Not long ago, my family and I visited a Holocaust survivor. She was the mother of one of my grandmother's close friends and had survived three years at Auschwitz.
When my father todl me that we were going to pay her a visit, I felt frightened about the prospect of hearing her story. We drove to her apartment building, and she buzzed us in. With trepidation, I walked up the stairs to her apartment.
A short older lady opened the door. She welcomed us in kindly and asked us to sit down. After we were seated, she showed us the numbers tattooed on her arm and proceeded to tell us her amazing story.
She talked about the terrible death march, and the coutnlees other times she miraculously escaped death. She todl us that she had nightmares every night and had a hard time getting to sleep.
She spent innumerable hours in her back room, supporting herself by taking in sewing on a tiny, outdated sewing machine. My grandmother later told me that since coming to America more than 60 years ago, she had barely raised her prices.
Her story was amazing and inspiring, and it showed me how fortunate I really am. When something in my life goes wrong, this story helps keep things in perspective.
Chana Begoun lives in Milwaukee and is in 8th grade at Yeshiva Elementary School.
The Coalition for Jewish Learning is the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.