聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Born in Hungary, Dr. Eva Olsson experienced some of the worst hate in the world, as a Jewish person under the Nazi regime. Having lived through the Holocaust Olsson now uses her harrowing experiences to talk about hate and bullying.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 She attended both G.F. Kells High School (with visiting students from White Bear) and Arcola School, for their Pink Days focused on anti-bullying, to speak to the student bodies on Thursday, May 7. In the evening she brought her powerful words to Carlyle Memorial Hall for the community to hear.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As a Holocaust survivor Dr. Olsson is compelled to share her story and the story of her family, this she does for everyone who can鈥檛, whose stories are forever lost in the concentration camps and death camps of the Nazi regime.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to hear me speak about the Nazi bullies, but not every German was a Nazi and every Nazi was not a German,鈥� she stated as she began speaking to the students at G.F. Kells.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 One of the first things Dr. Olsson asked the students was who amongst them uses the word, hate.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淢y hand didn鈥檛 go up, it鈥檚 not because I鈥檓 shy, when you get to my age you鈥檙e not shy anymore,鈥� Dr. Olsson says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 use the word hate, never.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This is something that she has passed down to her children and grandchildren as well. While babysitting them, they would use the word, but Olsson would not stand for it.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 taught my grandchildren to say I don鈥檛 like, that sounds better than hate,鈥� she stated.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hat is, 鈥業 don鈥檛 like?鈥� I don鈥檛 like it when I鈥檓 called names, do you? And I don鈥檛 like it when I鈥檓 pushed around. But I don鈥檛 hate, because hate is a killer, not a joke.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This is why Olsson is proud to call herself a Canadian: 鈥淧eople come from everywhere and that鈥檚 what makes Canada a very special country. Whether young or not so young, you鈥檙e Canadian.鈥� 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 born here but I have been a Canadian for 64 years and I am very proud to be a Canadian. You know how you become a Canadian? By accepting the values that Canada represents, that鈥檚 what makes us Canadians. That means no bullies and no bystanders.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Olsson then brought the focus of her talk to her life during World War II and to thoughts of her family.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 was bullied by the Nazi bullies; I was 19 when they bullied me,鈥� Olsson said. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 like my religion.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淒on鈥檛 be a bystander please, because that鈥檚 what happened in Europe. I was there. Seventy-one years ago.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In 1939 the Nazi regime had come to occupy Poland. At this time, Olsson was a young teenager living in Hungary whose thoughts were of the war ending soon. It didn鈥檛, for six years war ravaged Europe and the Nazis reigned.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The reason why Olsson now speaks came out of her telling the students about her past: 鈥淥ne and a half million children under 15 were murdered. Five of them were my nieces, little girls: a three and a half-year-old, a two-year-old, a one-year-old, a six-month-old, and a 2-month-old. I made it my mission to speak for them and all other children, all whose voices were silenced by hate. They died because they were hated.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Though Olsson鈥檚 family wasn鈥檛 wealthy, they all, her parents, brothers, sisters, their spouses, and her nieces all lived together.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have electricity and we had no indoor toilet, or water鈥� we had a wooden toilet outside for all of us, but it wasn鈥檛 bad, the family was altogether at that point,鈥� she explained.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In 1944 this would all change as the Nazis occupied Hungary. Olsson and her family were told to pack their bags because they were being shipped to Germany to work in a brick factory, or at least that鈥檚 what they were told.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Together they marched the seven kilometres to the train station where endless rows of boxcars were lined up, waiting. People, 100 to 110, were packed into the cars with standing room only.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭here were two buckets in each boxcar, one was for drinking and the other was to be used as a toilet. There was little air and the older people died. People were crying. People were praying.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When the boxcars stopped people fell out of them attempting to inhale fresh air, but there was none as black smoke stung their lungs instead of the stale air of the boxcar. Olsson, her family, and the others in the car had arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏lack smoke covered the skies, machine guns, electric fences, guards everywhere, I turned to my mom and I said 鈥榃hy are we going here? This does not look like a brick factory.鈥� Auschwitz-Birkenau was a killing factory.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As they stood there, Olsson was holding onto the hand of one of her nieces when a prisoner passed near her telling her to 鈥済ive the child to the older woman.鈥� Olsson wouldn鈥檛 let go, not until the prisoner came back a third time, telling her to let go. He didn鈥檛 tell Olsson why, but she soon found out.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淗ad I not let go of her hand I wouldn鈥檛 be standing here, I would have gone where most of my family went, except at that point I didn鈥檛 know where that was.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As they were moved through the line up, Dr. Josef Mengele, the 鈥淎ngel of Death,鈥� inspected each person. Men in one line and women in another, he would look them up and down, then flick his wand to the right or to the left.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Olsson and her family took their turn in line, she and her younger sister were sent to the right, while her mother (or any woman with a young child) was sent to the left.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 was sent to the right and I turned to look for my mom, but it was so quick, I didn鈥檛 see her. I didn鈥檛 have a chance to say goodbye, or I love you, or I鈥檓 sorry for disobeying you.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Breaking from her account, she asked the students if they had ever disobeyed their mom. Hands went up and a sad look crossed her face, 鈥淚 wish I hadn鈥檛. What matters is love and rules parents have are made out of love. It鈥檚 okay to disagree, but not to disobey.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Olsson would never see her mother again. In an instance she was ripped from her life. The older men and women, children, and anyone in poor health were all taken to the gas chamber.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A second inspection after Dr. Mengele鈥檚 initial separation was done was completed. Those who were not sent to the gas chamber were ordered to strip, if you were healthy you were sent to the bathhouse, deloused, and then to the barracks. Given rough, scratchy prisoner clothes of varying sizes, nothing ever fit properly.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e were given rations, one piece of bread that was 70 percent sawdust, do you know what sawdust is?鈥� Olsson asked. 鈥淲ell that鈥檚 what our bread was made of and 鈥榙irty water soup,鈥� that鈥檚 what we called it because it was made from unwashed potato peelings.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Olsson explained that this was not the end of the terror the Nazis inflicted. In Romania she explained to the students that the boxcars the Romanian Jewish people were packed into were in fact death trains with no destination, simply travelling up and down the track until everyone in the boxcar was dead.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 If Nazis were told to shoot a woman holding a child, Olsson explained that they were taught to shoot through the baby to the woman so as to only use one bullet.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淣ot everyone was a bully and not everyone was a bystander,鈥� Olsson stated. 鈥淭he Nazis occupied Bulgaria, but the Bulgarians wouldn鈥檛 allow anyone to be taken. In Denmark, Danish Jews were smuggled to Sweden on fishing boats.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Holocaust saw 11 million people killed. Many were Jewish, while many others were also targeted by the Nazis and they were all silenced by hate.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏efore you tell someone you hate them, or say you hate something, please, I ask you to count to 10. That鈥檚 not too hard, but think of the victims, victims who were your age, that died because of hate.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 From the camp, Olsson and her sister were sent to Dusseldorf for hard labour. The slept on the ground, covered by a pup tent that didn鈥檛 help keep them dry. The rain would pool on the ground, so they were still soaked when they woke up at 4:30 a.m. to unload bricks.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 She and her sister were then sent to an ammunitions factory, which was appreciated by them because here they were shown some kindness. The factory owners fed them.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In October of 1944 they were taken to Bergen-Belsen, another concentration camp. They remained for a harsh winter, always cold and wet, and it was during their time here that dysentery infected the prisoners.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭here was not enough food or water to sustain life,鈥� Olsson stated. 鈥淚 had a fever and there was no water, so I peed on a rag to hold against my forehead. I saw other women drinking their own urine because they were so thirsty. But you can only put out as much as you put in and we had very little.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 It was during this time that the Allied forces were pushing into the countries where the concentration camps were and the Nazis running the camps were attempting to leave the prisoners to die, even taking away the 鈥渄irty water soup,鈥� their only meal.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In fact it was planned for the Gestapo to shoot the prisoners of the concentration camp at 3 p.m. on April 15. This plan would never come to fruition as Canadian and British troops liberated them at 11 a.m. that morning. The soldiers had travelled from Holland.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 was very sick, but I knew I was free,鈥� Olsson said. 鈥淔ourteen thousand died after being liberated; the doctors couldn鈥檛 help them. But, they died free.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Following the war Olsson went to Sweden where she met her husband. They were from different countries, believed in different religions, and had many other differences, but they loved each other a great deal.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵ou have to love each other unconditionally,鈥� Olsson said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what I give to you, unconditional love, the acceptance of another person, wholly. It doesn鈥檛 matter what they look like, what they believe, but that you accept them for who they are.鈥�
