There is not one day that goes by that I do not remember things from my past. I often wonder why it was I who survived. it must have been Gods’s wil, and I never lost my faith. will never forget, but one has to forgive and look for the good in what life has to offer. To this day I still say my sh’ma prayer before I go to bed. I will never forget, but one has to forgive and look for the good in what life has to offer.
Blessed and cursed with the ability to remember almost everything. I have opened the closeted door of my past. as each door opened, I found old memories returning and learned new things about my past that I had not understood before. after each working session, those doors had to be locked again in order to return to the present. It was of I had memories of someone’s else’s life, to of mine. Time does not heal all wounds, but it does soften them; my pain hs given way to a desire to organize the pieces of the past so I can share your a story that I even find hard to believe really happened to me.
Upon coming to America, I have tried to live a “normal life” and I readily discussed my past, only sharing those painful memories with other emigrants who survived like us. When I was always open with my husband, it was never at the forefront of our conversation. as for my children, they heard bits and peace’s during adult discussions, but rarely inquired further until the got older. My grandchildren, on the other hand, have always shown a keen interest in my story, perhaps because they have to studied the Holocaust in their classrooms.
For those who deny the events of the Holocaust, I am the proof. Today at age 93 , I am content and grateful. I am blessed with three wonderful children and seven grandchildren, healthy grandchildren who inherited their parents good traits. as I often say, this is my reward. Although this is my personal story, I know it is also part of the world’s history; perhaps I have contributed something of my past from which future generation may learn.
Ruth Scheuer Siegler