Happy Birthday to Stella

A Holocaust survivor, Stella Muller-Madej was the 169th entry on Schindler's List. She became 80 years old, yesterday, on the 5th of February.

I went to her Birthday party in Stradomskie Centrum Dialogu , in Krakow's old Jewish quarter, where the mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski, awarded her a medal for her service to the city, where she lives. Many people, including the fellow Auschwitz survivors and people from Jewish community were there to celebrate with bouquets of flowers.

Stella was seated on a chair along with Dr. Skotnicki, who wrote a book called Oskar Schindler : In the Eyes of Cracowian Jews Rescued by Him(2008). Stella had knee operation recently and stayed seated for the entire ceremony.

But she looked very youthful and healthy. She had a bright make-up emphasizing her round eyes and full body of brown hair. She was dressed in elegant black pants suits, looking energetic and ready for action. But her friend, Niusia Horowitz (105th entry), who was also there, whispered to me that she is actually not in a good health. Nuisia said she is two years younger than Stella. She, too, was beautifully dressed with white blouse and jewelry, nicely coiffed jet-black hair. I thought these ladies were looking great.

When I mentioned that impression of mine to the center director, Ewa, she lowered her voice and told me that survivors always try to look youthful and healthy, since they had to do the same when they were in the concentration camps for fear of being selected out to death. I remember in Steven Spielberg's film Schindler's List, a woman pricks her finger tip to squeeze blood to smear it on her pale cheek so that she looks healthy. Ewa said that Stella actually encountered Dr. Mengele, a notorious Nazi doctor in Auschwitz, and she is still afraid of doctor's white gowns.

I felt a chill in my spine. How many people in the world are living with such unspeakable experiences? Unfortunately many and probably still to come. I admire people who have courage to speak up and tell what they had been through.

Stella wrote a book called A Girl from Schindler's List in 1991 and the book was translated into ten languages including Japanese, titled「鳥のいない空」.

Day of Auschwitz

Attended an event at Krakowski Opera "Let My People Live" commemorating the 65th anniversary of liberation of Aucshwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Attendees among others; President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, President of World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder.

Was most touched by a speech by chief rabbi of Israel. He himself is a Holocaust survivor. His mother is from Krakow and father form Lwów. He was 7 years old when his family was moved from the ghetto in Piotrków Trybunarski for a trip to a camp. Nazi seperated men from women with small children. So he was with his mother. Right before they were being taken, his mother made a quick and difficult decision. She threw him to arms of his older brother, who was 18. She knew that weakers were to be sent to death. And she was right. He survived and now is standing in front of audience telling this story.

We were sitting on the first row in front of orchestra box. Being seated next to us were two Russian veterans with lots of medals on their uniform. They were complaining to organizers that their seats were not good by the exit door. It was true. These old Soviet soldiers should not be in a corner, while the rest of the dignitaries, presidents and rabbis, were seated in the middle of the hall, shaking hands, kissing each other, and sharing the spotlights and flash of TV cameras. They sat in the dark corner and didn't even know how to turn on the device to listen to Russian interpreter, while most of the speeches were given in English. A young Polish handler was not so helpful and left them with a gadget making a screeching sound.

I didn't know about who exactly they were until I saw AFP story and CNN website. Ivan Martynushkin, 86 and Yakov Vinnochenko 83. Accroding to CNN, Martynushkin got special medal from Vladimir Putin five years ago at the Auschwitz ceremony.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Survivors-liberators-gather-for-Auschwitz-commemoration-with-Israel-PM/articleshow/5505693.cms

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/01/26/auschwitz.liberator/index.html

They were sole survivors among who liberated the camp. I felt bad that these "Soviet heroes" didn't get VIP treatment in Poland, even though this might not be intentional. They might have known days when official ceremonies full of glories and respect, even though majority of ordinary Poles might have not perceived that way.

Poles came a long way to embrace Jews. This immensely difficult issue of Holocaust took place in their own land. Poles have difficult history and relationships with Jews existing within the communist regime and opposition as well after the war. Not to mention pogroms which drove out most of the Jewish population out of Poland.

So twenty years ago when we lived in Warsaw, this kind of close relationship was not thinkable.

With Russians the relations seem to have reversed.

It's understandable, if you think of Poles having suffered under the communism forced by the Soviets. Yet, it's a bitter lesson that beautiful words of cooperation and understanding sometimes sounding hollow. There is still a long way before these two countries will come to term with each other.