The Black and White

by Lexi Warburton

The Holocaust was a major event in world history that happened less than 100 years ago. In this event, families were separated, people were murdered, and anti-semitism covered Europe.  Everyone always says, well that would never happen again, but someone once before the Holocaust said “well that would never happen”. Although some would like to forget about this event completely, if we forget, then what would we learn? 

On Thursday, March 27, through the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Euddcation Center, Dr. Xiarhos invited brother and sister David Spitzman and Fran Dinerstein to speak to Pilgrim students. They are the children of Holocaust survivors Rachel and Meyer Spitzman.

After the Holocaust Rachel and Meyer moved to Providence,  Rhode Island from Europe. Rachel and Meyer had Fran in Bergen Belsen, which was a concentration camp turned into a displacement camp when the war was over. David was born once Rachel and Meyer came over to the United States. The siblings now speak on the topic to honor their parents’ memories and their resilience to start over after all that they had been through. 

Many stories were shared about Rachel and Meyer Spitzman and how they dealt with their trauma or what the Holocaust was like for them, and these stories are just a fraction of what helps Rachel and Meyers memory live on. David shared how his mother felt survivor guilt after the Holocaust while she was here in Rhode Island and how dealing with that was hard for her but she tried her best. Fran Dinerstein shared how her mother had heard her cousin was sick and snuck out of her barrack to bring her bread, but when she was coming back she got caught by a guard and was stripped naked and was beaten in the dark, being left to die after.

A student asked Fran and David how their mother survived and their answer was “it was just a miracle”. Fran and David’s parents are all they really know of their family lineage. During the Holocaust, families were separated with their fates ultimately unknown.  

Hope is what got many through these times in Germany and Poland. Hope that the Holocaust would be over, hope that another country would save them, and hope that they would make it out alive. Rachel and Meyer Spitzman had hope. As well as hope, Rachel and Meyer were also incredibly strong and were all around amazing people that didn’t let their past define their future. Of course they had some hesitations coming to a new country and being around many new people, but they still persevered and thrived to the best of their abilities here in RI for the rest of their lives.