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Franka Charlupski - June 18, 1985

This has some effect on your life now. We have a few minutes remaining, you want to tell me some of your thoughts about why you survived and what you feel about it now.

Why I survived, I don't know. I guess it was fate. Uh, I have a family now, I have two children, I have three grandchildren. I have a wonderful husband. My husband worked very hard, but we are comfortable. I try and do as much charity as I can. I try to help others. I'm courteous. Uh, I feel I owe society something. I might be wrong. I feel that there must have been some kind of a miracle or some kind of reasoning that I was left alive. This is my personal, this is the way I feel. And, by doing charity, I feel I'm repaying, I'm being grateful for being alive, and having a wonderful family and naturally, the United States was my savior. We had the opportunity, we worked hard. But uh, I just love this country. You couldn't get me back to Poland for no money in the world. Not even to visit it. Never had the desire and I was born there, I grew up there, but I have memories that I don't wanna... unless my children will insist that they want to go and see it. I would sacrifice and go with them. But other than that I have no reason.

You feel it is important to talk about this?

Definitely! Uh, that's one part that I'm doing because I feel that it is very important and the young people are very responsive. I've had some experiences, I've spoken to a Catholic all-girls school. I talked to some children at Wayne University, the response was tremendous. And very gratifying. I can't say I enjoy talking about it, but it gives me a great satisfaction that I can make someone else aware of my experiences and the letters that I get prove that these children understand it better if they listen to a survivor than they see it in a movie, or they read a history book. As a matter of fact, I was told that. That it's no comparison between reading a history book or seeing it in the movies than hearing it out of the survivor's mouth.

I agree. Thank you very much.

You're welcome. It is hot in here.