Crighton School questions
Zvonko Springer (zzspri@COSY.SBG.AC.AT)
Thu, 30 May 1996 00:02:23 +0200
To : MEMORIES@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU
For : Mrs. Carole K. Kurtz - Crighton School, New Jersey, USA.
From : zzspri@cosy.sbg.ac.at \ Zvonko Springer \
Date : Wed, May 29, 1996
Subj. : From Crighton School - Sun, 19 May 1996
Refer : MEMORIES.E26
Lines : 139
Here are my answers to several questions by pupils of 10-12 years
old from Crighton private school in New Jersey, USA. Or should I call them
students? Or had actually these questions been asked by their educators:
either their parents or teacher or lecturers? I just have to wonder ..?
For Gabrielle Merken:
Q1. : If someone said the Holocaust was exaggerated or made up, what
would you say?
A1. : First, I would ponder about who asking such a question and why? I
also would wonder about why a grown-up person would aske me this?
Speaking about the Holocaust one has to consider the following. The
concentration camps (CC) for human beings have been in use all over
the Globe since the ancient times. Just to mention few: in Egypt,
Mesopothamia, .. in Europe, both Americas, in Asia like in Cambodia
.. and as recently in Bosnia (since 1992) too.
Men and women, children and elders - all civilians - had been incar-
cerated in such camps by oppressive and victorius regimes. The reasons
for these imprisonements may have differed depending upon the regime's
attitudes and goals. However, in all such camps displaced peoples had
been mistreated, misused for captors' different needs, subjected to
varying experiments and turtures, mutilated, broken in their body and
spirit and at last killed too often before any liberation could reach
these wretches. What one calls the ETHNICAL CLEASING now-a-days is
about the same what had happened to those captured in concentration
campss before and during the WW2.
Therefore, such concentration camps HAD EXISTED during Hitler's dicta-
torial regime in Germany before and during World War 2 too. There is
NO DOUBT about it. However, the method of mass killing in German con-
centration camps had been industrialized. The means used for disposing
of human beings had been scientifically developed and engineered. The
victims' belongings and body remnants had been meticulously collected
and sorted out for different uses. These MATERIALS and tangible FACTS
still EXIST (a limited amount of - due to the necessary and proper
commiseration with the victims).
Therefore, my answer is: HOLOCAUST is an historical FACT - it HAS NOT
BEEN MADE UP - there is NO EXAGGERATION to it - the DEAD ONES CANNOT
SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES though!
Q2. : If you could explain your experience in WWII in one word, what would
that word be?
A2. : Well, Gabrielle, what do you expect from me answering in ONE WORD?
Your 1st question had reminded me of my many deep-seated, gloomy and
horrible memories of World War II. I was born in 1925, graduated in
summer and was called into Army services by October of 1943. I had
spent 19 months in that war and had surrounded to Tito's victorius
Army on 15 May 1945 - a week after the Armistice. Then, I survived
one of the Croatian Death Marches which also had been a kind of a
ETHNICAL CLEANSING in 1945 too. I believe that a survivor of this
CLEANSING may answer your question with TWO WORDS:
IRRECOVARABLE WASTE .. of lifes - youths - loves - ideas - thoughts -
energies - values - natural beauties etc.
******
For Sean Adams :
Q3. : How do you feel about the recent Neo-Nazi and skinhead movements in
the original Nazi countries and even in the US?
A3. : What you call "skinhead movement" is the present description for a
bunch of (mostly younger) people. I don't like generalizing but the
followers of any such a group mostly have a weak, indolent or lazy
as well as cowardly personal character. Yet, they don't have any life
experience of their own yet and their family's ties are frequently
disrupted. In general, such people would decline any authority too.
The outcome their activities is the irresposible behaviour towards
a majority and the destruction of any society's values at a time.
Only in a GROUP these persons feel as STRONG. They could turn there
with GROUP's collective STRENGTH and POWER into a certain (subcon-
sciously wanted) ACTIVITIES.
Any such group NEEDS always a LEADER or FORERUNNER who ordains and
gives orders for some determined activities. The later differ with
the society's establishment conditions and social needs or status
or trends etc. Too often, the leader's guidance doesn't only result
from his own character (see before!) and contemplations but could
originate from some external source. Often such external sources
provide the necessary ideology and material/financial basis for the
group's own activity. These external influences differ in place and
time, with geopolitical and social circumstances at any place and
at different times of human history.
Here are few examples: Ku-Klux-Klan, fascicts' Falanga, Nazi's SA or
SS cadres, China's Revolutinary Guards etc.
I admit that I had been and still I am scared of by such groups. As
a young man, I didn't have any option of making my own decision of
not participating in a repulsive or loathsome GROUP's (= regime)
actions. It had been times of death or survival: it was World War
Two. Now, as a seasoned and life-hardened elder, I try to get away
from any contact or confrontation with any of these irresponsible
groups.
Sean, this is a rather long discourse about your question. The only
advice or answer I can give to it is: read carefully and then contem-
plate about what I have said above. Try to check and rate the merits
of any group before you would like to join it -- if it is within your
power or you dare to carry on with the consequneces of your decision.
I only wonder how you could do this at your young age?
******
For Randi Goldberg :
Q4. : What emotions did you experience at the liberation?
A4. : I wonder why the students ask the elders' about their EMOTIONS and
FEELINGS so often? I haven't been LIBERATED by the end of WW2 at all.
[See my explanations in A2. above!] My country, CROATIA, has won the
liberty and independance only after the recent war in 1991/2 in the
former Yugoslavia. Only after some 75 years Croatia got the interna-
tional acknowledgement as a sovereign state at last. This happened
after a stirring history on the past 9 centuries since the ancient
Kingdom of Croatia. Now, I'm happy and jubilant with the won liberty
for CROATIA. My emotions are HIGH because I have had the chance of
my life to experience this historical moment.
******
For Christopher Sojka :
Q5. : How do you remember your experiences from World War Two?
A5. : I'm fully aware of them - if you have asked this. However, my WW2
experiences and memories are too varying and complex, intimate and
burdening to get described here. I would suggest you or your teacher
asks the co-ordinator of Project Memories sending my previous contri-
butions to this listserv to you. Believe me, they are many and mostly
long letters - some twenty or so. In my letters you could read much
about my experiences from World War Two.
******
Thank you for your questions and hope that my answers would be of
some interest for you. With many regards from
Zvonko of Oak Hill alias now old CROATIAN SOLDIER .
End of MEMORIES.E26 .