We were part of a sensational and at the same time unusual event at the Diószeg Sámuel Baptist Techikum and Vocational Training School, as Éva Fahidi, a survivor of the Holocaust, visited us. Furthermore, it was a special honor for us that she celebrated her 97th birthday with us, and we were the first to greet her.
Éva considers it her mission that the young generation keeps the Holocaust in their memory and actively fights against all forms of racism. That’s why she gladly accepted our invitation. Our speaker believes that if we don’t talk about what happened to her and her comrades in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, it will suddenly sink into oblivion.
The presentation was led by our school’s teacher, Ervin Tóth, who, thanks to Éva’s active spirit and ability to remember, was able to conduct an interesting interview with her.
From her presentation, we learned that the conditions of the death camp were incomprehensible to today’s minds. According to Éva, they were all shoved into the cattle cars, which were then filled to overflowing. The journey there took about two weeks. All they got was a bucket of water. Due to the unfavorable conditions, many people lost their lives in the wagon. They had no idea where they were going. When they arrived, they were pulled off the wagon one by one, and the sorting began. Families were torn apart. Children and the elderly were taken to the gas chambers.
She also told us about the conditions there. When they arrived, the camps were still unfinished. Their roof structure was incomplete, and it often rained on them. The food there was inedible. Éva worked in a weapons factory where they had to make 50 kg grenades, about 800 in one night.
At the end of the presentation, the audience had the opportunity to ask her questions. The participants were most interested in how she was able to survive despite the horrors. Éva’s answer was that she drew her strength from the cohesion of the community.
“I can proudly say that the organization was not in vain, as the participating students watched each of Éva’s stories with admiration. The students were so interested in the topic that at the end of the presentation, they were able to put aside all their half-heartedness and develop it in an interactive way.”
– Ervin Tóth, our school’s Hungarian-German teacher.
Diószeg Sámuel Baptist Techikum and Vocational Training School
