How does a mother’s love make a difference against the forces of a totalitarian Nazi regime? How can her legacy help us move forward with hope and resilience as we face the pain of losing innocent lives due to the terrorist actions of a tyrant in power? How can we raise awareness on the need to preserve democracy?
How can we teach the new generations that democracy matters?
When we learn the lessons from history, we are better prepared to face the challenges with the foresight needed. Perhaps voting will be understood as a duty to save lives…I will never understand why so many people have taken democracy for granted in the United States of America.
Rachelle Unreich’s book is a good
resource to believe in the power of our knowledge and determination, to stand
together against the abuse of power of a regime that slanders, labels and
persecutes decent human beings.
Mira Unreich has a lot to teach us after surviving four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a Death March. She was eighty-eight years old when she was diagnosed with cancer in Melbourne, Australia, where she lived. Rachelle, her youngest daughter, was taking care of her mother when Mira was battling cancer. She asked her questions as a form of distraction, but then she realized that her mother’s experiences could be a source of hope for others. She was right. Her book came to me when I needed it. This is what happens with books. They are like satellite souls of the authors with the gentle power to create bridges of understanding, solace and community. They forge paths of hope and faith, and so I want to share this quote from Rachelle’s book when she refers to the coincidences in her mother’s life. “It was how it was in Mira’s life: coincidences folding over and over each other, forming such an elaborate pattern that it was impossible to tell where they started, and if they were finished.”
Mira passed away ten years ago. During the
pandemic Rachelle decided to write down her story.
How did Mira survive the atrocities she
witnessed and the devastating experiences she went through during her teenage
years?
Mira
was born to a loving family in a small town in Czechoslovakia. She had a talent
for singing and learning different languages. People were attracted to her
warmth and positive attitude. Love,
music and joy filled her childhood; it was a pleasure to read about her
culture. Things changed for them, however, when the dehumanizing and
scapegoating of Jews under the Nazi regime took over Germany like an epidemic;
Jewish children had to drop out of schools; Jewish families were treated as
“suspicious”. The Nazis imposed legislation to strip away their civil and human rights, and to destroy their livelihoods, jobs, businesses.
The nazi regime targeted and and killed millions of Jews, but it also persecuted and murdered LGBTQs, Poles, Roma, people with disabilities, communists and dissidents of the regime.
Mira had three brothers and one sister. Her
sister and one of her brothers were taken to concentration camps and died. Her
father was shot in front of the family the day the Gestapo officers forced
themselves into Mira’s home, a few hours before Mira and her family were about
to escape from their house.
The
details of her life as a prisoner in the concentration camps were hard to read. Through Rachelle's book, I continued to learn more about the cruelty of the Nazis and the brutality of
the Holocaust. The sadistic behaviors of the abusers are hard to comprehend,
but one can perceive the same kind of cruelty in certain modern speeches in America.
The dehumanization of people they considered
different fueled the executions, the tortures, the starvation of millions of
people exposed to the elements. Families were torn apart, and many of them were
sent to work under inhumane conditions that led to their deaths.
Following
the liberation of the Neustadt concentration camp on April 30, 1945, Mira knew
she had to brace herself for the dangers that lurked around her. No place around her appeared to be safe. I was astonished to learn about the cases of rape of some
former prisoners by soldiers who were supposed to be there to liberate them.
Those days were full of uncertainty and confusion. Thankfully, Mira did well
and managed to be safe, but other women were raped or even lost their lives in the
hands of soldiers. I was impressed by the painstaking approach to her story, by
how she was able to put all the information together.
All in all, A Brilliant Life is not
only a relevant historical testimony but also an examination of how the trauma
of Mira’s experiences somehow touched aspects of her life and her
relationships. Yet it did not prevent her from living life to its fullest
potential.
Mira
would finally reunite with two of her brothers under the most incredible
circumstances, and they would start a new life after the war. Read A
Brilliant Life and find out more about it.
As she
shared her story, Mira tried to focus on the goodness of those who helped her
along the way. Despite the horrors, I
was able to savor the mystical moments of “protection” that enabled her to
survive in the concentration camps.
During the worst days of her captivity,
there were helpers who made a difference. I was speechless to learn about them.
Those were moments of wonder and faith, like little miracles that saved her
life. The kindness of those people made a world of difference, and the love of Mira's mother was always inside her, sustaining her hope… I needed this book this week. I also needed
to share it.
Mira survived but millions of people
perished in the hands of the Nazis. I would like to believe that human beings
learned something from history, but the election of November 2024 in America showed that this was not the case. It was not enough to stop seventy-seven million people
from voting for a man who liked to read Mein Kampf and spewed Hitler-like speeches
at rallies. Calling others “vermin” and refrerring to immigrants as people that poison the blood of Americans is just one example of this. Additionally, ninety
million people in America looked the other way and chose not to vote,
empowering a criminal. Think about it for a minute: a woman needs to be
perfect to become president in America, but a man can be anything...
One aspect I want to highlight about reading this book is how the Nazis tried to hide their evil, depraved behaviors, how they found a way
to convince others that what they did was right. We need to pay attention. As I
write this, people are being kidnapped by masked men in America. People die in
detention centers. Why are Democratic members of Congress restricted in their access to ICE facilities in Minneapolis? This is serious.
A message of
solidarity
I am deeply sad and outraged about the brutal murder of Alex Pretti. Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse. He worked hard saving veterans’ lives.
Alex was giving aid to a woman when a
bunch of border patrol agents attacked him viciously. Seven Border Patrol
“agents” bludgeoned him to the ground and then they shot him ten times. It
is not true that he had been brandishing a gun. He was a legal gun owner,
but he was doing nothing illegal. Alex had only been filming the violent
actions of those agents with his cell phone, but Nazis like to hide
their evil actions so they murdered him. Seven cowards against a brave,
courageous, kind man of integrity. Seven Gestapo agents against one hero. It is
hard to watch. It is heartbreaking.
This is
what the trump regime is doing, so, please, America, wake up. Please vote out
anybody who supports the trump regime.
Let’s not forget Renee Nicole Good. Say her name. Let’s not forget Keith Porter. I recently learned about him. What kind of government slaughters innocent citizens and falsely accuses them of being domestic terrorists? Think about that for a moment.
My heart is with the people of
Minnesota, where innocent citizens are being kidnapped from their homes by
cowards wearing masks. These thugs force themselves into homes without court
orders, just like the Gestapo did in Nazi Germany. They violate the Fourth and Fourteenth
amendments of the US Constitution. Now they also want to violate the Second
Amendment. They want to trash our democracy. They think they are above the law
but nobody is above the law. They should be held accountable. Remember
that the trump regime is using our tax dollars to cause terror, persecute and
even kill innocent people.
Desperate
to hide the Epstein files and the Trump effects on the economy the trump regime
does whatever it can to cause outrage, sow division and spread hatred. That is
all the trump regime has to offer. There is nothing else but constant lies, corruption, cruelty, violence and hatred. There are
threats to invade other countries and there is propaganda to praise the regime.
If you have not done so yet, read my blog post
on Alexei Navalny’s book. Putin’s tactics are set in motion in America through
the trump regime. Also, read Alexei Navalny’s book if you have not done so yet. You
will not be disappointed.
Thank you for visiting this site. Stay strong.
Stay informed. Remember that every voice matters. Every act of kindness and
solidarity can help make a difference.
Democracy depends on us.
Relevant
links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11bK4bjsiGg
https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-shooting-congress-visit-ice-5eb6749b18d59ed8c47b5eeab9784432
