A Student's Determination Brings Resource Speaker
Sidney Finkel's Personal Experience of the Holocaust to Many

Sidney Finkel, a survivor of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, frequently speaks to Facing History students, teachers and other groups about his experiences as a child during the war. On the last day of the Rescuers of the Holocaust exhibition he was introduced to Josie Miner, the daughter of Chicago Advisory Committee member Linda Miner. When Josie heard that Sidney was going to be traveling within 400 miles of her school (Reed College) the following week, she requested that he speak there. Despite everyone's doubts that she would be able to make the arrangements so quickly, Josie pulled it off. In Sidney's words:

. . . Josie was extremely nervous about the evening. She had ordered coffee and cookies for 50 people, but then decided to reduce it to 25. She was terribly afraid that very few students would show up. Josie had no support from the school or its faculty. She and her friends had placed signs around the campus announcing the night's event.

Josie took me to see the room where I was to speak. It was a medium size room that had 100 chairs set up. I noticed that even though it was half an hour to my talk, three students were already seated. "Josie," I said, "The fact that you have three students this early could mean that there is interest."

More and more students were coming into the room. Josie's response was "Oh my God, oh my God!" It quickly became obvious that the room was too small. "Oh, my God, what should we do?" asked Josie. Luckily, more senior students came to our aid. "Let's move it to the lecture hall," said one senior, and with that Josie announced that we were moving.

The lecture room was set up like a Roman arena with seats in the center, left and right, and above it was a huge balcony. What was happening now was nothing short of a miracle. All 400 seats in this theater were taken up, with students standing in the aisles. Reed College students have a reputation for not attending planned events. How had this happened? We didn't have the answers. Here was nineteen year old freshman Josie, responsible for this night, and very, very nervous. "Sidney," asked Josie, "Can you speak to this many people?" "Sure." I said, "Speaking to 400 is no different than speaking to 20."

Now the time had come to start. Josie stood before her fellow students and said "Thank you for coming, here is Sidney." I knew that she had prepared a more lengthy introduction, but was too nervous to go through with it. I went to the corner of the stage where Josie was hiding and took her by her hand. We walked to the center of the stage, and I told these students of how this young woman's determination had made it possible for me to be here tonight. I finished by saying, "Josie has a lot of chutzpah;" the students roared with appreciative laughter. "But I am not surprised since I know her mother," I said, and there was more laughter.

I began to tell my story. I started with a description of my sisters and brother, and went into the adventures of the little boy Sevek [Sidney's nickname as a boy in Poland]. I looked at their faces and I knew that this audience was with me. They laughed at all the right places and what I saw was that, by some miracle, we had established a bond between us.

I wanted them to see my new video. I turned on the VCR and on came the pictures of myself as a youngster, my family and photographs after the war in England. Then came the memorial pictures and names of men, women, and especially children, that were gassed at Treblinka. Looking at the young women in the audience, I saw tears running down their faces. I have seen these photos on the screen many times and they still move me. When the video ended, I asked if there were any questions. A dozen hands shot up in the air. I love to engage in intelligent conversations. The questions were serious and gave me an opportunity to answer them as honestly as possible. After the questions ended, I thanked everyone for coming.

Now something happened that will live in my memory forever. The whole student body was standing and applauding me. I was alone on the stage as 400 future leaders of our country stood and paid tribute. I looked all around the lecture hall. Was this real or was it just a dream? I had to keep looking to make sure that it was real. Just a few minutes before, I had been asked if I ever cried. My answer was "no." How I wished now that I could cry with the happiness that I was experiencing. I also had the feeling that my father, mother, my sisters Frania and Ronia and my brother Issy were looking down at me saying, "Well done Sevek, we all live in your memory of us."