Richard Edelman - 6 = A.M.: A Journey with Purpose

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=C2=AB=20 The Chris DeWolfe Perspective | Main | Two=20 Suitcases =C2=BB

July 5, 2007

A Journey with Purpose

Martin Becker, who survived four terrible years as a teenage prisoner = in=20 Auschwitz- Birkenau, returned to the death camp yesterday with his only = child,=20 his daughter Gail, her husband John, and their two young sons, Josh and = Eli. I=20 came along with my two younger daughters, Tory and Amanda, and our good = friend=20 Mitch Markson (Mitch, Gail and I work together at Edelman). Mr. Becker, = now 80,=20 returned at the request of his daughter, so that her children would = understand=20 their grandfather=E2=80=99s ordeal and would pass the story along to = future generations.=20

As you walk out of the Auschwitz museum and into the courtyard, the = infamous=20 entrance to the camp looms ahead, with the motto, =E2=80=9CArbeit Macht = Frei,=E2=80=9D loosely=20 translated work liberates your soul. Assorted red brick buildings that = housed=20 slave labor for the nearby work camps give the false impression of = normality, a=20 faux representation of a university campus. We walk into the structures, = totally=20 unprepared for the horrors within. In successive chambers are the = detritus of=20 those who were harried from their homes, shipped in cattle cars without = food or=20 water for days on end, then in many cases were killed on their first = day. There=20 was an exhibit of human hair, eight picture windows wide, now all turned = grey=20 except for a locket of bright red hair, which one can imagine on a = freckle-faced=20 child. The stacks of eyeglasses, all wire-rimmed, are jumbled in another = window,=20 adjacent to the collection of leather valises, with names on the side = like=20 Epstein, Schwartz, and Cohen for easy identification.

We then came to Crematorium #1, a squat building about half the size = of a=20 football field. This was an experimental facility, where various forms = of=20 chemical asphyxiation were used, from carbon monoxide to the eventual = winner,=20 Zyklon B gas. You walk through the doors of death from the undressing = area=20 outside to the =E2=80=9Cshowers=E2=80=9D, a rectangular room in total = darkness, except for the=20 two small openings to the sky, where SS officers poured their deadly = poison,=20 then closed the lid on the prisoners, who survived between one and 20 = minutes.=20 Mr. Becker walked us to the cremation chamber next door and pointed to = the=20 ovens, with rails to facilitate easy movement of the corpses on = trolleys.

Then he told us this chilling tale. =E2=80=9CI had to pull out the = gold teeth from=20 the dead people. I had to be very careful never to miss any fillings. = The=20 Germans took my friend Eric, from Belgium, and threw him directly into = the ovens=20 because he missed a gold tooth. I had a pair of pliers and opened up the = jaws to=20 take the teeth. I did this every day for four years. The Hungarians had = the most=20 gold teeth.=E2=80=9D

Terribly shaken, our group went on to Birkenau, the enormous death = trap that=20 you can have nightmares about for the rest of your life. It is vast, an = abattoir=20 reminiscent of the Chicago Stock Yards. The twin train lines went right = through=20 the main gate into the central courtyard. =E2=80=9CThis is where the SS = doctors did the=20 selection,=E2=80=9D Mr. Becker said. =E2=80=9CTo the left went those who = were to work, to the=20 right those who would be executed immediately.=E2=80=9D He went on to = say that both of=20 his parents, his father the dentist, his mother the violinist and her = parents=20 were sent to the right, while he and his brother went to the left. He = did not=20 understand what happened until he asked a few days later about the fate = of the=20 transport from Sachenhausen. He came to this camp from Sachenhausen = prison camp=20 in Germany in 1941.

We then went to Barracks #4, where Mr. Becker lived for his entire = time in=20 Birkenau, a rectangular building of plain brown wood that must have = provided the=20 most minimal possible shelter for its inhabitants. He walked slowly to a = bunk=20 part way along the left wall, gently felt the middle bunk and said, = =E2=80=9CYes. Here=20 is where I slept with four other men. I remember one night the man next = to me=20 was very cold. In the morning he was dead. We had to take him outside to = the=20 crematorium.=E2=80=9D He told us that some nights he slept on top of the = brick kiln that=20 was the only source of heat in the winter. =E2=80=9CI remember that I = got bread from men=20 who were too sick to eat it. It was the only way to survive; to hope = that you=20 found a piece of potato in the soup, to eat it as quickly as you = could.=E2=80=9D

He remembered clearly the day in January, 1945 that the Russians = liberated=20 his camp. =E2=80=9CI saw them outside of the fence. The SS had blown up = the crematoriums=20 to hide their crimes a few days earlier. Then they left some guards to = finish us=20 off but the SS decided to save their own skins and run away. When the = Russians=20 came in, I was too weak to run to them. A Jewish officer in the Russian = Army was=20 kind to me, fed me. I weighed only 55 pounds by then.=E2=80=9D

Our final stop on this day was Crematorium #2 and #3, at the back end = of the=20 complex. All that remains is a twisted mass of bricks and metal, but at = the back=20 of Crematorium #2, totally intact, is the set of stairs down into the = undressing=20 room. =E2=80=9CThis is the way I walked every day, =E2=80=9Csaid Mr. = Becker, =E2=80=9CI remember the=20 metal plates on the side of the wall because I touched them every = morning on the=20 way in. I walked through this area through the gas chamber to the area = next to=20 the ovens, because that is where I worked.=E2=80=9D He recalled the = constant hunger that=20 tormented him. =E2=80=9CIt did not matter to me whether it was hot or = cold. We were=20 hungry.=E2=80=9D He then turned to my friend Mitch, whom he called = Moshe, and said, =E2=80=9CI=20 don=E2=80=99t know whether you would have made it here, Moshe. You are = so cultured and=20 kind.=E2=80=9D

We walked a short distance to Crematorium #3, passing a monument to = the=20 martyrs, with Mr. Becker grasping the hands of his daughter and her = oldest son,=20 Joshua. The inscription on the monument, written in several languages, = says,=20 =E2=80=9CFor ever let this be a cry of despair and a warning to = humanity.=E2=80=9D We put on our=20 yarmulkes to say Kaddish for Mr. Becker=E2=80=99s family. Gail has a = photo of her=20 grandparents, so young and proud, which she places next to three candles = that we=20 light in their honor. He raises his hands to the sky and weeping with = all of us,=20 says his prayers, then walks away, telling all of us, =E2=80=9CI will = never come back to=20 this place of evil. I have come to remember my family and now it is = finished.=E2=80=9D=20

Martin Becker left Auschwitz-Birkenau after liberation and made his = way back=20 to his home town of Karlsruhe, Germany. He waited for friends and family = to=20 return but nobody did. He was given money by the Jewish Federation to = fund his=20 trip to New York. He served for three years in the US Army in Korea, = where he=20 saw action against the Chinese Army, and then settled in San Francisco, = where he=20 lives today, still working in the food industry where he built a = successful=20 canned-good distribution business.

Elie Wiesel, a fellow survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau, in the = introduction to=20 his book, =E2=80=9CNight,=E2=80=9D writes, =E2=80=9CFor in the end, it = is all about memory, its sources=20 and its magnitude and of course its consequences. For the survivor who = chooses=20 to testify, it is clear his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for = the=20 living.=E2=80=9D Martin Becker, for all of us who made this Journey of = Purpose with you,=20 especially your two grandsons, you have given us a Mitzvah, a special = memory=20 that we will be sure to relate to all whom we encounter. We are joined = with you=20 forever in preserving this vital piece of history, so that it never = happens=20 again.

3Dimage1_070507.JPG=20
Amanda=20 Edelman and Martin Becker at Crematorium #2 at Birkenau

3Dimage2_070507.JPG=20
Richard=20 Edelman at Birkenau Fence Line

Posted by Edelman at July 5, 2007 9:19 AM

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Comments

Richard:

Thank you for taking the time to transfer your experience to us so = eloquently=20 so we can also experience it. The positive aspect of this, I suppose, is = a=20 reminder that life is sacred and we are blessed to be alive and active = and we=20 should be grateful for all we have. I can't imagine going through life = with that=20 experience imprinted on my mind. But Martin Becker is one of the lucky = ones. He=20 survived.=20

Mark

Posted by: Mark Rose at July 6, 2007 12:06 PM

Richard and Gail-=20

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing this intimately = personal=20 experience so widely. It=E2=80=99s a testament to character and to some = extent duty.=20

I worked in the Atlanta and San Francisco offices of Edelman, = and=20 though my journey would take me to different places, I feel compelled to = stay=20 connected and this is just another example of why that=E2=80=99s so.=20

Once again, I appreciate the fact that you have looked beyond = the=20 call of campaigns and clients for a conversation that should never and = will=20 never be silenced. To that end, I=E2=80=99ll share my personal favorite = passage for Elie=20 Wiesel=E2=80=99s important book, Night, that I carried with me as I = toured Auschwitz and=20 Birkenau in 2001:=20

=E2=80=9CNever shall I forget that night, the first night in = camp, which has=20 turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times = sealed.=20 Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces = of the=20 children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a = silent blue=20 sky.=20

Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith = forever.=20

Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived = me, for=20 all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments = which=20 murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I = forget=20 these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. = Never. =E2=80=9C=20

Should my journey bring me back to Edelman, it is due to a = sense of=20 family, values and purpose that strives to be something bigger than we = are.=20

In great respect,=20

-Eric Glass

Posted by: Eric Glass at July 6, 2007 12:07 PM

Richard:

Thank you for sharing this powerful and moving story.

Thomas

Posted by: Thomas graham at July 10, 2007 4:25 PM

Mr. Edelman:

Your article is very touching. Thank you for sharing this experience = with=20 us.

Regards,

Roberto

Posted by: Roberto Grad at July 11, 2007 12:46 PM

Hello Richard,

I recently read your July 5 blog posting, =E2=80=9CA Journey with = Purpose.=E2=80=9D Thank you=20 for sharing your experience.

Back in 1992, I attended a trip called the March of the Living, where = we=20 visited Poland to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and then = traveled to=20 Israel where we celebrated Israeli Independence Day. I was only 15 at = the time,=20 but the experience had a profound effect on me. Yes, it was important to = see=20 first-hand what happened during the Holocaust and share those = experiences with=20 others so its memory will live on and not be forgotten. It also made me=20 extremely proud to be Jewish=E2=80=A6seeing the horror of what happened = to the Jewish=20 people and what came of that=E2=80=A6the creation of Israel. = I=E2=80=99ll have to look for the=20 speech I gave to my congregation after my trip during Rosh Hashanah = services.=20

Anyway, thanks again.

Jason

Posted by: Jason Rosenthal at July 30, 2007 9:17 = AM

I just read your blog entry about your trip to Auschwitz with Gail = and her=20 father. I literally had to get a kleenex to wipe my eyes when I = finished. An=20 amazing story and an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing = it.

Posted by: Don Spetner at August 21, 2007 4:46 PM

This reminds me of my friend's Dani's grandfather, Moshe Garbarz who = also=20 survived in Auschwitz. Maybe they know each other.
Moshe Garbarz's=20 story:
http://www.biblio.com/details.php?dcx=3D116157957&aid=3D= frg
Thank=20 you for sharing this...

Posted by: philippe at August 28, 2007 3:09 PM

July 5, 2007

A Journey with Purpose

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