Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Bernard Hirsch - June 29, 1982

Memories

Does the past ever interfere with your life today?

Um, I don't think so because uh, because I, I have a lot to live now, you know. I, I have children and I see 'em, them becoming religious after all when I came home there weren't grandchildren here. I have a--I see mine uh, I see them so I forget, you know. I can't bring it back this whole thing.

Are there any particular situations that occur that make you remember images that, um, while you're involved in your daily tasks? While you're doing something during the day, does it ever make you remember something that happened...

Yeah.

...in the past?

Yeah, we are talking right now with my partner.

Can you give me an example?

I am, I am in carpeting business. In wintertime we're working together with him. In there we're starting to talk about this whole thing. We are coming not too far from each other in Europe. So we are talking about the parents, about the brothers. I knew his brother, he knew my brother. So we're reminding ourselves 'til we get don't--'til we get nervous, and then we stop to talk about it. 'Til it hur...somewhere a point, it hurts us. That's it.

Do you remember things of the past on certain holidays?

Uh, that we kept the holidays...

No...

...when we were hiding?

...today. Did you keep the holidays when you were hiding?

I, I kept my holidays when I was--I was davening. I didn't eat Yom Kippur, I didn't eat Yom Kippur. Not Sha...Shabbos. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, we hold this in the woods, all the guys. We didn't eat nothing. We had two--I went through two. In the army once I, I didn't eat. I kept mine, uh...

Today when you're celebrating a holiday here, does it bring back memories of then?

It brings back uh, it brings back uh, Rosh Hash...Yom Kippur and, and any when you go to Seder it brings you back. Makes you feel, feel ???. Makes you weep when you remember what happened so many, so many brothers and sisters and what happened to them.


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