People Achieving Complete Equality organizes Holocaust assembly with Mausner

By Yuka Noda
Staff Writer

Millennials would never quite understand the fears of living under a dictator like Adolf Hitler or the hardships the Jewish people faced during the Holocaust. To enlighten the students of Costa, People Achieving Complete Equality hosted an assembly.

The assembly took place on Thur. April 17 during third and fourth period in the new multipurpose room. Teachers were able to sign up ahead of time to attend this assembly, presented by junior Samantha Mausner’s grandmother, Irena Mausner.

“My students are studying the rise of fascism and Nazi Germany in class,” history teacher Gregory Kloes said. “Students can learn from texts, but there’s a lot students can learn from someone who has lived through the experience. First-hand accounts are important.”

In this assembly, Mausner started off with a historical background on the Holocaust and the conditions back then in pre-WWI Poland. She then connected the history of Poland to her personal life, her experiences and the story of her survival.

“I don’t blame the Germans,” Irena Mausner said “They were brainwashed. I feel bad for them because they have such a heritage and it’s hard for them to get over it. We have to understand that the new generation is not the old generation.”

Mausner’s story began from the time she was three years old. She had once lived in a five-room house, but was eventually forced to live in the Ghetto, the assigned area for Jews, then to an orphanage to survive, away from her family.

“I don’t blame my mother for leaving me,” Irena Mausner said. “She was so brave to give me up so that we might all survive.”

In her recollection, Mauser was always hungry. They had fared well in comparison to the many who had perished from hunger; however, there was always not enough food to go around.

“I remember my mother buying me a bag of strawberries on my birthday,” Irena Mausner said. “It must have cost a diamond. I remember her handing me the bag to hold when the bags were torn out of my hands by a boy. I couldn’t forget the boy’s face. They were so hungry, but didn’t have anyone to help them.”

At the end of the assembly, the students and teachers were able to ask Mausner specific questions they had about her experiences, such as how her family fared after the liberation of Poland from Nazi Germany.

“The assembly gave me a new perspective on how the Jews had to live,” sophomore Michelle Lu said. “It must have been a traumatizing experience, living apart from their families. It’s really a different experience with our modern daily lives.”

Mausner’s chapter of the Holocaust ended in 1945 when Poland was liberated by the Allied forces. Her family all survived and was able to continue living in Poland, with the exception of Mausner and her sister, who decided to study and live abroad. Mausner currently lives in New York.

“The past have given me the courage to face adversity and has really taught me to find beauty in everything and to appreciate the life around me,” Irena Mausner said. “I felt that somebody wanted me to be here today so that I could talk to all of you about my experiences.”