The Children of Buchenwald (en

And they wept also and began to feel again. Their humanity returned.

“Over time, my natural optimism which remains to this day, accommodated also one area of darkness derived from that time of danger and fear. It is readily tapped, a reservoir of indescribable sadness.”

We do not know what happened to each and every boy but many stay in touch with Judith, and I know several. Lulek, 8 years old at liberation is now Chief Rabbi Israel Meier Lau of the State of Israel. His older brother, Napthali became Israel’s Consul-General to New York. Elie Wiesel, age 16 in 1945, has dedicated his life to remembering the Shoah (Hebrew for the Holocaust) and to teaching about evil, particularly the evil of indifference. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. Several _ Buchenwald boys became nuclear physicists, two became Directors of

Hospitals and one of Children’s Services.

I know some whaghave become successful busineSsmen and who are warm and caring husband and fathers. From Judith’s home at least three boys became Rabbis for she was in charge of those boys who decided to stay religious, in contrast to others who rebelled against Judaism.

Some failed in life but a remarkable number succeeded against incredible odds to carve out lives of worth and decency. How is it that they did not become killers? Given what was - done to them, why did they not seek revenge? Was the trauma too great even

for vengeance?

All I know is that the wounds remain despite the comparative successes achieved. We emerged with wounded souls. I know. For even in my “best of curcumstances” hiding, shortly after, I learned of our losses and I saw the tortured men and women return. Over time, my natural optimism which remains to this day, accommodated also one area of darkness derived from that time of danger and fear. It is readily

~ tapped, a reservoir of indescribable

sadness.

Robert Krell is a child phsyciatrist, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, a noted author, and the founder of the British Columbia Holocaust Museum. He lives, with his family, in Vancouver

An Englishman In

Korea by Craig Patterson

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In early June of 1997 I attended an interview at an agency that sent ESL teachers to Korea. Working overseas was my girlfriend’s idea, but she was able to convince me to go along as I wasn’t doing anything too important here. I wasn’t completely sold on the idea of Korea, as all I knew about the country was that they made lousy cars and Henry Blake died there.

However, based on my past performances in interviews, I felt pretty confident that I would walk out of there not only without the job, but completely blacklisted from the country.

I was soon to discover the desperation of these men as the very next day they phoned us both to inform us that the jobs were ours. Of course this offer was accompanied by the information that while they were unsure of my abilities, they really wanted my girlfriend, so I was in too.

Right again. Being told that our working visas would be “taken care of” later on, two weeks later we were on a plane for Ulsan, in the southeast corner of Korea.

In the days prior to this I had tried to take some time to prepare for the trip, to gather some useful Korean phrases and information on what was acceptable behavior.

Unfortunately all I was able to do t: was head down to Chapters for a book on Korean slang. As it turned out this wasn’t really necessary anyway, as virtually every Korean I met, saw me as an opportunity to practise their English.

Upon arriving in Ulsan we were greeted by our two new employers. While in Korea and since I have returned, I’ve heard many nasty stories about experiences had by English teachers. Most of these involved some sort of despotic boss