Michael Opas - [n.d.]
Education
Can you talk about high school? Can you tell me about classes and--tell me about the school work.
Well, school was pretty much the same as they--like here. The same kind. We had uh, I was advanced, advan...I was in advanced classes. I took uh, my second--we had a compulsory--a second language. I took German for a second language, because there were a choice of French or German. I took German because in my hometown Łódź there were a lot of German people. So it was easier for me to communicate with Germans. I had friends--Germans--customers. So I took uh, I took German language, German language as a second language. And this helped me actually in the concentration camps, because uh, there were, there were times when I--because of, of, of the knowledge of, of German I had easier job. I, I, I could--I had to fill out something that I was working in a factory where they--in the factory they were replacing--repaired airplanes. And because I--of, of the knowledge of, of German, I was given a job to fill out forms and to be helpful to, to the workers there who worked. I mean, the paid--the pay--whatever, the earnings whatever they did, I had to fill out in German, naturally.
Mm-hm.
And it was much to my, my, my benefit was while others had to work outside, outside in the cold, in the, in the mud, I was inside--indoor, indoors and I had favors from the Germans--from the foreman who worked there and they brought me some piece of bread or a piece of, a piece of fruit or something, whatever. And--oh, and now about, about school, you want to know it? It was a normal...
All boys school or was it...
No, this was a co-ed. In the beginning, in the first years I was going to an all-boys school. But finally, later on, I was, I think, in the--when I was about fourteen, they combined two schools, a girls' school and made a co-eds. And uh, I thought it a very happy child--I was editor in--from the school paper.
Mm-hm.
And I was a fairly good student, always with good marks, so it was no problem for me. School was actually fun.
Hm.
Yeah, school was really fun for me because uh, I enjoyed--I was in, in all the shows. I mean, we had that, a entertain...a school show or something. I was always in title role.
Oh wonderful.
Yeah, this, this was--I, I lov...I loved school and I really was interested in, in school work and school activities.
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