The Memory Of Modern History

We never realise what we had until its gone...

I wanted to write this last night but I was too pre-occupied with the Hunger Games. So I'm taking time out of Ducks By The Lake to write a serious post about something I saw last night. Now that I've had time to word what I want to say.

Yesterday, my university hosted an event which was different to any I've seen before. A survivor of the Holocaust in Poland was coming to give a talk on her experiences to the students and staff here. When I saw it, I knew I had to go for 2 main reasons. Of which I'll explain later.

First of all, I completely underestimated the number of people that would attend. The main auditorium theatre was booked which is nearly I think is somewhere near a 200 seat capacity. (Give or take 50 or so). I only presumed 10-20 people would appear. I don't know why, it's just something that I thought.

I was so wrong.

There were people sitting on the steps to the seats and standing at the back from what I could tell. It was PACKED. I was strangely happy about this because it showed that there was still curiosity across the social spectrum. I went alone but it was nice to see so many people turn up.

The woman, I'll leave her nameless for reasons, was a young child in Poland when the Russians subjugated her half of Poland in 1939 and she gave some limited insight into life under the Russians. Surprisingly, she said that it wasn't that different to what she already knew. The only difference she could remember was that she went to school at an earlier age than she would've if Russia hadn't invaded. 

However, as we all know, in 1941 the Nazis launched Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Russian half of Poland. The whole of Poland was now subjugated under Hitler and, just as they had in the East, they started making the lives of the Jews very hard indeed. (Thankfully for her, she did not end up in the camps. So this was purely a Ghetto story).

I'm sure I don't need to recap you on what happened as I hope you are all aware of what happened to the Jews in Nazi occupied areas.

This woman went on to explain how she and her family was moved to the Ghettos, how her father was shot, how her mother died of typhus a few months later and, ultimately, how her younger brother was shot by a Wehrmacht officer at the age of 7 more or less in front of her. (For some reason, she doesn't know why, the soldier refused to shoot her but had no qualms with killing her brother. Maybe due to the Nazi view of women? Who knows).

The lady I saw is now 81 and she's only recently started to speak openly of her experience under Nazi occupation as, I'm sure you can understand, it was very traumatic for her. But there were a few things she said that really stuck with me.

1. She was asked the question by one of the audience whether she'd ever met a German who was a Wehrmacht soldier in the war. The lady said that "fortunately" she had not. But she also didn't know what she would do if she ever did. She said she's not a violent lady but she wouldn't know what she'd do. But she reckons she'd feel very scared to be around them given what happened to her and what she saw.

2. She was also asked what she thought about the representation of the Holocaust in Hollywood and other popular media. She said that she couldn't watch Schindler's List because she said it felt "untrue" when she tried to. She said that the best representation she'd seen of something similar to her experiences was 'The Pianist' by Roman Polanski who was also himself in the Polish Ghettos. But when The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas was raised (possibly the most popular modern adaptation to date of the Holocaust based on a fictional book), she admitted she hadn't seen the film but she said that she didn't mind films of the Holocaust as long as there was some real truth to it. (Fair enough).

3. She later explained how she married and Englishman and had two sons, who did not know of her experiences until the 90's. But she said that, despite all she went through and the hatred she felt for the Nazis, she always taught her children to be tolerant of every single person no matter who or what they are regardless of race, colour or creed. Because what's the point of going through something like that if you don't learn that lesson at the end of it?

When I got back to my flat, I thought about History in general. Especially modern history. Obviously, this year marks the centenary of the start of the First World War which killed millions of people and wiped out a while generation people on BOTH sides of the fight. And, I'm not sure about Germany or the opposing side during the conflict, but all British survivors of the period are all gone as far as I'm aware. And that's something my generation lost but my mothers generation retained for a long time.

I was discussing this with my mum on the phone last night while I was watching Hunger Games and I told her that what I, and many others, saw yesterday was a special thing. A rarity. We got to hear what we already knew from the first person perspective. It's all very well and good being told by your teacher what happened and seeing pictures on PowerPoint or VIDEOS of survivors on the whiteboard, but there's something radically different about hearing it from the 1st person. Well, obviously, it's because it's FROM the first person. But the atmosphere it created as well was something I'd never experienced before.

But it got me thinking. I'm part of the unlucky generation that didn't have many World War I survivors to hear from about their experiences about the trenches. My generation and generations to come have to rely on documentaries and Blackadder. (Which, no matter what Michael Gove says is a great way for students to get an idea!) We had Harry Patch for a while but, sadly, he passed a way a few years ago. So my generation have lost that advantage. That said, my generation still have survivors from the Second World War which is something we are lucky to have for current time. 

My Nan was a teenager during the Second World War and, although she doesn't remember everything she experienced during it, she tells me what she can. In fact, if she hadn't have sat me down and explained the gas mask I found in her bungalow was for, I'd probably never have found history so interesting and important as I do now! But, like I say, she tells me what she can. I remember we sat in a fish and chip shop once for an hour eating food while she was telling me what she remembered. But, realistically, she's the closest thing I have to the Second World War. 

Which is why I'm keen to talk about it with her before the day inevitably comes when I won't have the chance to anymore. (I'd rather not think about or accept that notion but I have to be realistic). My grandfather died 13 years before I was born and he actually served during the war so I never had him to talk to. (That said, from what my Mum says, I don't think he often did anyway. Understandably). (I'm not sure about my grandparents on my paternal side. I've only recently started to talk them again so I'm still in the process of finding out. I know they're both dead but that's as far as my knowledge goes for this kind of topic).

And when all that generation have gone, the children of my generation won't have THAT luxury. They'll be like us with WWI. They'll have to rely on documentaries, teachers and DVDs. Then, when our children learn more about the Cold War and how if affected everyone, they'll look to our parents/ But they're not going to last forever either. One day they'll all be gone. They'll have the luxury of the Cold War memory, the legacy of Thatcher and the Berlin Wall collapse but that also won't last forever.

So what about us? My generation. What will we have to impart to our future grandchildren? Well, that I don't know. Maybe it hasn't happened yet. I have some candidates but we, thankfully, don't have what our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents had. We didn't have a war or a Cold War that affected all of Europe or America. I suppose the closest thing we have to that is 9/11 or something but that was mainly America. So I don't know what we'd have. But I think different countries have different things.

People in Greece will have the economic collapse?

America will talk of 9/11?

Japan will talk of the 2011 tsunami?

Who knows. but one day, the living memory will be gone. Lost forever. It's well and good studying it but sometimes, to get information, we need to look to our elders. Because, they're the closest thing you've got to the furthest reaches of history. And one day they're not going to be here anymore. My children will not have the luxury of attending a talk like I went to last night on the same subject just like I can't see a WWI survivor talk about his experience in the trenches or her experience in a field hospital.

So next time you want to know about the Second World War or the Cold War, look to your grandparents or parents. They're not going to be around forever. And, emotional stuff aside, we're going lose an invaluable piece of the human consciousness. I want to be a teacher in order to inspire others to enjoy history. But I wouldn't have done that if my Nan hadn't explained the gas mask to me.

Study history folks. 

And study your grandparents before it's too late. 

What the lady I saw did last night, given the sensitive nature of the topic, was an incredibly brave thing to do. And it was invaluable to our overall understanding of what she went through. She was one of the bravest people I'd ever seen. There needs to be more people like her. If you see a talk about something historical from the first person, go and see it. Then you'll understand what I mean. It's incredible and so engaging.

This is why I'm passionate about history. Because the memory is dwindling and fading. 

No...fading is the wrong word. It's burning out. Not fading away...