Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Eva Olsson, A Holocaust Survivor

As I walked out of chapel I was completely in shock. People being killed and thrown into ditches, gas chambers choking people to death, Jewish families hiding and running for their lives. This was the life Eva Olsson had to live through. 

Eva Olsson was only 19 years of age when she was forced to get on a train to go work at a brick factory. Eva and her family listened to their orders and packed up their things. When they arrived at the tracks they were shocked to see all of the people who were going. Suddenly, Eva was grabbed and thrown into a box car along with many other people. When everybody was on there was hardly enough room to breathe. People started to suffocate or pass out and die. The worst part was that as they were getting on the train, people just stood there like bystanders and watched. 
When they arrived in Auschwitz  they were ordered to stand in a line and wait until they got to the front. When they got to the front they were either ordered to the left or to the right. Young ladies who did not have any problems with them were ordered to the left to live, and everybody else was ordered to the right to be killed. Eva Olsson was lucky enough to be ordered to the left, but everybody else she knew except for her sister were ordered to the right. The people Eva knew who were ordered to the right were later going to be killed in a gas chamber. She would never see them again. Imagine losing everyone you loved in a matter of seconds. Also they would never be known or remembered for anything because their bodies would just be thrown into ditches to rot and be eaten away. If they didn't follow orders they were beaten to death. If they made one little mistake the would be shot. No second chance or forgiveness. This was terrible.
One huge reason I respect Eva Olsson is because of the amount of courage she has. Also another reason I respect her is because after all she has been through with the Nazi Germans she still doesn't label every German as a Nazi. After all Eva has been through she still goes around and speaks to groups of people about the holocaust because she thinks everyone deserves to know the truth behind it all. She must have great courage to talk about the absolute hell she lived in. All the horrific events she had lived through and all the pain she experienced must have been just impossible to imagine. After being through all of the holocaust and getting married Eva's husband died in a car accident because a drunk driver hit him. Eva has set an example for me that I will follow and never forget for the rest of my life.
Lastly, I will leave you with some wise words of Eva Olsson. It is okay to dislike something or someone, but it is not okay to hate. Hate is what started all of the tragedies in the world. So try and take the challenge and not say hate for the rest of your life and follow Eva's example.

Brendan