On Hope and Survival
Today is Yom Hashoa; Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day. On this day we commemorate the death of approximately 6 million Jews who were systematically and methodically murdered by the Nazis.
Among those murdered were my grandfather’s parents and three of his brothers. My grandfather was part of approximately 20% of Slovakian Jews who somehow managed to survive. His name was Berko. He was taken prisoner when he was 17 years old and spent the next three years working in forced labor and extermination camps including Majdanek and Auschwitz. In these camps he witnessed some of the most horrific scenes the world has ever known.
According to Viktor Frankl, those who never lost hope were most likely to survive. This does not mean that all who had hope survived. Not all who were astonishingly strong and astute, with a high sense of survival, and will to live, survived. But all who survived were incredibly lucky. Not just once, but three, four, seven, twelve times, forty times.
How does someone overcome something like this? How do you endure as a survivor with the guilt, the trauma, the sadness, the grief? I remember my grandfather getting terribly upset when watching the news coverage of wars and other atrocities on TV.
Berko built a life in Mexico. He married the beautiful Magdalena and had 6 children while making a living selling wedding dresses in downtown Mexico City. His favorite song was Gracias a la Vida (Thanks to Life). Berko Music Therapy carries his name proudly and uses his example to inspire people to never lose hope and will, even in the most challenging of circumstances. Above all, to always be grateful for life.
Below we commemorate those who were less lucky, with the song Eli Eli, written by the fallen soldier Hannah Szenes. It is followed by Gracias a la Vida, written by Violeta Parra, performed by Mercedes Sosa, and dedicated to Berko.
1. Eli, Eli
My God, My God
May these things never end:
The sand and the sea
The rustle of the water
The lightning in the sky
Man’s prayer.
2. Gracias a la vida
Thank you, life, for giving me so much.
She gave me two bright stars, that when opened,
Can perfectly distinguish black from white
And high in the sky, the starry background,
And within the crowd the man that I love.
Thank you, life, for giving me so much.
She gave me ears that, in all of its wide
Record- night and day -crickets and canaries,
Hammers, turbines, bricks and showers,
And the tender voice of my beloved.
Thank you, life, for giving me so much.
She gave me sound and the alphabet.
With them the words that I think and declare:
“Mother,” “Friend,” “Brother” and light brightening,
The way of the soul of my lover.
Thank you, life, for giving me so much.
She gave me the wandering of my tired feet.
With them I’ve walked cities and puddles
Valleys and deserts, mountains and plains.
And your house, your street and your courtyard.
Thank you, life, for giving me so much.
She gave me a heart, that shakes its contention,
When I see the fruit of the human brain,
When I see kindness so far from what is bad,
When I look inside your bright eyes…
Thank you, life, for giving me so much.
She gave me laughter as well as mourning.
With both I distinguish happiness from pain –
Two of the ingredients that conform my singing,
As well as your song, that is mine too,
And the song of all, that is my own singing.
Thank you, life, for giving me so much.
arielweissberger
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In Hebrew we say “Kol Hakavod ” it means ” All my respect ” !!
So ” Kol Hakavod ” ” All my respect ” to all the survivors who had the strength to start a new life, and try to overcome after suffering so much during the Holocaust !!! “All my respect ” to Berko, as a survivor….” Kol Hakavod ”
And ” All my respec t ” to Ariel, who did a great job by honoring in his Web Page , the Survivors and Victims of the Shioa on the ” Holocaust Remebering Day ” .
May events like the Holocaust should never hapen again !!!!
Thank you for sharing Ariel! One of my patients just requested “Gracias a la vida” and it just blew me away because he had a really hard life, we can learn so much from other people and gain so much perspective
Absolutely Meredith. Thank you for sharing!
It can be a very powerful song. Our clients and patients can be our best teachers.
It sounds like you had a fantastic session! I admire the work you do.