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Essay, 2 pages (500 words)

Imagine footage of him as a young boy

Imagine being strippedfrom everything you have ever had, including your identity.

Michael Bornsteinlived in Nazi concentration camps for seven months which is very surprisingbecause most children would only last two weeks there. Facing many obstacles atthe concentration camp Michael Bornstein had to overcome the fact this his fatherand brother were murdered at Auschwitz.             One day as Michael Bornstein was watching a film aboutthe holocaust – The Chosen –  he noticedthere was footage of him as a young boy at a Nazi concentration camp. Baffledand overwhelmed at this footage, he called the director of the movie, askingwhere this footage came from and how he managed to get a hold of it. MichaelBornstein then bought a video camera and went to the theater to capture andkeep those moments recorded forever.

Tothe Jews advantage, Michael Bornstein’s father was president of the union rod, which worked with the Nazi Germans. When Michael Bornstein’s father found outwhat was going on he tried to help and save as many Jewish people as he could, from sneaking them underground to bribing the guards. Being very sick, MichaelBornstein and his grandmother snuck into on infirmary, during a death march toavoid the fate of young, sick Michael Bornstein. It is so mind blowing to thinkthat such little decisions were the fate of their lives.

Livingthrough the liberations, you would think the psychological effects would bedepression or trauma, but it was in fact just the opposite. Michael Bornsteinbecame a better person and a better parent for his children. He created apositive life because of his optimism and joy. Michael Bornstein became veryprotective of his children and grandchildren, for obvious reasons. MichaelBornstein wanted to protect them, and he did not want them to know about thehorrors and experiences of Auschwitz and the concentration camp that he wentthrough. Realizing that what Michael Bornstein experienced was such animportant piece in history, his daughter pushed for him to tell his story. Onething that really made me stop and think was “ It takes about sixty minutes toadjust and to accept that everything has just been stolen from you, even yourname.

” (Survivors Club: The True Story of a VeryYoung Prisoner of Auschwitz.) Imagine having everything stripped andtaken from you in an instant, including your name. Your name is now a numberand that is how you will be identified by. Just like that, you are strippedfrom your individuality and any thing that makes you, you. Gone. Postliberation was a time when everyone in the family had to look out for eachother. You could not afford to be dwell on what had happened to you, optimismwas a major factor. Positivity was the key.

In 2001 Michael Bornstein visited Auschwitz, upon visitationmemories came flooding back and anticipation was the biggest thing. MichaelBornstein used the quote his grandmother would to tell him in German, whichtranslates to “ this too shall pass” when he would feel down or anything otherthan optimistic. Optimism was a major factor for Michael Bornstein’s outlook onlife. After realizing people had it worse with no families, Michael Bornsteinbegan to be more accepting and open towards other people. It’s important forpeople to be considerate of other minorities and other people of unfamiliarbackgrounds to us. Listening to the podcast, I realize it’s a very good exampleto remind the world what can happen when bigotry goes unchecked.

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