WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:01.567 --> 00:00:04.100 -I will be sending this link when we're done 00:00:04.100 --> 00:00:07.167 along to all teachers 00:00:07.167 --> 00:00:09.267 and registrants of this program, so don't worry. 00:00:09.267 --> 00:00:12.801 You'll have this here at a later time. 00:00:12.801 --> 00:00:14.000 So we are -- 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:16.033 As I said, I'm thrilled to be welcoming 00:00:16.033 --> 00:00:18.133 Sarah and Margit here today. 00:00:18.133 --> 00:00:21.534 Let me just go back one slide to show you why they're here. 00:00:21.534 --> 00:00:24.467 The museum just today opened our special exhibit 00:00:24.467 --> 00:00:27.000 from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:30.767 called "State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda." 00:00:30.767 --> 00:00:32.234 And that is what Sarah and Margit 00:00:32.234 --> 00:00:34.167 will be sharing with you all here 00:00:34.167 --> 00:00:36.367 through the rest of the program. 00:00:36.367 --> 00:00:38.467 I'm sure you don't want to hear me continue to talk. 00:00:38.467 --> 00:00:40.334 We want to hear from our special guests, 00:00:40.334 --> 00:00:43.868 but you'll see the room is going to transition a little bit. 00:00:43.868 --> 00:00:46.834 We're going to put on our Webcam here in just one second, 00:00:46.834 --> 00:00:49.767 but I want to point out to all of you, 00:00:49.767 --> 00:00:53.701 the white box underneath the gray one that says "Q&A," 00:00:53.701 --> 00:00:56.667 that is where you will be typing in questions 00:00:56.667 --> 00:00:59.033 throughout the entire program. 00:00:59.033 --> 00:01:00.634 This is Chrissy on camera, 00:01:00.634 --> 00:01:03.100 but I will be moderating those questions 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:06.334 and looking into them and choosing -- 00:01:06.334 --> 00:01:08.901 I'm sure we'll get a lot, so I'm going to choose the best 00:01:08.901 --> 00:01:10.934 and as many as I can to get through 00:01:10.934 --> 00:01:13.734 in the time that we have here today, 00:01:13.734 --> 00:01:16.100 and when the time comes, 00:01:16.100 --> 00:01:19.100 Margit and Sarah will be answering your questions, 00:01:19.100 --> 00:01:20.467 so please type them in there. 00:01:20.467 --> 00:01:22.367 I will be looking into them. 00:01:22.367 --> 00:01:24.801 So without further ado, I'm going to start our Webcam up 00:01:24.801 --> 00:01:27.667 so everybody can see you all. 00:01:27.667 --> 00:01:29.767 All right. There we go. 00:01:29.767 --> 00:01:32.267 So now you can see Margit and Sarah, 00:01:32.267 --> 00:01:33.667 and I guess since I'm off-camera, 00:01:33.667 --> 00:01:36.601 would you mind reintroducing yourselves to the audience? 00:01:36.601 --> 00:01:38.167 -Hi, everyone. I'm Sarah Campbell. 00:01:38.167 --> 00:01:40.467 I'm a program coordinator with leadership programs 00:01:40.467 --> 00:01:43.334 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 00:01:43.334 --> 00:01:46.434 -And I'm Margit Meissner, 00:01:46.434 --> 00:01:50.334 and I am a volunteer at the Holocaust Museum, 00:01:50.334 --> 00:01:54.467 and I am a Holocaust survivor. -Fantastic. 00:01:54.467 --> 00:01:55.934 Well, do you all want to share a little bit 00:01:55.934 --> 00:01:57.234 about the special exhibit, 00:01:57.234 --> 00:01:59.067 and then, Margit, it would be great 00:01:59.067 --> 00:02:01.000 if you could share your story after that. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:02.067 -Sure. Thanks, Chrissy. 00:02:02.067 --> 00:02:03.567 So thank you all so much for joining us. 00:02:03.567 --> 00:02:06.467 We're really honored to be here at the museum. 00:02:06.467 --> 00:02:08.501 We're here because of the opening, as she said, 00:02:08.501 --> 00:02:10.801 of the "State of Deception" exhibition. 00:02:10.801 --> 00:02:12.467 "State of Deception" was opened 00:02:12.467 --> 00:02:14.501 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 00:02:14.501 --> 00:02:16.667 in Washington in 2009, 00:02:16.667 --> 00:02:18.567 and at the time, it was the most popular exhibition 00:02:18.567 --> 00:02:20.100 that we've ever opened, and since then, 00:02:20.100 --> 00:02:21.868 it's gone on a national tour. 00:02:21.868 --> 00:02:24.534 In addition to being open here in New Orleans, 00:02:24.534 --> 00:02:27.901 it's also now being shown, a temporary version, 00:02:27.901 --> 00:02:32.200 at the UN, the United Nations, in New York and Paris City Hall. 00:02:32.200 --> 00:02:33.701 So today is also what's known as 00:02:33.701 --> 00:02:35.467 International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 00:02:35.467 --> 00:02:37.434 so we are at the museum in D.C. 00:02:37.434 --> 00:02:40.734 And all these other institutions, along with this exhibition, 00:02:40.734 --> 00:02:43.834 doing some commemoration around this exhibition 00:02:43.834 --> 00:02:46.434 for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 00:02:46.434 --> 00:02:52.701 We also are actively engaged in trying to help students 00:02:52.701 --> 00:02:55.200 and the public understand what is propaganda, 00:02:55.200 --> 00:02:58.400 how they can identify it, and understanding 00:02:58.400 --> 00:02:59.767 that it's not just a thing of the past 00:02:59.767 --> 00:03:02.067 but also very much a thing of the present. 00:03:02.067 --> 00:03:04.534 So to help us kind of talk about propaganda today, 00:03:04.534 --> 00:03:06.200 Margit is here to share her story, 00:03:06.200 --> 00:03:07.467 and I have some questions for her, 00:03:07.467 --> 00:03:09.133 and you have some questions for her, 00:03:09.133 --> 00:03:10.634 but I'm going to turn it over to Margit. 00:03:10.634 --> 00:03:11.734 So, Margit... 00:03:11.734 --> 00:03:13.434 -Well, thank you so much, 00:03:13.434 --> 00:03:16.200 and I'm really thrilled that all of you 00:03:16.200 --> 00:03:19.133 are watching from all over the United States. 00:03:19.133 --> 00:03:23.968 And isn't it amazing technology that makes it possible? 00:03:23.968 --> 00:03:28.601 In my early childhood, this would have never, ever occurred. 00:03:28.601 --> 00:03:34.367 So I'll tell you that I was born in Austria 95 years ago, 00:03:34.367 --> 00:03:37.133 but I lived there only very short time 00:03:37.133 --> 00:03:40.901 because my family moved to Prague, Czechoslovakia. 00:03:40.901 --> 00:03:43.901 And I was the youngest of four children. 00:03:43.901 --> 00:03:49.200 I have three older brothers, and they considered me a little toy, 00:03:49.200 --> 00:03:51.501 so I didn't liked that. 00:03:51.501 --> 00:03:53.000 Excuse me. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:57.634 I did not want to be a little toy, nor did I want to be a girl 00:03:57.634 --> 00:04:02.467 because I thought it was much better to be a boy. 00:04:02.467 --> 00:04:05.234 Now, I have to tell you that at this point 00:04:05.234 --> 00:04:08.200 I don't mind being the youngest, 00:04:08.200 --> 00:04:12.100 nor do I mind being a woman. 00:04:12.100 --> 00:04:16.667 So I grew up in a very assimilated, 00:04:16.667 --> 00:04:21.567 quite well-to-do family, and my job was to learn. 00:04:21.567 --> 00:04:24.501 I was a perpetual student then, 00:04:24.501 --> 00:04:28.200 and I continue to be a perpetual student, 00:04:28.200 --> 00:04:30.067 and I'm just thrilled that I am 00:04:30.067 --> 00:04:33.133 in this beautiful World War II Museum, 00:04:33.133 --> 00:04:35.534 which I didn't even know existed. 00:04:35.534 --> 00:04:39.033 So for me, this is a great privilege. 00:04:39.033 --> 00:04:41.834 So to come back to my childhood, 00:04:41.834 --> 00:04:45.334 my mother had the idea that her children 00:04:45.334 --> 00:04:49.934 had to speak four languages by age 16, 00:04:49.934 --> 00:04:54.834 so we all spoke German at home and Czech in the street, 00:04:54.834 --> 00:05:01.334 and then we had an English nanny and a French nanny. 00:05:01.334 --> 00:05:03.901 So we learned four languages, 00:05:03.901 --> 00:05:07.701 and I was a very good student, 00:05:07.701 --> 00:05:10.634 but not a very interested student. 00:05:10.634 --> 00:05:14.601 When I became a teenager, as you can imagine, 00:05:14.601 --> 00:05:17.701 I was only interested in boys, 00:05:17.701 --> 00:05:20.400 but that didn't work out very well 00:05:20.400 --> 00:05:23.767 because sometimes the boys I was interested in 00:05:23.767 --> 00:05:26.400 were not interested in me. 00:05:26.400 --> 00:05:32.634 So when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938, 00:05:32.634 --> 00:05:35.067 I was 16 years old, 00:05:35.067 --> 00:05:38.701 and my mother didn't think that it was safe 00:05:38.701 --> 00:05:41.501 for me to stay in Czechoslovakia, 00:05:41.501 --> 00:05:46.501 although Czechoslovakia was a democratic government 00:05:46.501 --> 00:05:49.968 that I knew protected its citizens. 00:05:49.968 --> 00:05:53.834 But still, my mother thought I should leave. 00:05:53.834 --> 00:05:55.067 Excuse me. 00:05:55.067 --> 00:05:58.534 And so, she decided that the best place for me 00:05:58.534 --> 00:06:01.434 to be safe would be France, 00:06:01.434 --> 00:06:04.501 and she found a French family 00:06:04.501 --> 00:06:08.467 that would take me in as a sort of paying guest, 00:06:08.467 --> 00:06:13.133 and she shipped me off to Paris by myself, 00:06:13.133 --> 00:06:19.033 and, to me, this was a great, great adventure 00:06:19.033 --> 00:06:22.334 because I didn't leave much of anything behind. 00:06:22.334 --> 00:06:25.667 I left some friends behind, but I was so sure 00:06:25.667 --> 00:06:29.467 I was going to see everybody again in a short time 00:06:29.467 --> 00:06:34.667 because I had no idea what the future would hold for us, 00:06:34.667 --> 00:06:38.434 and I think I was not the only one who didn't know 00:06:38.434 --> 00:06:42.734 because you have to understand that at that time in the world, 00:06:42.734 --> 00:06:44.968 there were no media. 00:06:44.968 --> 00:06:49.901 So for all of you, I presume you cannot imagine 00:06:49.901 --> 00:06:52.801 that one could live without a television, 00:06:52.801 --> 00:06:56.167 without a computer, without a cellphone. 00:06:56.167 --> 00:07:00.267 None of this existed, so we had newspapers, 00:07:00.267 --> 00:07:05.434 and we had some posters, such as the ones 00:07:05.434 --> 00:07:08.968 that are being exhibited 00:07:08.968 --> 00:07:13.801 in the propaganda exhibit here in the museum, 00:07:13.801 --> 00:07:17.033 and we had the radio. 00:07:17.033 --> 00:07:20.801 Now, the radio was a brand-new thing 00:07:20.801 --> 00:07:23.367 that had not existed before, 00:07:23.367 --> 00:07:29.801 and the Nazis made very good use of the radio 00:07:29.801 --> 00:07:35.234 because they gave a radio to every German family, 00:07:35.234 --> 00:07:38.300 and the only channel that one could play 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:42.067 was the government channel -- was full of propaganda. 00:07:42.067 --> 00:07:47.133 And everybody sat in a circle around the radio 00:07:47.133 --> 00:07:51.400 because this was the only thing that talked to you in your home, 00:07:51.400 --> 00:07:53.868 and the more they listened to propaganda, 00:07:53.868 --> 00:07:55.834 the more they believed it. 00:07:55.834 --> 00:08:00.801 So propaganda was a very, very important method 00:08:00.801 --> 00:08:07.367 whereby Hitler tried to convince the German people 00:08:07.367 --> 00:08:10.901 that all of Germany's woes 00:08:10.901 --> 00:08:13.467 and all the problems that Germany had 00:08:13.467 --> 00:08:16.133 were due to the Jews. 00:08:16.133 --> 00:08:20.934 The Nazis believed that the Jews had stabbed them in the back 00:08:20.934 --> 00:08:25.300 at the end of World War I in 1919 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.100 and that they had to fight the Jews 00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:37.067 so that they would not continue hurting the German public. 00:08:37.067 --> 00:08:40.934 Now, many German people did not know any Jews 00:08:40.934 --> 00:08:45.801 because less than 1% of the population was Jewish, 00:08:45.801 --> 00:08:49.067 but the propaganda was very effective, 00:08:49.067 --> 00:08:52.434 and many people started believing it, 00:08:52.434 --> 00:08:55.601 and even if they didn't believe it, they just thought, 00:08:55.601 --> 00:08:59.968 "Well, the Nazi government should do whatever it wanted," 00:08:59.968 --> 00:09:03.367 and this comes to one of the issues 00:09:03.367 --> 00:09:05.868 that is very important to me. 00:09:05.868 --> 00:09:09.100 I'm going to drink something, if you don't mind. 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:11.300 Excuse me. 00:09:14.868 --> 00:09:20.801 It meant that the German public stood by 00:09:20.801 --> 00:09:25.701 while the Nazi was preparing for war, 00:09:25.701 --> 00:09:29.534 and this is something which is very important to me 00:09:29.534 --> 00:09:35.701 because I think that maybe World War II could have been avoided 00:09:35.701 --> 00:09:39.067 if the Western countries had not stood by 00:09:39.067 --> 00:09:42.601 in letting Hitler do whatever he wanted 00:09:42.601 --> 00:09:46.067 because they didn't really take it seriously. 00:09:46.067 --> 00:09:48.400 So how did that affect me? 00:09:48.400 --> 00:09:54.100 So when Austria was annexed in 1938, 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:56.334 my mother sent me to Paris. 00:09:56.334 --> 00:10:00.367 I lived in a French family that was very nice to me, 00:10:00.367 --> 00:10:03.601 but the French police was not nice at all. 00:10:03.601 --> 00:10:07.801 They thought that I was a nuisance. 00:10:07.801 --> 00:10:11.501 Why did I come there? Why didn't I stay at home? 00:10:11.501 --> 00:10:16.033 They didn't want any foreigners, and I felt very uncomfortable 00:10:16.033 --> 00:10:18.834 in a country that really didn't want me, 00:10:18.834 --> 00:10:23.200 although my personal experiences were very good. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:26.000 And I was learning dressmaking. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:28.467 Now, why was I learning dressmaking? 00:10:28.467 --> 00:10:31.601 Because I needed to have a profession 00:10:31.601 --> 00:10:36.701 with which I could make a living that was not based on languages, 00:10:36.701 --> 00:10:40.534 because I didn't know where we might end up. 00:10:40.534 --> 00:10:44.767 So you have to understand that in 1938, 00:10:44.767 --> 00:10:46.901 if you wanted to buy a dress, 00:10:46.901 --> 00:10:49.200 you didn't go to the department store. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.701 That didn't exist, so you went to the dressmaker. 00:10:52.701 --> 00:10:56.901 So dressmaking was a respected profession, 00:10:56.901 --> 00:11:00.868 and I was a fairly good student, 00:11:00.868 --> 00:11:04.300 although I was not careful enough, 00:11:04.300 --> 00:11:07.734 as my teachers reminded me very frequently, 00:11:07.734 --> 00:11:10.200 because I was not very patient, 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:13.267 and I am more impatient than ever, 00:11:13.267 --> 00:11:14.667 I have to tell you. 00:11:14.667 --> 00:11:17.067 I am not good at waiting. 00:11:17.067 --> 00:11:23.167 So that was in 1939. 00:11:23.167 --> 00:11:25.267 Then all of -- 00:11:25.267 --> 00:11:29.434 After the Austrian annexation in 1938, 00:11:29.434 --> 00:11:33.234 in March of 1939, 00:11:33.234 --> 00:11:36.400 all of Czechoslovakia was annexed, 00:11:36.400 --> 00:11:41.567 and at that point, my mother came to join me in Paris, 00:11:41.567 --> 00:11:43.467 but she left in such a hurry 00:11:43.467 --> 00:11:47.901 to be able to get out of Czechoslovakia quickly 00:11:47.901 --> 00:11:53.868 that the only thing she was able to bring out of all our assets 00:11:53.868 --> 00:11:56.934 was a little, small suitcase. 00:11:56.934 --> 00:12:00.167 So overnight, we became paupers. 00:12:00.167 --> 00:12:04.801 Until then, mother had been able to send me a monthly sum 00:12:04.801 --> 00:12:10.067 with which I could cover my expenses, 00:12:10.067 --> 00:12:12.834 but now we had no more money 00:12:12.834 --> 00:12:17.934 and we were really dependent on handouts from others, 00:12:17.934 --> 00:12:22.634 and we kept watching what was going on in the war. 00:12:22.634 --> 00:12:27.868 So in March of 1939, 00:12:27.868 --> 00:12:30.701 the Germans invaded Poland, 00:12:30.701 --> 00:12:35.133 and that started World War II 00:12:35.133 --> 00:12:41.367 because France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. 00:12:41.367 --> 00:12:43.200 And so now, all of a sudden, 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.133 because I was an Austrian citizen 00:12:46.133 --> 00:12:48.968 and Austria was part of Germany, 00:12:48.968 --> 00:12:51.701 so I became an enemy alien. 00:12:51.701 --> 00:12:54.267 Suddenly I was really an enemy 00:12:54.267 --> 00:12:57.167 because I was considered a German, 00:12:57.167 --> 00:13:01.033 and the police became even more aggressive 00:13:01.033 --> 00:13:03.601 and more uncomfortable, 00:13:03.601 --> 00:13:06.934 more unfriendly, 00:13:06.934 --> 00:13:09.901 and I became more uncomfortable. 00:13:09.901 --> 00:13:14.234 And, of course, I was watching the propaganda 00:13:14.234 --> 00:13:16.434 that existed in France 00:13:16.434 --> 00:13:21.100 because the French tried to reassure its public 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:23.601 that they had nothing to worry about, 00:13:23.601 --> 00:13:26.901 that Germany was never going to defeat France 00:13:26.901 --> 00:13:31.234 because France had built the Maginot Line, 00:13:31.234 --> 00:13:36.234 the fortress at the border between France and Germany, 00:13:36.234 --> 00:13:42.133 and they did not understand that the fortress was not good enough 00:13:42.133 --> 00:13:44.968 because when the Germans came in, 00:13:44.968 --> 00:13:50.567 they circumvented the fortress and came in through France, 00:13:50.567 --> 00:13:53.334 through Holland and Belgium. 00:13:53.334 --> 00:13:57.567 And there we were at war in France 00:13:57.567 --> 00:14:00.767 and still watching German propaganda. 00:14:00.767 --> 00:14:05.734 For example, there was a big poster all over Paris 00:14:05.734 --> 00:14:09.000 which had the whole world in red, 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:11.400 and then Germany was a little spot 00:14:11.400 --> 00:14:14.400 that was marked in black and white, 00:14:14.400 --> 00:14:17.734 and it said, "How can they win us 00:14:17.734 --> 00:14:21.801 if they are so insignificant in the world?" 00:14:21.801 --> 00:14:25.133 Well, that was obviously propaganda 00:14:25.133 --> 00:14:27.901 which was not well-conceived. 00:14:27.901 --> 00:14:30.234 So while we were watching this 00:14:30.234 --> 00:14:33.501 and wondering what was going to happen to us, 00:14:33.501 --> 00:14:36.834 since we were in a country where we were not welcome 00:14:36.834 --> 00:14:38.634 and the war was approaching, 00:14:38.634 --> 00:14:42.434 so we tried to find ways of leaving, 00:14:42.434 --> 00:14:47.567 but nobody in the world was interested in giving us asylum. 00:14:47.567 --> 00:14:52.033 And that was a terrible thing for millions of people like me 00:14:52.033 --> 00:14:57.234 because, during the 1930s, there was depression in the world, 00:14:57.234 --> 00:14:59.934 and no country was really interested 00:14:59.934 --> 00:15:02.934 in accepting penniless refugees, 00:15:02.934 --> 00:15:05.734 including the United States. 00:15:05.734 --> 00:15:11.100 So while this was going on and the war was coming closer, 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:15.267 one day my mother received notification 00:15:15.267 --> 00:15:19.767 that she was going to be deported. 00:15:19.767 --> 00:15:21.667 They didn't call it deported. 00:15:21.667 --> 00:15:25.467 They said that she would be -- What was the -- 00:15:25.467 --> 00:15:27.400 -Evacuated? -Evacuated, thank you. 00:15:27.400 --> 00:15:29.934 -You're welcome. -She would be evacuated. 00:15:29.934 --> 00:15:33.634 And so, she was told come to the police station 00:15:33.634 --> 00:15:38.167 in a neighboring town with three days worth of food, 00:15:38.167 --> 00:15:42.767 whatever you could carry on your back, and three blankets. 00:15:42.767 --> 00:15:45.167 And I took her to the police station, 00:15:45.167 --> 00:15:48.534 and when I came, I said, "Why are you taking her?" 00:15:48.534 --> 00:15:50.734 And they said, "None of your business." 00:15:50.734 --> 00:15:52.400 And, "Where are you taking her?" 00:15:52.400 --> 00:15:55.701 "Go home. We are not answering questions." 00:15:55.701 --> 00:15:58.200 So here I was, all by myself. 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:02.400 My mother was leaving, and the Germans were approaching, 00:16:02.400 --> 00:16:05.400 so it was a very scary moment. 00:16:05.400 --> 00:16:09.167 But the last minute before mother entered the bus, 00:16:09.167 --> 00:16:14.033 she took out of her pocket a sum of money, 00:16:14.033 --> 00:16:17.000 some several thousand francs, 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.200 and gave them to me and said, 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:23.200 "Now it's up to you to get us out of here." 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:27.767 Whatever that meant, I have never been able to find out, 00:16:27.767 --> 00:16:30.968 but it occurred to me that that meant 00:16:30.968 --> 00:16:33.901 that I had to see whether I could find her 00:16:33.901 --> 00:16:36.367 and liberate her wherever she was 00:16:36.367 --> 00:16:38.434 and that I had to get both of us 00:16:38.434 --> 00:16:41.501 out of this impossible situation. 00:16:41.501 --> 00:16:44.434 So while I was debating this, 00:16:44.434 --> 00:16:48.100 the Germans came closer and closer, 00:16:48.100 --> 00:16:52.801 and there was this tremendous exodus out of France, 00:16:52.801 --> 00:16:57.734 where people were just streaming in a certain direction 00:16:57.734 --> 00:16:59.133 to the south, 00:16:59.133 --> 00:17:02.601 and I could not walk in the street 00:17:02.601 --> 00:17:05.534 because there were these tremendous crowds. 00:17:05.534 --> 00:17:10.267 Now, because I had been at the police every other week, 00:17:10.267 --> 00:17:11.667 I went to -- 00:17:11.667 --> 00:17:14.567 They told me that I was never going to be able to leave 00:17:14.567 --> 00:17:16.067 without permission, 00:17:16.067 --> 00:17:19.334 so I decided to go to the police station 00:17:19.334 --> 00:17:21.501 to see whether they would let me leave 00:17:21.501 --> 00:17:23.868 so that I could find my mom. 00:17:23.868 --> 00:17:25.801 And when I came to the police station, 00:17:25.801 --> 00:17:27.901 the police station was open, 00:17:27.901 --> 00:17:30.067 but the policemen had gone. 00:17:30.067 --> 00:17:33.067 They had joined the crowds that were leaving. 00:17:33.067 --> 00:17:36.100 So I thought now I had an alibi 00:17:36.100 --> 00:17:39.634 so that I could leave without permission. 00:17:39.634 --> 00:17:43.968 And when I looked at this tremendously chaotic crowd, 00:17:43.968 --> 00:17:45.434 I got so frightened 00:17:45.434 --> 00:17:49.200 that I thought it couldn't possibly join the walk, 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:54.033 and then I remembered that mother had given me some money, 00:17:54.033 --> 00:17:58.801 so I took the money and decided to buy a bicycle. 00:17:58.801 --> 00:18:01.300 And I must have found the last bicycle 00:18:01.300 --> 00:18:03.634 that was available in Paris. 00:18:03.634 --> 00:18:09.868 It was a men's racing bike with these curved handles, 00:18:09.868 --> 00:18:15.033 and I bought that bike, and on that bike, I left Paris. 00:18:15.033 --> 00:18:18.567 And I had with me a little case 00:18:18.567 --> 00:18:22.267 in which I had my dressmaking notes. 00:18:22.267 --> 00:18:30.167 I had two chocolate croissants and a set of oil paints, 00:18:30.167 --> 00:18:33.834 because I thought if I was going to become a dressmaker 00:18:33.834 --> 00:18:35.100 or dress designer, 00:18:35.100 --> 00:18:40.100 I also needed to be able to design fashion. 00:18:40.100 --> 00:18:43.534 So that was the idea with which I left. 00:18:43.534 --> 00:18:46.033 And I was very frightened, 00:18:46.033 --> 00:18:49.801 but then it turned out that I had an advantage 00:18:49.801 --> 00:18:52.133 over most of the other people, 00:18:52.133 --> 00:18:53.834 because with a bicycle, 00:18:53.834 --> 00:18:58.000 I could get around all the stalled cars 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:02.868 and the crowds of people who were inching ahead of me. 00:19:02.868 --> 00:19:08.834 So I have a long story about this escape 00:19:08.834 --> 00:19:13.167 about which I wrote a book, if any of you are interested. 00:19:13.167 --> 00:19:19.133 It is called "Margit's Story," and it is available on Amazon. 00:19:19.133 --> 00:19:23.634 But because we don't have time for me to tell you 00:19:23.634 --> 00:19:26.167 the escape in detail, 00:19:26.167 --> 00:19:32.300 I will just tell you that, quite by accident, I found my mother. 00:19:32.300 --> 00:19:35.801 It was really a miracle that I found her, 00:19:35.801 --> 00:19:39.801 and she was in a French concentration camp 00:19:39.801 --> 00:19:44.701 on the border of France and Spain, 00:19:44.701 --> 00:19:48.868 so that I now had a direction where to go. 00:19:48.868 --> 00:19:52.868 And when I eventually found a train -- 00:19:52.868 --> 00:19:56.033 I left my bike, and I found a train, 00:19:56.033 --> 00:19:59.267 and when the train stopped, by miracle, 00:19:59.267 --> 00:20:05.534 I was about 20 kilometers from the camp of Gurs, where she was. 00:20:05.534 --> 00:20:11.501 So when the war was over -- and it ended very chaotically 00:20:11.501 --> 00:20:13.667 because the French government gave up 00:20:13.667 --> 00:20:15.467 but didn't have another government, 00:20:15.467 --> 00:20:19.534 so there were a few days of great chaos -- 00:20:19.534 --> 00:20:25.133 so she was able to leave the concentration camp and join me. 00:20:25.133 --> 00:20:28.701 And together, we escaped further 00:20:28.701 --> 00:20:34.400 to what then became the unoccupied part of France 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:39.200 of the Mediterranean to the city of Marseille. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:40.734 And in Marseille, 00:20:40.734 --> 00:20:45.200 there were lots of other refugees 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:48.467 also from Czechoslovakia, from Austria, 00:20:48.467 --> 00:20:53.300 who were all trying to find visas to leave France 00:20:53.300 --> 00:20:57.701 and save themselves from the war. 00:20:57.701 --> 00:21:00.968 Now, I was able to secure 00:21:00.968 --> 00:21:06.501 a Spanish and a Portuguese transit visa, 00:21:06.501 --> 00:21:11.167 transit meaning just driving through, 00:21:11.167 --> 00:21:13.167 not staying there, 00:21:13.167 --> 00:21:16.701 but the French would not give us exit permits. 00:21:16.701 --> 00:21:20.400 They said, "You cannot leave unless we give you permission," 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.033 and the French would not give us permission. 00:21:23.033 --> 00:21:28.100 So on the day before our visas expired, 00:21:28.100 --> 00:21:33.200 mother and I decided we would go to the French-Spanish border 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:35.734 and see whether we might be able 00:21:35.734 --> 00:21:38.434 to get through without permission. 00:21:38.434 --> 00:21:43.400 So we arrived at -- Really, this trip was very scary 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:49.334 because we were constantly avoiding the police 00:21:49.334 --> 00:21:54.167 that were controlling the access to the border. 00:21:54.167 --> 00:21:56.133 -And this is in the mountains, right? 00:21:56.133 --> 00:21:58.901 -Yeah. -This is in the middle of the Pyrenees Mountains. 00:21:58.901 --> 00:22:00.901 -Well, it's on the border of the Pyrenees Mountains. 00:22:00.901 --> 00:22:04.634 -Yeah. So you're trying to cross a mountain, basically? 00:22:04.634 --> 00:22:08.834 -Well, yes, but, of course, we were still trying to cross -- 00:22:08.834 --> 00:22:11.734 -To get over? -...to get permission 00:22:11.734 --> 00:22:15.133 to cross on the railroad because we didn't. 00:22:15.133 --> 00:22:19.267 So I, in desperation, because it was the last day 00:22:19.267 --> 00:22:21.601 of the validity of the visa, 00:22:21.601 --> 00:22:28.467 I approached a porter in the railroad station 00:22:28.467 --> 00:22:30.968 and explained our situation to him, 00:22:30.968 --> 00:22:34.067 and he said, "Well, maybe I can help you. 00:22:34.067 --> 00:22:37.467 I can show you how you can walk across the border," 00:22:37.467 --> 00:22:40.267 which was in the mountains up on the French side 00:22:40.267 --> 00:22:43.000 and down on the Spanish side. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:44.701 And he said, "But be careful 00:22:44.701 --> 00:22:48.133 because if the Spanish police catches you, 00:22:48.133 --> 00:22:49.701 they are going to catch you 00:22:49.701 --> 00:22:51.634 because you are crossing the border 00:22:51.634 --> 00:22:54.501 at an unauthorized place." 00:22:54.501 --> 00:22:59.501 So I said, "Well, if you give us directions, we won't get lost," 00:22:59.501 --> 00:23:01.534 but we did get lost. 00:23:01.534 --> 00:23:07.400 The Spanish police caught us, and we went to a Spanish jail. 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:12.267 Well, that was a most incredible experience, 00:23:12.267 --> 00:23:15.767 because I was a very proper young lady, 00:23:15.767 --> 00:23:19.400 and I thought I was never going to go to jail. 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:23.033 And so, when we found ourselves in this fascist jail, 00:23:23.033 --> 00:23:29.767 because Spain had just gone through a revolution 00:23:29.767 --> 00:23:32.801 and the Fascist government won, 00:23:32.801 --> 00:23:36.334 so it was a very scary moment 00:23:36.334 --> 00:23:40.133 in which I learned a lot about the world, 00:23:40.133 --> 00:23:43.901 because there were prostitutes there, 00:23:43.901 --> 00:23:48.267 and I never thought in my life I would meet a prostitute. 00:23:48.267 --> 00:23:50.100 You can imagine. 00:23:50.100 --> 00:23:52.234 But the prostitutes were the ones 00:23:52.234 --> 00:23:54.767 who really helped us in jail 00:23:54.767 --> 00:23:56.868 because we didn't have a bowl 00:23:56.868 --> 00:23:59.901 into which they would give us our food, 00:23:59.901 --> 00:24:02.234 and we didn't have anything with us 00:24:02.234 --> 00:24:04.701 that most of the other prisoners had, 00:24:04.701 --> 00:24:07.334 so if the prostitutes had not helped us, 00:24:07.334 --> 00:24:10.334 we might not have been able to survive. 00:24:10.334 --> 00:24:14.767 And so, that was such a meaningful experience for me 00:24:14.767 --> 00:24:19.133 that I had to rethink what my worldview was 00:24:19.133 --> 00:24:22.767 and what I was thinking, and I became -- 00:24:22.767 --> 00:24:25.901 Really, I started to become a different person, 00:24:25.901 --> 00:24:29.534 a person who was aware of the world 00:24:29.534 --> 00:24:33.667 and aware of my position in it 00:24:33.667 --> 00:24:38.868 and also aware of the role that the individual could play. 00:24:38.868 --> 00:24:47.667 So to end this report, I have to tell you that we got out of jail 00:24:47.667 --> 00:24:51.467 with the help of very lovely friends, 00:24:51.467 --> 00:24:58.133 and we were able to get to Portugal, where we were staying, 00:24:58.133 --> 00:25:02.033 wondering what was going to happen next because, of course, 00:25:02.033 --> 00:25:03.767 we did not really have permission 00:25:03.767 --> 00:25:05.634 to remain in Portugal. 00:25:05.634 --> 00:25:09.767 We only had permission to drive through Portugal. 00:25:09.767 --> 00:25:12.367 But we were able to stay there, 00:25:12.367 --> 00:25:17.934 and I became a successful dressmaker 00:25:17.934 --> 00:25:21.634 because many of the other refugees 00:25:21.634 --> 00:25:25.300 had also lost all their belongings like we, 00:25:25.300 --> 00:25:29.067 and I became the dressmaker to the refugees, 00:25:29.067 --> 00:25:31.467 and my mother became my helper. 00:25:31.467 --> 00:25:36.767 So that was a good thing to do, but the situation was very dicey 00:25:36.767 --> 00:25:39.634 because we didn't know what would happen next. 00:25:39.634 --> 00:25:44.601 So quite miraculously, we got an affidavit of support 00:25:44.601 --> 00:25:49.567 which enabled us to get an American immigration visa. 00:25:49.567 --> 00:25:53.834 So here, now, we were ready to go to the United States, 00:25:53.834 --> 00:25:57.000 but there was no shipping because the war was on, 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:00.767 and there were U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean. 00:26:00.767 --> 00:26:04.934 So eventually, we were able to get passage 00:26:04.934 --> 00:26:08.367 on a Portuguese cork freighter 00:26:08.367 --> 00:26:11.267 that brought cork for wine bottles 00:26:11.267 --> 00:26:13.367 to the United States. 00:26:13.367 --> 00:26:16.901 And it traveled across the Atlantic Ocean 00:26:16.901 --> 00:26:22.067 for three weeks, during which I was primarily seasick, 00:26:22.067 --> 00:26:27.601 but if I was not seasick, I played ping-pong with the crew. 00:26:27.601 --> 00:26:30.234 So I learned a lot of Portuguese 00:26:30.234 --> 00:26:32.400 while I was talking to the sailors, 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:35.400 and I also learned a lot of ping-pong, 00:26:35.400 --> 00:26:38.801 so I've become a very good ping-pong player. 00:26:38.801 --> 00:26:47.434 So I came to the United States in April of 1941. 00:26:47.434 --> 00:26:52.901 I was 19 years old, and I landed in the Chesapeake Bay. 00:26:52.901 --> 00:26:55.834 I did not see the Statue of Liberty 00:26:55.834 --> 00:27:00.300 because that was not how I came to the United States. 00:27:00.300 --> 00:27:04.901 And from then on, I have lived here 00:27:04.901 --> 00:27:09.400 and with great pleasure of being an American 00:27:09.400 --> 00:27:14.367 and with living in a country that has been wonderful to me. 00:27:14.367 --> 00:27:16.467 So that's my story. 00:27:16.467 --> 00:27:17.934 -Before we take questions, 00:27:17.934 --> 00:27:20.300 I want to have you just briefly talk 00:27:20.300 --> 00:27:22.167 about what you did during the war 00:27:22.167 --> 00:27:24.067 and then after the war back in Germany... 00:27:24.067 --> 00:27:25.434 -Oh, yeah. -...with propaganda. 00:27:25.434 --> 00:27:28.667 How did propaganda play a part after the war? 00:27:28.667 --> 00:27:33.033 -So propaganda played a big part during the war 00:27:33.033 --> 00:27:38.567 because I worked in the American... 00:27:38.567 --> 00:27:40.834 -The Office of War... -The Office of War Information. 00:27:40.834 --> 00:27:44.801 I always forget that name. In the Office of War Information. 00:27:44.801 --> 00:27:47.300 And the reason why I got the job there 00:27:47.300 --> 00:27:50.434 was because I spoke Czech and Portuguese. 00:27:50.434 --> 00:27:52.000 That was very unusual. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:57.367 Most people either spoke Slavic languages or Latin languages 00:27:57.367 --> 00:27:58.801 but not a mix. 00:27:58.801 --> 00:28:02.367 So I worked in the Office of... 00:28:02.367 --> 00:28:04.567 -War Information. -...War Information, 00:28:04.567 --> 00:28:08.067 and I was a producer of propaganda 00:28:08.067 --> 00:28:11.868 because I helped create the information 00:28:11.868 --> 00:28:16.000 that the United States was sending out to the world. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:19.167 And I felt very good about that 00:28:19.167 --> 00:28:24.334 because I knew how important propaganda was 00:28:24.334 --> 00:28:26.901 in winning the war 00:28:26.901 --> 00:28:30.701 and how important it was for the United States 00:28:30.701 --> 00:28:33.667 to explain itself to the world 00:28:33.667 --> 00:28:37.167 that knew relatively little about America. 00:28:37.167 --> 00:28:39.667 And then... 00:28:39.667 --> 00:28:41.834 -And it's a good reminder that propaganda 00:28:41.834 --> 00:28:44.567 can be positive, right, that it can have a good message? 00:28:44.567 --> 00:28:48.133 -Right. And then after the war, 00:28:48.133 --> 00:28:49.934 I had gotten married, 00:28:49.934 --> 00:28:54.734 and my husband was discharged from the Army 00:28:54.734 --> 00:29:00.567 and went to Nuremberg to the war crimes trials, 00:29:00.567 --> 00:29:05.868 where he was employed by the American section of the court. 00:29:05.868 --> 00:29:09.033 And I went along as a spouse, 00:29:09.033 --> 00:29:11.734 but I was very unhappy in Germany 00:29:11.734 --> 00:29:14.901 because Germany was totally destroyed, 00:29:14.901 --> 00:29:19.067 and I felt that I was an American, 00:29:19.067 --> 00:29:22.100 but I could have been on the other side easily. 00:29:22.100 --> 00:29:24.667 So it was a difficult, psychologically 00:29:24.667 --> 00:29:27.400 very difficult moment for me, 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:32.000 but it was saved by my applying for work 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:35.334 at the Army of Occupation, 00:29:35.334 --> 00:29:41.734 and they decided I was maybe a good candidate for a job 00:29:41.734 --> 00:29:45.033 to re-educate the German youth. 00:29:45.033 --> 00:29:49.534 So I was in charge of German youth activities 00:29:49.534 --> 00:29:53.000 for the American military government 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:55.033 in the Nuremberg region, 00:29:55.033 --> 00:29:58.501 and that was a really interesting job. 00:29:58.501 --> 00:30:03.267 It was not actually developing propaganda, 00:30:03.267 --> 00:30:06.467 but I tried to explain to people 00:30:06.467 --> 00:30:09.534 what a democratic country looked like 00:30:09.534 --> 00:30:13.567 and what education in the United States looked like, 00:30:13.567 --> 00:30:15.567 which was so different 00:30:15.567 --> 00:30:20.334 from what the German public was used to. 00:30:20.334 --> 00:30:28.767 So propaganda was an important part of my life in Germany. 00:30:28.767 --> 00:30:32.434 And then when I, for many, 00:30:32.434 --> 00:30:34.934 many years didn't think of propaganda 00:30:34.934 --> 00:30:39.200 because I worked in a local school system 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.968 on the integration of handicapped children 00:30:41.968 --> 00:30:44.834 into the general education program, 00:30:44.834 --> 00:30:47.934 but when I retired from this job 00:30:47.934 --> 00:30:49.667 and I started working 00:30:49.667 --> 00:30:53.734 for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 00:30:53.734 --> 00:30:57.133 as a volunteer 00:30:57.133 --> 00:31:01.334 and the museum started this propaganda exhibit, 00:31:01.334 --> 00:31:04.934 which has now just opened in New Orleans, 00:31:04.934 --> 00:31:09.133 I became very much involved in propaganda again. 00:31:09.133 --> 00:31:14.400 So propaganda really has sort of followed me 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:16.868 through my adult life. 00:31:16.868 --> 00:31:19.634 -Wonderful. Thank you, Margit. Thank you so much. 00:31:19.634 --> 00:31:23.567 So we do have some questions that we're going to answer. 00:31:23.567 --> 00:31:26.033 The first one I'm going to answer. 00:31:26.033 --> 00:31:28.534 It's just, "What does the Holocaust mean?" 00:31:28.534 --> 00:31:33.234 So the word "Holocaust" actually comes from a Greek word, 00:31:33.234 --> 00:31:35.934 and it means literally 00:31:35.934 --> 00:31:39.033 sort of a burnt offering or a burnt clearing. 00:31:39.033 --> 00:31:43.067 The definition that we now think of today as the Holocaust 00:31:43.067 --> 00:31:44.934 is the state-sponsored, 00:31:44.934 --> 00:31:48.667 systematic, bureaucratic persecution 00:31:48.667 --> 00:31:52.300 and murder of European Jews by Nazi Germany 00:31:52.300 --> 00:31:56.601 and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. 00:31:56.601 --> 00:31:58.534 And so, that's sort of a really broad definition. 00:31:58.534 --> 00:32:00.801 Some of the big important things in there 00:32:00.801 --> 00:32:02.968 are that it's not just Nazi Germany alone. 00:32:02.968 --> 00:32:06.434 The collaborators of other countries are included, 00:32:06.434 --> 00:32:07.834 but it is state-sponsored, though. 00:32:07.834 --> 00:32:11.300 It was the policy of Nazi Germany 00:32:11.300 --> 00:32:13.534 and that it was systematic and bureaucratic. 00:32:13.534 --> 00:32:16.100 It had a sort of backing in this apparatus behind it, 00:32:16.100 --> 00:32:19.834 so that's really the definition of the Holocaust that we use. 00:32:19.834 --> 00:32:22.334 So that's just to help everyone understand. 00:32:22.334 --> 00:32:25.667 I have some questions for you, Margit, from the group, 00:32:25.667 --> 00:32:27.234 so the first one -- And thank you, Tia, 00:32:27.234 --> 00:32:31.634 for that question about the definition of the Holocaust. 00:32:31.634 --> 00:32:32.901 T.M. wanted to know, 00:32:32.901 --> 00:32:35.167 "What happened to your older brothers?" 00:32:35.167 --> 00:32:38.434 -Well, so my older brothers 00:32:38.434 --> 00:32:41.167 were all able to save themselves, 00:32:41.167 --> 00:32:43.534 but in different part of the world. 00:32:43.534 --> 00:32:48.901 My oldest brother was able to find asylum in Australia. 00:32:48.901 --> 00:32:52.601 My second brother found asylum in Canada, 00:32:52.601 --> 00:32:54.334 my third brother in Spain, 00:32:54.334 --> 00:32:57.234 and here I am in the United States, 00:32:57.234 --> 00:33:00.200 so we are all -- 00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:02.968 We have families all over the globe, 00:33:02.968 --> 00:33:05.868 and for many, many years, we didn't see each other 00:33:05.868 --> 00:33:07.868 because first there was the war, 00:33:07.868 --> 00:33:10.601 and then we were too poor to travel. 00:33:10.601 --> 00:33:12.601 But we all got settled, 00:33:12.601 --> 00:33:16.067 and then we started meeting again, 00:33:16.067 --> 00:33:21.501 and now, every three years, we have a family reunion. 00:33:21.501 --> 00:33:26.767 And by now, the whole family has grown to 54 members, 00:33:26.767 --> 00:33:28.734 so we are very fortunate 00:33:28.734 --> 00:33:33.300 because Hitler was trying to eradicate the Jews, 00:33:33.300 --> 00:33:37.634 and we survived, and we multiplied. 00:33:37.634 --> 00:33:42.734 -So -- And Mr. Lock's class wanted to know, 00:33:42.734 --> 00:33:44.267 "How many languages can you speak?" 00:33:44.267 --> 00:33:46.367 You said you spoke four, and then you added Portuguese. 00:33:46.367 --> 00:33:47.868 How many languages do you speak? 00:33:47.868 --> 00:33:51.033 -Well, so I started out with German. 00:33:51.033 --> 00:33:54.434 My second language was Czech. 00:33:54.434 --> 00:33:56.968 My third language was French. 00:33:56.968 --> 00:34:00.100 My fourth language was English. 00:34:00.100 --> 00:34:04.667 My next language was Portuguese. 00:34:04.667 --> 00:34:06.300 My next -- So that was five. 00:34:06.300 --> 00:34:08.133 -That's five. Yeah. 00:34:08.133 --> 00:34:12.000 -Then my next language was Hungarian. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:14.868 -Hungarian. -Then I started to learn Russian. 00:34:14.868 --> 00:34:17.467 -Russian. -And then I learned Spanish. 00:34:17.467 --> 00:34:18.567 -Spanish. 00:34:18.567 --> 00:34:21.567 -And now I have learned some Italian. 00:34:21.567 --> 00:34:22.567 -Wow. -So we're up to nine -- 00:34:22.567 --> 00:34:24.067 -Nine. -Nine languages. 00:34:24.067 --> 00:34:25.200 -Oh, my goodness. 00:34:25.200 --> 00:34:29.501 -But I only really speak well English. 00:34:29.501 --> 00:34:31.901 I think that's my best language. 00:34:31.901 --> 00:34:33.467 -You do wonderful. Yeah. 00:34:33.467 --> 00:34:35.701 -Yeah. 00:34:35.701 --> 00:34:37.701 -And there's a question about the radio. 00:34:37.701 --> 00:34:40.367 So did you have a radio at home, as well? 00:34:40.367 --> 00:34:44.467 -Well, we had a very special occasion with this radio, 00:34:44.467 --> 00:34:47.467 so although we were a well-to-do family, 00:34:47.467 --> 00:34:50.400 we did not have the kind of radio 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:53.868 that the Germans gave to the German families. 00:34:53.868 --> 00:34:56.434 We only had a little crystal set 00:34:56.434 --> 00:35:00.901 that my mother used to listen to, and I was -- 00:35:00.901 --> 00:35:04.267 When Hitler came to power, I was 10 years old, 00:35:04.267 --> 00:35:08.200 and my mother was messing with this little crystal set 00:35:08.200 --> 00:35:12.834 because there was a big speech that she needed to listen to, 00:35:12.834 --> 00:35:15.601 and it was very important to her, 00:35:15.601 --> 00:35:20.033 and I must have made some kind of noise that annoyed her, 00:35:20.033 --> 00:35:24.300 and she yelled at me, and she said, "Shut up, Margit." 00:35:24.300 --> 00:35:27.501 Now, my mother never said "shut up" to me, 00:35:27.501 --> 00:35:29.467 so five minutes later, 00:35:29.467 --> 00:35:32.701 after she had listened to what she wanted to listen, 00:35:32.701 --> 00:35:35.901 she came to me and apologized and said, 00:35:35.901 --> 00:35:39.634 "I'm very sorry that I yelled at you, 00:35:39.634 --> 00:35:43.601 but there's a man in Germany by the name of Adolf Hitler, 00:35:43.601 --> 00:35:47.801 and he persecutes Jews, and we are Jewish, 00:35:47.801 --> 00:35:51.200 and I have to find out what he's saying 00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:53.934 so that I can protect you." 00:35:53.934 --> 00:35:57.033 And that five-minute interlude 00:35:57.033 --> 00:36:00.501 really started my awareness 00:36:00.501 --> 00:36:02.501 of the world around me. 00:36:02.501 --> 00:36:09.434 I was 10 years old, and at my, I guess, educational level, 00:36:09.434 --> 00:36:14.968 I began to listen to news and read the newspaper 00:36:14.968 --> 00:36:19.234 and become aware of what goes on in the world, 00:36:19.234 --> 00:36:23.234 and that has remained with me to this day. 00:36:23.234 --> 00:36:26.267 -And that's really important because you were in Czechoslovakia. 00:36:26.267 --> 00:36:27.834 You said in Germany, the radio, 00:36:27.834 --> 00:36:30.767 they could only hear sort of one station, one message. 00:36:30.767 --> 00:36:32.200 But in other countries -- 00:36:32.200 --> 00:36:35.000 -In Czechoslovakia, the radio that we had 00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:37.100 was such poor quality 00:36:37.100 --> 00:36:39.968 that one wasn't able to listen to anything. 00:36:39.968 --> 00:36:42.100 -But even in the United States and other countries, 00:36:42.100 --> 00:36:44.634 they could hear what was going on in Germany. 00:36:44.634 --> 00:36:47.367 But in Germany, they could only hear their own thing. 00:36:47.367 --> 00:36:48.834 -Correct. -Yeah. Okay. 00:36:48.834 --> 00:36:51.567 The next question from the Richardson Home School was, 00:36:51.567 --> 00:36:53.434 "Were you ever scared?" 00:36:53.434 --> 00:36:56.767 -Yes. I was plenty scared many times. 00:36:56.767 --> 00:36:58.634 First of all, I was always scared 00:36:58.634 --> 00:37:00.467 when I went to the police. 00:37:00.467 --> 00:37:02.367 In the beginning, when I was in Paris, 00:37:02.367 --> 00:37:05.400 I had to go to the police every other week, 00:37:05.400 --> 00:37:10.000 and I was always scared there because they were so aggressive, 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:12.601 and they kept telling me that, why was I there? 00:37:12.601 --> 00:37:15.734 So I was scared, and I was very -- 00:37:15.734 --> 00:37:17.300 -And they told you if you didn't check in, 00:37:17.300 --> 00:37:19.534 they would find you and arrest you, right? 00:37:19.534 --> 00:37:23.234 So that was probably scary, too. -Yeah. That was scary. 00:37:23.234 --> 00:37:28.133 And then I was very scared when my mother left, 00:37:28.133 --> 00:37:33.801 and then when I sort of looked at the opportunities, 00:37:33.801 --> 00:37:36.868 I didn't come up with a bicycle right away. 00:37:36.868 --> 00:37:39.267 I tried to go to the railroad station, 00:37:39.267 --> 00:37:41.067 and the railroad was closed, 00:37:41.067 --> 00:37:43.234 and there was a big sign there, 00:37:43.234 --> 00:37:46.300 "No more trains until the end of hostilities," 00:37:46.300 --> 00:37:47.901 and I didn't know what this meant. 00:37:47.901 --> 00:37:48.968 -Who knew when that was going to be? 00:37:48.968 --> 00:37:52.067 -And then I was there all by myself, 00:37:52.067 --> 00:37:55.534 because most of my friends were Czechs. 00:37:55.534 --> 00:37:57.767 They were not Austrians. They were Czechs. 00:37:57.767 --> 00:38:01.467 And the Czechs were not enemy aliens in France, 00:38:01.467 --> 00:38:05.200 so I really didn't have any other contact, so... 00:38:05.200 --> 00:38:08.601 And when I started riding the bicycle, 00:38:08.601 --> 00:38:12.434 I was very scared, so there were many scary moments. 00:38:12.434 --> 00:38:18.100 And the moment when the Spanish police took us to the jail, 00:38:18.100 --> 00:38:21.601 it was in the middle of the night in a dark street 00:38:21.601 --> 00:38:24.634 that I had no idea where we were going, 00:38:24.634 --> 00:38:27.701 and there was this big building in front of us 00:38:27.701 --> 00:38:30.067 that turned out to be a prison, 00:38:30.067 --> 00:38:32.567 and when they opened the door to the prison, 00:38:32.567 --> 00:38:34.901 I thought the end of the world had arrived. 00:38:34.901 --> 00:38:37.100 -Yeah. That sounds very scary. 00:38:37.100 --> 00:38:39.834 So Ms. Jackson's class asked, 00:38:39.834 --> 00:38:41.601 "When you were reunited with your mom, 00:38:41.601 --> 00:38:42.901 what was her reaction?" 00:38:42.901 --> 00:38:44.267 What did she -- You said it was sort of 00:38:44.267 --> 00:38:46.200 by accident or kind of a miracle. 00:38:46.200 --> 00:38:52.400 -Well, it was really quite a location. 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:57.167 So I was in this small town, Salies-de-Bearn, 00:38:57.167 --> 00:39:02.601 which was, as I said, 20 kilometers from Gurs, 00:39:02.601 --> 00:39:05.934 and the lady at whose house I was staying, 00:39:05.934 --> 00:39:09.968 which was an acquaintance who was very good to me, 00:39:09.968 --> 00:39:12.701 she decided to go to the -- 00:39:12.701 --> 00:39:16.567 As soon as I arrived, she went to the camp of Gurs 00:39:16.567 --> 00:39:19.701 to see whether she could find my mother 00:39:19.701 --> 00:39:22.167 and tell her that her child was safe, 00:39:22.167 --> 00:39:25.167 because she knew that Paris had just fallen. 00:39:25.167 --> 00:39:29.133 But she came to the camp and couldn't find my mother 00:39:29.133 --> 00:39:32.467 and left a message there and came back to me 00:39:32.467 --> 00:39:35.968 and said, "Look, I was in Gurs. It was chaotic. 00:39:35.968 --> 00:39:37.634 I couldn't find your mother. 00:39:37.634 --> 00:39:41.200 I left a message, but don't count on it, 00:39:41.200 --> 00:39:44.000 that she will have never gotten it." 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:47.167 And so, I was sitting there waiting, not quite to do, 00:39:47.167 --> 00:39:48.868 what to do next, 00:39:48.868 --> 00:39:51.334 and the government was just changing, 00:39:51.334 --> 00:39:53.934 and nobody knew what was going on. 00:39:53.934 --> 00:39:55.767 And I was sitting in the yard, 00:39:55.767 --> 00:40:00.534 and suddenly I saw a woman from far away approaching me, 00:40:00.534 --> 00:40:03.601 waving at me, and I didn't wave back 00:40:03.601 --> 00:40:06.200 because I didn't know anybody who could wave at me. 00:40:06.200 --> 00:40:08.033 -Yeah. Who could it be, right? -Who could it be? 00:40:08.033 --> 00:40:11.634 So this person came closer and closer, 00:40:11.634 --> 00:40:14.167 and she waved more energetically, 00:40:14.167 --> 00:40:16.567 and I still didn't wave back. 00:40:16.567 --> 00:40:20.234 And when she came close, I realized it was my mom. 00:40:20.234 --> 00:40:22.868 -That's amazing. -And I had not recognized her 00:40:22.868 --> 00:40:25.467 because she had lost a lot of weight, 00:40:25.467 --> 00:40:27.934 and she was very dark in her face 00:40:27.934 --> 00:40:32.133 because she had spent most of her time outdoors. 00:40:32.133 --> 00:40:36.968 And so I didn't come to welcome her or to embrace her, 00:40:36.968 --> 00:40:39.033 and the only thing she ever said 00:40:39.033 --> 00:40:42.000 about her stay in the concentration camp 00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:44.567 was here she found her child 00:40:44.567 --> 00:40:47.767 and I wasn't even welcoming to her, 00:40:47.767 --> 00:40:51.133 so that was a great disappointment to her. 00:40:51.133 --> 00:40:53.934 -Yeah. -So then she has never forgotten that 00:40:53.934 --> 00:40:58.434 because she never wanted to talk about her experience there. 00:40:58.434 --> 00:41:01.501 The only thing that she used to say about that 00:41:01.501 --> 00:41:05.767 was when I had children and my children were small 00:41:05.767 --> 00:41:07.634 and they made -- 00:41:07.634 --> 00:41:09.300 They were fussy eaters, 00:41:09.300 --> 00:41:12.801 and they didn't want to eat what was on their plates. 00:41:12.801 --> 00:41:16.267 She used to say to them, "You should have been in Gurs. 00:41:16.267 --> 00:41:19.901 You would have eaten anything that was put in front of you." 00:41:19.901 --> 00:41:21.434 -Oh, wow. 00:41:21.434 --> 00:41:24.434 -That was 30 years later. 00:41:24.434 --> 00:41:26.100 -Yeah. 00:41:26.100 --> 00:41:27.834 Do you know how long you were 00:41:27.834 --> 00:41:30.000 in the Spanish jail for, about how long? 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:31.834 -About a couple of weeks. -Couple of weeks? 00:41:31.834 --> 00:41:33.367 Okay. -Long enough... 00:41:33.367 --> 00:41:36.634 -Yeah. -...to have a skin rash 00:41:36.634 --> 00:41:40.100 because, of course, the sanitary condition were unbelievable. 00:41:40.100 --> 00:41:42.501 -They weren't that good. Yeah. 00:41:42.501 --> 00:41:44.901 And what about after? So this is Mr. Lock's class. 00:41:44.901 --> 00:41:46.400 They had two questions. 00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:50.501 First, did you ever have bad dreams about your experience? 00:41:50.501 --> 00:41:52.467 Did you have nightmares? 00:41:52.467 --> 00:41:54.334 -I sometimes still have bad dreams. 00:41:54.334 --> 00:41:57.567 -Still do. Yeah. -And you know what I really dream about? 00:41:57.567 --> 00:42:00.100 -What do you dream about? 00:42:00.100 --> 00:42:03.634 -I keep thinking of what it would have been like 00:42:03.634 --> 00:42:06.601 to have been in a concentration camp 00:42:06.601 --> 00:42:14.200 and be forced to do things which I physically could not tolerate 00:42:14.200 --> 00:42:16.267 and what would I have done. -Yeah. 00:42:16.267 --> 00:42:19.067 -So I think of this in my exercise class 00:42:19.067 --> 00:42:22.067 when I am doing things which are very hard, 00:42:22.067 --> 00:42:25.968 and I force myself to continue doing it because I think, 00:42:25.968 --> 00:42:28.367 "If I had been in a concentration camp, 00:42:28.367 --> 00:42:30.467 I would have had to continue." 00:42:30.467 --> 00:42:31.534 -No matter what. Yeah. 00:42:31.534 --> 00:42:35.067 -So it's probably a crazy dream. 00:42:35.067 --> 00:42:37.100 -The next question from Mr. Lock's class was, 00:42:37.100 --> 00:42:39.300 "What about your friends in Paris? 00:42:39.300 --> 00:42:41.667 Were they also Jews, or were they non-Jews?" 00:42:41.667 --> 00:42:44.534 -My friends were not Jewish. -And how did they react, 00:42:44.534 --> 00:42:46.000 then, when all of this was happening? 00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:47.968 Did they turn against you, or...? 00:42:47.968 --> 00:42:53.868 -No. They certainly did not agree 00:42:53.868 --> 00:42:56.300 with the Nazi propaganda, 00:42:56.300 --> 00:43:00.634 and they were trying to protect -- 00:43:00.634 --> 00:43:03.734 They had Jewish friends who they were trying to protect. 00:43:03.734 --> 00:43:09.367 -That's good. -They tried to be as welcoming 00:43:09.367 --> 00:43:13.033 and as helpful as possible, and some of my friends 00:43:13.033 --> 00:43:17.100 then became part of the French underground. 00:43:17.100 --> 00:43:20.367 -So the Resistance? -The Resistance, yes. 00:43:20.367 --> 00:43:27.300 But officially, the French police and the French government 00:43:27.300 --> 00:43:34.067 were very eager to show how they supported Hitler 00:43:34.067 --> 00:43:36.234 because the French then believed 00:43:36.234 --> 00:43:39.267 that Germany was going to win the war 00:43:39.267 --> 00:43:42.801 and so they might as well be on good terms 00:43:42.801 --> 00:43:44.200 with this new government, 00:43:44.200 --> 00:43:48.334 and they were eager to show that they would support 00:43:48.334 --> 00:43:51.167 whatever the Germans wanted to support. 00:43:51.167 --> 00:43:53.634 -So just a few more questions. 00:43:53.634 --> 00:43:55.567 From the Mellon Middle School, 00:43:55.567 --> 00:43:58.968 "Did you face anti-Semitism when you came to the U.S.?" 00:43:58.968 --> 00:44:00.501 Did you experience any of that? 00:44:00.501 --> 00:44:05.801 -Well, I personally did not experience any, 00:44:05.801 --> 00:44:10.601 but I remember maybe a year or two after I came, 00:44:10.601 --> 00:44:14.501 I tried to go to a resort in New Hampshire, 00:44:14.501 --> 00:44:16.701 and that was restricted, 00:44:16.701 --> 00:44:20.701 which meant that they did not want any Jewish guests. 00:44:20.701 --> 00:44:24.634 So that was very, very disappointing 00:44:24.634 --> 00:44:26.367 because I thought 00:44:26.367 --> 00:44:29.400 there was no anti-Semitism in the United States, 00:44:29.400 --> 00:44:31.801 but I was very wrong at the time 00:44:31.801 --> 00:44:35.000 because there was quite a bit of anti-Semitism, 00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:38.167 and, unfortunately, there still is some 00:44:38.167 --> 00:44:40.300 because we hear it. 00:44:40.300 --> 00:44:42.868 Especially lately, we've seen all kinds 00:44:42.868 --> 00:44:46.133 of anti-Semitic actions 00:44:46.133 --> 00:44:48.067 all across the country. 00:44:48.067 --> 00:44:52.667 So anti-Semitism is not dead. 00:44:52.667 --> 00:44:56.767 And even in Europe where there are no Jews, 00:44:56.767 --> 00:44:59.834 countries are still very anti-Semitic, 00:44:59.834 --> 00:45:06.367 so I am a firm believer that one has to fight these injustices 00:45:06.367 --> 00:45:10.367 and that individuals should not just stand by 00:45:10.367 --> 00:45:13.000 when they see injustice 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:16.534 or prejudice or bullying in their neighborhoods. 00:45:16.534 --> 00:45:20.934 They just can't say, "It's none of my business," and walk away. 00:45:20.934 --> 00:45:23.100 You have to take on the fight 00:45:23.100 --> 00:45:27.167 and see how you can mend the fences. 00:45:27.167 --> 00:45:29.100 -That's good. Okay. 00:45:29.100 --> 00:45:31.067 So, and Lee wants to know, 00:45:31.067 --> 00:45:33.200 "How many children and grandchildren do you have?" 00:45:33.200 --> 00:45:37.300 -I have two children and two granddaughters. 00:45:37.300 --> 00:45:38.934 And I have a daughter 00:45:38.934 --> 00:45:42.167 who lives close to me in Silver Spring, Maryland, 00:45:42.167 --> 00:45:44.934 where I live in Bethesda, Maryland, 00:45:44.934 --> 00:45:47.701 and I have a son who lives in New York 00:45:47.701 --> 00:45:52.734 who is working for a large hospital in -- 00:45:52.734 --> 00:45:57.767 At first, he worked in HIV/AIDS programs 00:45:57.767 --> 00:46:00.200 and then in palliative care 00:46:00.200 --> 00:46:05.767 for people who need to minimize pain, 00:46:05.767 --> 00:46:09.667 and now he works on medical research. 00:46:09.667 --> 00:46:13.601 And my two granddaughters are lovely young women. 00:46:13.601 --> 00:46:19.968 My older granddaughter is 27, and she's a PhD candidate 00:46:19.968 --> 00:46:22.367 at Northwestern University, 00:46:22.367 --> 00:46:29.601 where she is studying public policy and... 00:46:29.601 --> 00:46:31.701 -The younger one? 00:46:31.701 --> 00:46:33.968 -...the law. -Oh, the law. 00:46:33.968 --> 00:46:39.267 -And my younger one works 00:46:39.267 --> 00:46:44.200 in an organization called Big Brothers Big Sisters, 00:46:44.200 --> 00:46:45.601 and she -- 00:46:45.601 --> 00:46:47.267 This is an organization 00:46:47.267 --> 00:46:51.567 that works with teenagers 00:46:51.567 --> 00:46:53.701 that have problems in the world 00:46:53.701 --> 00:46:56.334 and matches them with volunteers, 00:46:56.334 --> 00:46:59.467 and she does this matching, so she -- 00:46:59.467 --> 00:47:05.267 They both work in really -- 00:47:05.267 --> 00:47:06.968 what is this -- 00:47:06.968 --> 00:47:11.567 in civil rights organizations. 00:47:11.567 --> 00:47:13.467 -That's great. Okay. 00:47:13.467 --> 00:47:15.667 Two more questions. I'm going to save 00:47:15.667 --> 00:47:18.267 a more contemporary question for the end, but... 00:47:18.267 --> 00:47:21.033 So just from M.K., wanted to know, 00:47:21.033 --> 00:47:23.767 "Just how did you cope with everything as it was happening, 00:47:23.767 --> 00:47:28.267 and how did you deal with it? How did you cope?" 00:47:28.267 --> 00:47:30.367 -I have never really thought about this 00:47:30.367 --> 00:47:34.334 because I just had to put one foot in front of the other, 00:47:34.334 --> 00:47:37.067 and every day brought in new issues, 00:47:37.067 --> 00:47:40.100 and I had to deal with them, so... 00:47:40.100 --> 00:47:44.534 But I thought that I really 00:47:44.534 --> 00:47:51.400 didn't lose optimism. 00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:56.000 I remember the most negative moment 00:47:56.000 --> 00:48:00.133 was when the Spanish police captured us. 00:48:00.133 --> 00:48:03.234 I thought that was really the end of the world, 00:48:03.234 --> 00:48:08.501 but it wasn't because they took us not in handcuffs, 00:48:08.501 --> 00:48:11.067 but they were holding us and took us on a train 00:48:11.067 --> 00:48:14.968 and then took us to jail, so we survived the jail. 00:48:14.968 --> 00:48:21.000 So the more difficult moments you survive, 00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:22.767 the more strength you gain. 00:48:22.767 --> 00:48:24.567 -That's true. -And so -- 00:48:24.567 --> 00:48:26.434 And I was a risk-taker. 00:48:26.434 --> 00:48:30.834 I took immense risks, and they turned out well, 00:48:30.834 --> 00:48:33.300 and I keep taking risks in my life. 00:48:33.300 --> 00:48:35.300 -That's good. -And what I would like to say 00:48:35.300 --> 00:48:39.834 to the young people, that, "Don't be afraid of risks." 00:48:39.834 --> 00:48:43.100 Most people are afraid of failure. 00:48:43.100 --> 00:48:45.501 That's why they don't take any risks, 00:48:45.501 --> 00:48:48.400 so I think, don't be afraid of failure. 00:48:48.400 --> 00:48:52.400 Try whatever you want to try, and if it doesn't work out, 00:48:52.400 --> 00:48:53.968 well, you will have learned something, 00:48:53.968 --> 00:48:58.067 and you start something new or you'll fix what went wrong. 00:48:58.067 --> 00:49:01.767 So I believe that you should take risks in life 00:49:01.767 --> 00:49:04.000 and try new situations 00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:07.534 and not be afraid of not being able to manage. 00:49:07.534 --> 00:49:09.834 -That's good. That's good advice. Yeah. 00:49:09.834 --> 00:49:13.334 Okay, so the last question from Elizabeth is about today, 00:49:13.334 --> 00:49:16.267 and Elizabeth wants to know -- You were a refugee, right, 00:49:16.267 --> 00:49:18.000 so you were fleeing your home and you were leaving, 00:49:18.000 --> 00:49:20.667 so from your experience as a refugee, 00:49:20.667 --> 00:49:22.100 what can you tell us about 00:49:22.100 --> 00:49:24.334 how we can help today in the world? 00:49:24.334 --> 00:49:27.100 We see refugees on the news all the time. 00:49:27.100 --> 00:49:28.467 What's your thoughts about that? 00:49:28.467 --> 00:49:32.901 -Well, there is all kinds of things we can do. 00:49:32.901 --> 00:49:36.100 Many of them are beyond our power 00:49:36.100 --> 00:49:39.000 because we cannot really interfere 00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:41.234 in our government's actions, 00:49:41.234 --> 00:49:46.767 although I believe we can be important part 00:49:46.767 --> 00:49:48.868 of what our government does. 00:49:48.868 --> 00:49:51.601 So I am a great letter writer. 00:49:51.601 --> 00:49:55.033 I wrote numbers of letters to my presidents 00:49:55.033 --> 00:49:58.167 and to my senators and representatives, 00:49:58.167 --> 00:50:01.033 and I always say what I think because I think, 00:50:01.033 --> 00:50:04.067 "How should they know what I think if I don't tell them?" 00:50:04.067 --> 00:50:05.934 So that's one thing. 00:50:05.934 --> 00:50:10.434 I'm also very aware of what goes on at the local level 00:50:10.434 --> 00:50:12.100 in my community, 00:50:12.100 --> 00:50:16.501 and there are lots of things that go on at the state level 00:50:16.501 --> 00:50:18.734 that you can influence, 00:50:18.734 --> 00:50:22.300 so I believe that's an important thing of -- 00:50:22.300 --> 00:50:24.934 That's an important part of who I am, 00:50:24.934 --> 00:50:27.767 that I'm really aware of what goes on. 00:50:27.767 --> 00:50:31.367 And it is more difficult than it's ever been, 00:50:31.367 --> 00:50:33.501 because with social media, 00:50:33.501 --> 00:50:36.200 you have hundreds, thousands of people 00:50:36.200 --> 00:50:39.801 who provide information, 00:50:39.801 --> 00:50:44.033 and who knows what they really have in mind 00:50:44.033 --> 00:50:48.033 when they put out these messages? 00:50:48.033 --> 00:50:52.267 So you have to be more careful to listen, 00:50:52.267 --> 00:50:56.234 more careful to understand who is saying what 00:50:56.234 --> 00:51:00.501 and evaluate what you're hearing and not just accept it 00:51:00.501 --> 00:51:03.300 because there's also lots of untruth 00:51:03.300 --> 00:51:05.434 that goes on in the world, 00:51:05.434 --> 00:51:09.133 and it's up to you to figure out what you can believe 00:51:09.133 --> 00:51:10.868 and what you can't believe. 00:51:10.868 --> 00:51:15.667 And I think one has to listen to all sides in a dispute 00:51:15.667 --> 00:51:20.567 so that you can take a rational position. 00:51:20.567 --> 00:51:22.767 -That's wonderful. 00:51:22.767 --> 00:51:27.334 -Man, that's the perfect way to end this program today. 00:51:27.334 --> 00:51:30.434 All of you out there, let's give a virtual round of applause 00:51:30.434 --> 00:51:31.534 to Sarah and Margit. 00:51:31.534 --> 00:51:33.934 I know you can't see them and hear them, 00:51:33.934 --> 00:51:36.200 but I'm sure they're appreciative of everything, 00:51:36.200 --> 00:51:40.400 so maybe give one last wave out to the crowds. 00:51:40.400 --> 00:51:42.267 Thank you all so much for joining us. 00:51:42.267 --> 00:51:43.901 And thank you, Sarah and Margit, 00:51:43.901 --> 00:51:46.100 for everything that you've done for us today 00:51:46.100 --> 00:51:49.334 and this wonderful last couple days here at the museum. 00:51:49.334 --> 00:51:50.868 Just as a -- 00:51:50.868 --> 00:51:55.067 To close out, everybody, we're going to just move ahead, 00:51:55.067 --> 00:51:56.667 and you're going to see a lot of resources 00:51:56.667 --> 00:51:57.868 now pop up on your screen. 00:51:57.868 --> 00:52:00.801 Let me actually start at the beginning here. 00:52:00.801 --> 00:52:02.467 First off, if we have some -- 00:52:02.467 --> 00:52:04.400 You know, sometimes we have some local audiences 00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:06.067 and regional audiences watching with us. 00:52:06.067 --> 00:52:08.300 Please come see 00:52:08.300 --> 00:52:11.033 "State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda" 00:52:11.033 --> 00:52:13.067 here at the National World War II Museum. 00:52:13.067 --> 00:52:16.501 It's a powerful and moving exhibit 00:52:16.501 --> 00:52:20.767 and, you know, makes you just think and question, 00:52:20.767 --> 00:52:22.868 which is exactly what you, you know, want to do 00:52:22.868 --> 00:52:24.868 and especially looking at propaganda then 00:52:24.868 --> 00:52:28.167 and even connecting it to today. 00:52:28.167 --> 00:52:30.300 So that is great. And we hope you come see it 00:52:30.300 --> 00:52:31.801 and see it at the other locations 00:52:31.801 --> 00:52:34.767 even that Sarah mentioned, if you're able. 00:52:34.767 --> 00:52:36.701 There are a lot of great resources that are a part 00:52:36.701 --> 00:52:40.200 of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's website 00:52:40.200 --> 00:52:42.367 and, of course, at the museum, too. 00:52:42.367 --> 00:52:45.300 Their main area where they discuss propaganda 00:52:45.300 --> 00:52:47.501 on their website is there, that link. 00:52:47.501 --> 00:52:49.200 And don't worry. You'll see this again. 00:52:49.200 --> 00:52:52.100 This is a rotating slide show, so if you miss it here... 00:52:52.100 --> 00:52:53.467 Margit mentioned her story. 00:52:53.467 --> 00:52:55.534 If you are really interested in her story 00:52:55.534 --> 00:52:56.868 and want to learn more, 00:52:56.868 --> 00:52:58.133 you can purchase her book 00:52:58.133 --> 00:52:59.968 "Margit's Story," and it's on Amazon. 00:52:59.968 --> 00:53:03.133 And that link will also take you to the Amazon page. 00:53:03.133 --> 00:53:05.434 And then lastly, I want to share we've got -- 00:53:05.434 --> 00:53:08.801 Our next webinar coming up is with author Steve Sheinkin 00:53:08.801 --> 00:53:11.601 of the book "Bomb," 00:53:11.601 --> 00:53:13.467 which is a Newbery Honor Book 00:53:13.467 --> 00:53:16.100 and a National Book Award finalist. 00:53:16.100 --> 00:53:18.300 It is about, of course, the atomic bomb. 00:53:18.300 --> 00:53:20.501 So "The Race to Build -- and Steal -- 00:53:20.501 --> 00:53:22.534 The World's Most Dangerous Weapon." 00:53:22.534 --> 00:53:25.501 He will be joining us in March, and it should be a really great 00:53:25.501 --> 00:53:26.968 and interesting program 00:53:26.968 --> 00:53:29.200 with a lot of great STEM connections 00:53:29.200 --> 00:53:31.400 for you teachers out there. 00:53:31.400 --> 00:53:33.868 While you're sitting here and listening 00:53:33.868 --> 00:53:35.100 and looking at everything, 00:53:35.100 --> 00:53:38.901 there are a couple poll questions below, as well. 00:53:38.901 --> 00:53:41.100 "Why does propaganda matter today? 00:53:41.100 --> 00:53:42.834 And how can we guard against propaganda?" 00:53:42.834 --> 00:53:45.868 I think Margit brought up some really wonderful lessons here 00:53:45.868 --> 00:53:48.300 that are relevant to our lives 00:53:48.300 --> 00:53:49.701 and important to our lives today, 00:53:49.701 --> 00:53:51.167 and so we kind of want to hear from you 00:53:51.167 --> 00:53:55.501 and how you evaluate propaganda and how you see it today. 00:53:55.501 --> 00:53:56.667 And then lastly, 00:53:56.667 --> 00:53:59.901 on the left-hand side of the slide show there, 00:53:59.901 --> 00:54:02.334 you should see a few more links 00:54:02.334 --> 00:54:05.067 that can bring you to some more interesting stuff 00:54:05.067 --> 00:54:07.467 from the National World War II Museum 00:54:07.467 --> 00:54:10.467 and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 00:54:10.467 --> 00:54:11.801 I think that's it for me, 00:54:11.801 --> 00:54:14.334 and I think that's it for Sarah and Margit here, 00:54:14.334 --> 00:54:16.167 so we just want to say a big thank you 00:54:16.167 --> 00:54:18.501 to the audience out there, and we'll see you next time. 00:54:18.501 --> 00:54:19.968 Bye-bye.