Holocaust survivor shares story of forgiveness, resilience

Martin Weiss, who survived two of Nazi Germany’s most notorious concentration camps, shared his story of resilience and forgiveness to a full capacity crowd of 1,100 on March 23 in the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.

Weiss’ presentation corresponds with Viterbo’s annual “Teaching the Holocaust” Workshop, which was held March 23–24. The workshop was designed for middle school and high school teachers who want to learn more about teaching the lessons of the Holocaust in their schools.

One of nine children, Weiss, his mother and father along with his one brother and seven sisters, were deported from Czechoslovakia to Auschwitz in May 1944 when Weiss was 14 years old. Weiss, his father, brother, and two uncles were selected for forced labor.

With the exception of the male relatives and a few cousins, all of his other family members were sent to the gas chambers, including his mother and seven sisters. Weiss was 16 when U.S. troops liberated the Weiss and others in May 1945.

Other Holocaust survivors who have appeared at the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre include Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, Manya Friedman, Inge Auerbacher, Henry Greenbaum and Gerda Weismann Klein.

“We are fortunate to have developed a close relationship with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. over the past few years,” said Rick Kyte, director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo. “That is what has enabled us to bring in speakers like Martin Weiss, who will not only give an evening address to the public but was also present on March 24 to interact with educators attending a workshop on teaching the Holocaust.”

Martin and his father were sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, and then to the sub camp of Melk, where they were forced to build tunnels into the side of the mountains. His father died while they were being held there.

Weiss remembers mothers clinging to their crying babies as he and more than 125 other Jews were corralled into a packed boxcar and deported to Auschwitz.

“It was dark and cramped and we had no idea where we were going,” Weiss said. “The minute they opened the door to let us out, it was like the gates of hell.”

Weiss still vividly remembers meals of spinach soup and mildewed broth, and being awakened by a whistle at 5 a.m. to work long days in the concentration camp under threat of lashings or death.

“A lot of the guards and war criminals were not even German,” Weiss said. “They were Hungarian, Russian and Ukrainian. In some cases, the most harsh and evil of all in people involved.”

He recalled memories of a soldier who, for his own amusement, would sic a dog on the prisoners, literally allowing the dog to maul the person to death.

“When you see something like that, it makes you wonder if you belong to the same human race," Weiss said. “Who are these people? Why are they doing this? It did not matter, we could do nothing.”

One of the worst memories that Weiss shared with the audience ended with gasps and moans from those in attendance.

“By a major river in Ukraine, Nazi soldiers were separating women and children,” he said. “The soldiers would rip them apart, take the child and bash their heads on a rock. They would then throw the unconscious or dead child into the river.”

His emotions were shaken while he told these stories.

“When he was explaining those horrific tragedies in detail, he was getting choked up and seemed to be holding back tears,” said Donald Beck, a La Crosse community member in the audience. “It takes a lot of courage to stand up there and recall such memories in front of so many people.”

Martin was liberated at the Gunskirchen camp by U.S. troops in May 1945.

He returned home to Czechoslovakia, where he found some surviving family members. Weiss was at Auschwitz for about a week and then was sent to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria and to the sub camp of Melk, where he saw his father die. In 1946, they immigrated to the United States.

After immigrating to the U.S. in 1946, Weiss did not speak of the Holocaust for more than 50 years because he wanted to erase the horrible memories from his mind.

Despite the cruelty and hatred he experienced, Weiss said he doesn't wish for revenge.

“My children are my vengeance,” Weiss said. “They're proof that we count as people.”

Charles Brandsmeier, a junior business major at Viterbo, knew of the Holocaust only through books and movies. He wanted to hear about it firsthand.

“We won't be able to hear personal accounts of this tragedy 10 or 20 years from now," Brandsmeier said.

He was struck by how Weiss found comfort in his children.

“I guess going through something like that shows you what's most important,” he said.