a saint to do saintly things."
"Nothing and no one could persuade him to ignore human justice," Silber said.
She also paid tribute to Nicholas Winton who organized an adoption agency that Silber said "saved almost 700 children."
Silber said that Winton was eventually reunited with many of these children who were adults by that time.
"There were no words, only tears flowing down his and their faces … I'm sure this is not the first or last example you'll hear of one person making a big difference," said Silber as she concluded.
The assembly was followed by a dinner and a concert, both of which were organized by Northern High's "O" Ambassadors club.
The club's co-president, Samantha Moretz, said that the organization works with Oprah Winfrey's "Angel Network" to promote genocide awareness and hope.
"We decided that the genocide going on in Africa pertains to the Holocaust because it's kind of the same thing," said Moretz, who is a senior at Northern High.
LaGier, who sponsors the "O" Ambassadors, introduced the students to Bretholz and Silber after she spent a week with them this summer. She was given this opportunity due to being one of the five teachers to win a "Holocaust Remembrance Day" essay competition held by the Holland & Knight law firm.
"I was the only area teacher to be chosen so I had to tap into those resources," LaGier said.
One of the club members, Mark Branson, said he was pleasantly surprised by the upbeat outlook he saw displayed by the two Holocaust survivors.
"When I think of the Holocaust, I think of sad people but they were really cheerful and just happy to be here," Branson said.
This feeling seemed exemplified by Bretholz who referred to the audience as "my friends," but then joked that he probably "should not say that as much because of the [presidential] election," in reference to how presidential candidate John McCain (R) frequently addressed his audiences.
"But you all are my new friends now," Bretholz said. "I mean that."
