Bernard Hirsch - June 29, 1982
On Being a Survivor
What does it mean to you to be a survivor?
Uh, what means to me a survivor. Lots of things. Sometimes I say, "Why I was born in the family? Why, what? I have such a, such a good man that I was alone from the whole? Why my brother not, or my sister?"
Are you angry today?
Uh, angry about uh, the past?
Mm-hm.
About the past, angry? I--like I said, I'm not discuss. And when I discuss I get...
How has your experience influenced your religion?
Uh, the religion. It's uh, you're asking me a good question and I cannot answer you the question because uh, let's say I would live between--live in a neighborhood where everybody keeps everything, so you would keep with the same way. Or you live with neighbors and you see that they--I'm not doing nothing except there on my house. I am working Saturday, I'm going out Saturday, I'm driving Saturday. Or I should do something around the house to cut the grass. I even said for mine cut..."I don't want your service, you should cut me my grass." I am, I am for religion. It's a, it's a different religious here. I call it a different religion. It's a different religion so it's a hard question to answer. Or like I told uh, like I said before, when I left Czechoslovakia I said, "This is it. I'm not going to drive Saturday, I'm not going to work Saturday. Saturday is Saturday." Earlier I was disappointed I came here. Maybe when I would have moved in uh, in ??? between this where they're keeping up, maybe I would accept it. But I moved uh, in a place where uh, Saturdays--it's a cleaning day.
But your experience has not affected your belief in God, it hasn't made you...
No.
...believe less in God.
No, no, no. I never, never--even I'm not keeping, I still in front of my eyes is the belief in God--that it's a God.
What are your plans and hopes for your future?
What my plans and the hope for the future? I should be healthy, I should see my kids growing, my grandchildren. And I should--money-wise I don't know that I'm looking here, I should make it, you know, I can live already. The main thing I should be healthy and to see my children growing. This is my mine...
I think that would be a good place to end it. Thank you.
[interruption in interview]
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