Survivor Dr. Janina Parafjanowicz's Story

Survivor Dr. Janina Parafjanowicz's Story

New York Times

By: Jane Aaron

Stationed: Aushwitz

As the war begins to come to an end, I ran into a wonderful lady that survived from Aushwitz. She said "You can tell Jane that the German nation at that time believed that they were superior and that meant that others must be inferior - only to be used for their hands to work for Germany." She was 22 years old when she was sent to Auschwitz with all her family except her youngest son. In the 4 years of her captivity there she lost them all. Many died in prison in Auschwitz, by shooting or starvation.

Arriving in 1942 she worked cleaning the river. Then she nearly died, but recovered when the Germans were worried about disease and said that she could be a Doctor again. Then she could eat. When asked, "What happened to your family and friends at Auschwitz?" she responded with, "Beating. Starving. Work. Death." Each answer was started by taking a deep breathe. Although I constantly asked if she was sure that she wanted to continue she always said, "The people must know what happened here so that it can never happen again!" She was split from her family, her small son was hidden, but the others she never saw again.

Pain and horrible memories flow from her mind as she continued to talk about her experiences. She said the happiest moments were her reunion with her son and helping helping a young girl out of danger from the Nazi officers, she said that those were the only two joyful moments of those four years. Her eyes alone told many stories, they had seen many tragedies, deaths, and other things that no eyes should ever have to see.

Janina left our conversation with something that she lives by, a piece of paper that an old lady gave her that said "The past is the past. Hold on to the present and keep moving forward in hopes that tomorrow will be a better day, but live today like it's your last." It was a prayer the old lady had said. Janina hopes to carry on her life forgetting those moments on the past and carrying on with her life the best that she knows how. She said, "as long as we remember that it did happen and learn from it, so that it will never happen again, she will be able to sleep at night." With that, I ask my readers to remember and grow.

Leonard, Rebecca. "Janina's Story : The Survivor of Auschwitz." Time Witnesses : Memories of the Last Century. The Nueva School. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. .