lilith-apologist: afronerdism:simonschusterca:Do you know what this is? This is The Heart from A
lilith-apologist: afronerdism: simonschusterca: Do you know what this is? This is The Heart from Auschwitz. An act of defiance.A statement of hope.A crime punishable by death. On December 12, 1944, locked inside Auschwitz, Polish teenager Fania turned twenty. After spending a year in a concentration camp, Fania didn’t expect her birthday to even be remembered - but her best friend, Zlatka, risked everything to make her a birthday present, a paper heart. Simply making the heart - or carrying it - could get either of them killed. The heart was signed by many of their friends, bearing notes in Polish, German, French, and Hebrew that announced "When you get old, put your glasses on your nose, take this album in your hand and read my signature again,“ and “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!” It was an act of great sacrifice and love for a friend. Less than 40 days later, they began the Death March from Auschwitz to Ravensbruck, and from Ravensbruck to freedom. Fania carried the heart under her arm the whole time. And survived. Fania donated the heart to the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Center in 1988, where it is a featured piece of their exhibit. You can read more about the story of Fania and Zlatka Meg Wiviott’s Paper Hearts, coming September 2015. God. Even in great darkness there is such love. the 75th aniversary of the liberation of auschwitz is in a couple of days (jan 27 2020) so I feel this is a good thing to have on your dash. Remember that every single victim and survivor of the holocaust was a person with so much love in their heart and so many storiees and interpersonal relationships like this. When I was younger I went back in my family history doing some long thorough research and discovered I have a lot of relatives who unfortunately did not make it through the entirety of the Holocaust. One who unfortunately suffered in the Death March of Auschwitz. I did however discover that one of my relatives survived and is one of the names on Schindler’s List. This is always an odd time for my family and I because you want to celebrate the freedom and survival of the events but you also want to mourn and grieve for those that didn’t make it. And for my older relatives the ones you love and miss dearly each day. So just do me a favor, Jewish or not, cherish the time you have with your family. Pull them close today and show them how much you love and appreciate them. Because one day you or they might not be here anymore and it’ll be something to look back on and remember the love you have for each other. -- source link
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