As the Orchestra Room at Happy Hollow Elementary School filled with 150 sixth grade students dressed in hooded sweatshirts and gym shorts, teachers stood along the walls of cellos and mingled amongst students. 

At the front of the semi-circle of chairs sat a white-haired woman dressed in a bright blue business suit.  She was laughing with students “playing musical chairs” as they entered and sat down.

Eva Mozes Kor spoke from that chair to all seven classes of sixth grade students at the elementary on Thursday, March 25, about her experiences as a survivor of Auschwitz during the Holocaust.  She was ten when she entered the concentration camp, slightly younger than the sixth grade audience.

The James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship at Purdue University sponsored the event at Happy Hollow in conjunction with the Greater Lafayette Holocaust Remembrance Conference.  The center operates through the School of Education and strives to promote citizenship among students and give educators the resources to prepare American citizens, said Phillip VanFossen, director of the Ackerman Center.

Kor will speak at Purdue on Saturday, March 27, in Matthews Hall Room 210 as part of a Holocaust Remembrance Conference.  Events begin at 1 p.m. and last throughout the day.

Through the sponsorship of the center, Kor shared her story of survival and healing.  Kor spoke about how she survived Auschwitz, what she learned, and then hosted a question and answer session with students.

In the early spring of 1944, Eva’s entire family including her father, mother, two older sisters, her identical twin Miriam, and herself were crammed into a cattle car for transport to the camp.  Eva’s father was a professed Jew, the only Jewish family in her small community, Kor said in her presentation.

Kor related how she and her twin sister stepped off the car and onto the platform holding her mother’s hand.  She never saw her father or two older sisters again. 

Guards in black shiny books and sharp uniforms asked if Eva and Miriam were twins.  When Kor’s mother said they were, the guards took the two from their mother.  Kor said the last image she has of her mother is with her “arms stretched out in despair.”  In twenty minutes, Kor and her twin lost their entire family.

Kor proceeded to talk about the experiments she endured as a twin in the concentration camp under the direction of Dr. Josef Mengele.  She also told of her commitment to survival for her and Miriam.

Kor felt through her story that she had a natural connection with the students, and they intently listened as she told about her childhood.

“[I learned] to never forget the past and that there are people who have had worse days than you,” Luke Howard, sixth grader at Happy Hollow Elementary said.

In an effort to show students the reality of her childhood, Kor did not spare the real details of her story for the young audience.

She told them that one day at the camp she and Miriam went to the latrine and found three bodies of children lying on the floor dead.  They were naked and their eyes were wide open, Kor told the audience.  That night she made a commitment to herself.

“I will do everything within my power to make sure that Miriam and I don’t end up on the filthy latrine floor,” Kor said as she related her promise to the sixth grade classes.

She kept her promise and refused to die.  She learned how to steal food and not be caught, and took care of her sister when she was sick.  Auschwitz was liberated on January 27, 1945, and she and Miriam both survived.

“I have no idea how we made it,” Kor said.

About 3,000 children entered medical experiments at the concentration camps.  Kor and her twin are two of 182 that survived until liberation, she said.

After telling of her experience, she spoke of the three biggest lessons she learned in Auschwitz: never give up, prejudice and hatred exist and forgiveness heals.

“Even little kids have a lot of power,” Kor said in an interview after the speech.  “If I didn’t give up, how can they?  It only takes one to stand.”

Students connected with Kor and learned very adult lessons from hearing her.  Sarah Watkins, a sixth grader at Happy Hollow, said she learned to forgive others who hurt her and appreciate what she has.

Teachers at the elementary had done many events with the students leading up to the conference.

“It’s really hard not to be touched by her story,” Janet Tipton, sixth grade teacher at Happy Hollow said. 

Tipton said that her class had read the Diary of Anne Frank and watched the movie.  They also talked about what went on in the camps and saw projects of other classes.  Some sixth graders wrote poetry about their feelings of the Holocaust and one class made a quilt with names of Holocaust victims on different squares.

Tipton said that it is crucial for teachers to debrief their class and hold discussions before and after Kor’s presentation or the event would fail to reach its full impact.  She spoke of how lucky students now are to be able to hear first-hand accounts of what happened because with the age of survivors, it will not be possible for much longer.

While it is possible, the Ackerman Center wants to bring messages like Kor’s to the students.  VanFossen said the impact of the event was much like he expected. 

“I think the story and how she approached it was exactly what we wanted,” VanFossen said.  “I think the most important thing is that a seed has been planted.”

The event has included up to 1000 sixth grade students from several local elementary schools in the past, VanFossen said.  However, many local schools were on Spring Break and unable to attend the event this year.

Regardless of the crowd size, Kor was honored to be asked to share her story.  She said she is amazed that she began life in a society that rejected her and now others come to hear her speak.

“The echoes of Auschwitz will always be a part of my life,” Kor said.