As I held the delicate, wrinkled hand of Trudy, a survivor of the Holocaust, I knew my life's path would change forever. Although I studied the Holocaust and the Concentration Camps during middle and high school, nothing prepared me for making the journey to Poland. I, along with 15,000 other teens and adults, participated in an international event called "March of the Living." Participants came from all over the world, bringing with them diverse cultures and languages. Together we marched with pride and unity in memory of the millions of lives eradicated by the Holocaust.
All buildings in Treblinka, one of the largest extermination camps, were destroyed; the only sign of life that remained were the young pine trees that naturally grew over the mass graves. The memorial at Treblinka consists of over 17,000 monuments, each dedicated to a Jewish community destroyed during the Holocaust. This creates a haunting memorial to all of the losses in this remote place in the grim woods of Poland. As I began trying to make sense of all of the death and despair, I saw a yellow butterfly dancing amongst the trees. This was one of the darkest places in Poland and yet seeing this delicate butterfly flutter around reassured me that even in the darkest of times there is always a ray of hope. As I watched the butterfly drifting, I immediately thought about my grandfather and the fact that some of his relatives were unable to flee Poland. The Nazis murdered them in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. The thought of their deaths by the Nazis brought tears to my eyes, but again, the butterfly fluttered past me infusing me with hope.
As the butterfly wandered around the memorial at Treblinka, I thought about my grandfather, who passed away from Leukemia and Lymphoma. My grandfather was the one figure in my life that infused in me a sense of my Jewish Identity. His death left me distraught and made me question my Jewish identity. Oddly, the butterfly reminded me of life as it danced around me. Later, as I marched from Auschwitz to Birkenau, I marched for my grandfather, his relatives, and all the others who perished in Poland during the Holocaust. I imagined how proud my grandfather would be to see me march with people from all over the world. After an emotionally exhausting trip through Poland, the yellow butterfly represented a glimmer of hope and instilled in me a stronger sense of my Jewish identity.
Since my journey to Poland, I take opportunities to learn about people and events in-depth so that I can have a better understanding of the world. I strive to see both sides of an argument so I can be, overall, better educated. I now have a stronger sense of my Jewish identity, and I am not afraid to express how proud I am to be Jewish, especially when I consider the survivors that continue to educate others about the struggles they have faced.
Standing with Trudy that April day, in the same place that once millions of victims stood in their final days, makes Trudy that much more of an incredible person in my eyes. She represents a living model that life, even in the darkest of times, does in fact get better.
