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Jun 8 11 3:20 AM
I once made a series of radio documentaries to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.During production I interviewed dozens of vets, former members of the resistance and concentration camp survivors.Most of them were very reticent and humble. None of them considered themselves heroes.
I met one incredible guy, who had a profound impact on me.He was a Jew, Louis de Wijze, who lost his entire family during the war, survived Auschwitz and returned the Netherlands completely destitute.I spent a whole day with him, commuting quite a long distance in his car (because mine broke down - groan) to Westerbork, the Jewish transit camp in the north of the country, where the Jews were housed before being shipped to the east.Throughout the day I was impressed by his sense of humour, which was boisterous, not cynical or wry as you might expect, and his genuine zest for life.I found it quite amazing, particularly as the details of his horrific war-time experiences unfolded.When we got to the camp, he matter-of-factly talked about conditions at the camp; weird, incongruous things like playing soccer, which was his passion, and acting in the weekly variety shows. Conditions at Westebork were austere but nothing like the death camps in the east.Then he spoke about being sent eastwards, a succession of camps before arriving in Auschwitz. No need I think to focus too much on the horrors he experienced there.He survived, partially because of his passion for soccer. As crazy as it sounds, games were staged at Auschwitz and guards bet on the outcome. Players got somewhat favourable treatment, getting slightly better rations and being exempt for the most arduous physical tasks.Then told of the death marches and his final escape, being repatriated to the Netherlands to find he was alone and without possession. He talked about rebuilding his life, starting a family and business and he was very successful. He spoke with great compassion and satisfaction about the life he had snatched back from the gates of hell.His passion and commitment to life was quite amazing to me. I was a pretty dour and bleak young man back then (changed a lot, huh?) and it made me feel uneasy that I would had never really experienced any hardship was so down on life, whereas this man who seen the worst excesses man is capable of (not only in the camps mind you) was aglow with a lust for life.I asked him how he managed to go on and for the first time that day he got really emotional. His face clouded and a fierce resolve entered his eyes. He looked at me and said that if he had allowed the rest of his life to be miserable, then the Nazis would have had the final victory but - and I'll never forget it - he looked me straight in the eye and I could see the triumph there and said; "all those bastards (I remember being shocked by the ferocity of the word because he was very soft-spoken), Hitler and Himmler and Goering, all those bastards who wanted me dead.... I survived them all!" To me then - and even now - Louis embodied the triumph of good over evil, proving to me - contrary to all the evidence to the opposite - that we are capable of greatness and great courage, without resorting to violence.We stayed in touch for a while after that day. I would ring him up periodically and he would always ask me if I had bought a new car yet. ;-)My first child was on the way when I interviewed him and he always asked after him.We lost touch, which saddened me, but when my second book was published in 2006, I wanted to give him a copy because the book particually deals with self-actualization; a process I trace back to my meeting with him. MY girlfriend reached out to him because I was too reluctant to 'intrude' and presume upon our acquaintenceship. He remembered me and eagerly agreed to a meeting. Something came up, however, (ain't that life) and we didn't meet up. He died about two years ago.Louis de Wijze, he was one of the good ones. Btw, I just now realized that his surname means 'the wise one' in Dutch. Ain't that a kick in the head?Don't know why I felt compelled to write that all down.
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