Feature: After 80 years of silence, a Holocaust survivor finally tells her story
Xinhua, January 27, 2016 Adjust font size:
One of the dwindling numbers of survivors of the Holocaust spoke of her ordeal for the first time in almost 80 years on the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day on Wednesday.
Susie Lind was one of hundreds of children saved from Nazis by humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton who organized the Kindertransport program which rescued 669 mainly Jewish children on the eve of World War II. They were transported to Britain to start new lives, many knowing they would never see their parents again.
The survivor agreed to break her silence and share her experience in response to British Prime Minister David Cameron's urgent project to record the testimony of Britain's Holocaust survivors and concentration camp liberators to preserve the memories for future generations.
Sharing her testimony with the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation on Wednesday, Lind said she boarded one of the last Kindertransports at the age of 14 from Prague. "My mother saw me off on the Kindertransport from Prague and she took a handkerchief out of her bag in order to wipe my tears at our goodbyes. I knew I would never see my parents again. I have kept this handkerchief newly laundered ever since."
"I am glad that I have shared my stories for the sake of being recorded for posterity. Sadly, I don't think the world has learnt lessons from the past. Everybody has to learn to live with everybody else regardless of creed or religion," she said.
Natasha Kaplinsky, a board member of UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, who is leading the testimony project said: "Susie's story reminds us of the shocking fact that hundreds more children may have lost their lives if it wasn't for Sir Nicholas Winton's bravery and hard work."
"In the darkest moments of our history (Winton) showed how the best of humanity can still shine through. When I met him on his birthday last year I was struck by his incredible modesty. No matter how many years have passed, it's vital that we still celebrate the life and work of this great man, whilst remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust and the stories of those he saved. Our work to capture testimony with Holocaust survivors who have not yet spoken is a vital part of making sure the UK can fulfil its promise to remember the Holocaust."
A documentary program telling the story of how Winton saved the children made in association with Czech and Slovak Television was aired on BBC One. His secretive life-saving work only came to light in 1988. Although hundreds of Kindertransport children have come forward, several hundred have never been identified. It is thought many remain unaware of their great escape from the Nazis.
London-born Winton died July last year, aged 106, in Slough, England. Months earlier he was awarded the highest honor of the Czech Republic, the Order of the White Lion (1st class), by Czech President Milos Zeman. Endit