[yshavurah] Fw: If any of you would like a copy of remarkable testimony...

thought i would pass this on...
-c
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ken Pope 
To: clevineys@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 7:22 AM
Subject: If any of you would like a copy of remarkable testimony...

If any of you would like to receive a DVD copy of a remarkable 6-hour video
interview of a Holocaust survivor providing first-person testimony about her
experiences, I would be happy to send you one.  There is no charge -- I'm
covering all costs of the DVDs, postage, etc.

Two years ago psychologist Pauline Wallin generously sent me a DVD showing
her mother, Anna Wilson, being interviewed about her experiences leading up
to and surviving the Holocaust.

I asked if I might make a copy of the DVD and send it at no charge to those
who requested it.  Working with Holocaust survivors in my practice led me to
believe that encountering someone's first-hand description of the Holocaust
can be a unique, invaluable experience, far different and more immediate
than reading even the best books.

It seems important that personal testimony like this be made as widely
accessible as possible.  (It is heartening that so many -- like the Shoah
Foundation -- are working to help make that happen.)

Many of the hundreds of people to whom I've sent the DVD since the original
announcement have written me to describe how surprising, moving, and
transformative Anna Wilson's testimony was for them.  I asked 2 of them --
Florida psychologist Jim Hord and British Columbia psychologist Raymond
Shred -- if they'd mind my sharing some of their comments with the list, and
they generously agreed.

Here are Jim's and Raymond's comments:

[begin Jim Hord's comments]

The disk is terribly impacting and forceful.  I sent for the disk "late", in
that I decided not to do so several times before finally asking for a copy.

It is a work of art.  She is being interviewed for her story for a formal
record, and she recounts it totally from memory.  Poignant, honest and
straight forward, it flows from her heart.  It is a beautiful and forceful
rendition, unparalleled in my experience.  It is 6 hours long and I have
listened to  all but the very end of it, between patients.  I am grateful to
Ken, Pauline and her mother for making it available to me.

Do not miss this opportunity to listen to a section of human history that we
are not likely to encounter again in our lifetime.  You will not be
disappointed.

[end Jim Hord's comments]

[begin Raymond Shred's comments]

I especially want to thank Anna Wilson for taking the time to recall and
relate her memories of those times.

There were a number of things that struck me about her story.  In the
beginning, Ms. Wilson describes her life as young woman in pre-war Poland (I
think she was about 18 when Poland was invaded).  She remembered the general
feeling among the Poles was that Germany was making a lot of noise but that
Poland was really in no danger from the Germans because Poland was so
strong.  Historically, we know that wasn't true.  But if a whole nation
could believe that at that time, it kind of makes you wonder what disasters
we (i.e., humans) are ignoring today that will bite us in the ass tomorrow
or next year.  Environment?  Public/National security?  Human Rights?

The main thing that struck me was the incredible resilience of human beings.
Ms. Wilson described a number of horrific things in her interview -- but
only very briefly.  Even now 60+ years later she is focused on the positive
things.  "What a good job we had" at one camp.  "how lucky we were . . . "
about the fact that they had a bed at another camp.  In contrast, to
sleeping outside in the snow with no food for 3 days when they first arrived
at Ravensbruck because there was no room.

One would think that after 6 years of war and deprivation and increasing
restrictive, sadistic, and inhuman treatment, Ms. Wilson might have allowed
herself to be depressed.  But that never came through.  Instead, she tended
to put a really positive spin on seemingly insignificant events.

Another thread that stood out is the importance of social support.  Ms.
Wilson talks at length about the mutual support that she and her two sisters
provided eachother.  Also, their bond provided strength for others.

My favourite quote from the 5.5 hours of the interview came when Ms. Wilson
was describing the personal hygiene services provided by the German guards
at Auschwitz, "We didn't look forward to the showers so much."  That one
understatement seems to capture so much about how she framed her
experiences.

[end Raymond Shred's comments]

If you're interested in my sending you this DVD, just send an email to me at
<kspope@xxxxxxxxxx>.  There is no charge for the DVD, postage, etc.

Ken

Responding to Victims of Torture--Clinical Issues, Professional
Responsibilities, & Useful Resources:
<http://kspope.com/torvic/torture1.php>

"First they came for the communists but I was not a communist so I kept
quiet.  Then they came for the socialists and the trade unionists but I was
neither, so I did not speak out.  Then they came for the Jews, but I was not
a Jew, so I did not speak out.  And when they came for me, there was no one
left to speak out for me." --Martin Niemoller, after being released from
Dachau, 1945

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