Some 6,000 Jews once lived in the small Polish town of Sokolow Podlaski. After the Holocaust, only 29 were left, only two of them children — Aaron Elster and his sister, who were hidden in an attic by a Polish farmer for two years.
Now 67, Elster, a retired insurance agent, resides in Skokie, Ill. Proud that he has been able to lead a “normal” life following the horrid experiences of his youth, he is a member of the board of directors of the Holocaust Foundation of Skokie and part of its speaker’s bureau.
Elster will bring his story here as the keynote speaker at Milwaukee’s community Yom HaShoah Commemoration on Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel.
In a telephone interview from his home, Elster said that while he still finds it very emotional to tell his story, he does it because “we are the last of the survivors and we have an obligation to tell the younger generations of the atrocities that human beings are able to inflict on others.
“The children of today will be the decision makers of tomorrow. I want them to learn that prejudice and intolerance against one another can lead to another Holocaust. We have to appreciate and respect each other.”
Elster began speaking about his experiences in 1997, mostly to eighth graders who study the Holocaust as part of a mandate by the State of Illinois.
Admitting that he sometimes feels he “relives the Holocaust too much,” he nevertheless gets a lot of gratification from his audiences. “Many young people are quite perceptive. I feel I touch them and in turn they touch me, too. I have learned to give these kids a lot of credit,” he said.
He said that many youngsters can’t believe what he did to survive — so he tries to appeal to their strengths. “Some minority children are able to relate to me and write me about their societal problems.
“I try not to let the Holocaust consume me, but I can’t be tired of it because I feel good when I hear from a kid who is inspired by my message.”
Elster finds it easier to talk about his experiences when he speaks in the third person. “I refer to ‘me’ as ‘him’ — who I was then and sort of disassociate ‘him’ from myself. The memories never go away and in some way I don’t want to forget. They’re part of my heritage, which formed ‘me.’ I’ve written my story as I experienced things as a child — trying to remember what I was thinking, dreaming, fearing — what was going on in my mind.”
A frequently asked question is: Does he hate the Germans? “If I hate,” he said, “I’ll only destroy myself. Forgiving them is another question. I feel it’s not up to me to forgive, but to my little sister Sarah, who was murdered at the age of six.”
In addition to Elster, Lea Balint, director of Children Without Identity, will be a guest at the commemoration, a “Memorial to the Six Million, Remembrance of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and All Resistance.” Winners of the Holocaust Youth Essay Contest will be also announced.
Event chair is Sandra Hoffman. The program is sponsored by the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center with partial funding from the JCC Raye and David David Yom HaShoah Endowment Fund and the JCC Luba Szlosberg Memorial Endowment Fund. For more information call Dorene Paley at the JCC, 967-8217.
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