By: Caitlin V. Reidy
Magda Bader’s teenage years did not include giggling by the school bubbler or going to the mall with her friends. Instead, she spent her childhood years going from a ghetto, to a cramped cattle car, and eventually being placed in deadly concentration camps during World War II.
Ms. Bader is a Holocaust Survivor who has witnessed the worst of humanity. Instead of staying silent, she has shared her personal story countless times with the hope of educating individuals of the dangers of not just baseless hatred, but the moral risks of being a bystander in the face of conflict, oppression, and discrimination.
“I want to hope that the world will be a little bit of a better place,” Ms. Bader said.
Ms. Bader said she was in a ghetto for a short time before being sent on a cattle car that went to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
“Hilter was out to kill all of the Jewish people, as well as people with physical and mental handicaps, and those who were homosexual,” Ms. Bader said. “He killed anyone that he thought wasn’t like him, and he didn’t work alone.”
Ms. Bader said before she was sent to Auschwitz, she had never imagined such a place. She said many countries cooperated with Hitler’s vision, and he killed anyone who did not follow through with his vision.
“His main objective was to kill, so no one would come out alive,” Ms. Bader said.
Recently, Ms. Bader told her story to a group of Anna Maria College students taking a course called “Holocaust and the Arts,” taught by Professor Nancy Fournier. According to Fournier, the class explores the Holocaust through the lens of drama, art, music, literature, and the visual arts.
“We still have more work to do to help students to be more aware of their role in making a difference in their lives and that of future generations,” Fournier said.
Instead of watching a movie or reading a piece of literature, History itself walked through the doors of Anna Maria College and told a story of life, death, sadness, and resilience. With sparkling blue eyes, a soft but clear voice, and an experienced, yet keen memory, Ms. Bader shared her story of loss, survival, and liberation to a group of students, some who had no prior knowledge of the Holocaust before taking this course.
“Hatred created the Holocaust,” Ms. Bader said. “The hatred that you see these days is repetition because it didn’t start right away, it started towards one group, then another.”
Ms. Bader was the youngest of 10 children. In 1944, at 14 years old, her family was forcibly removed from their home in modern-day Ukraine by Nazi occupiers and was sent to a ghetto. Later, Ms. Bader recounted being forced onto a cramped cattle car with her family, which headed to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. She was separated from family members, including her parents, whom she never saw again.
Two days short of Ms. Bader’s 15th birthday, she escaped from the second labor camp that she was sent to, Bergen-Belson, in Germany, with her sister. She escaped in the midst of guards leaving their posts and their confusion before near-liberation. After she was liberated and the war had ended, Ms. Bader worked for the British Red Cross, where she assisted displaced persons, like herself.
After much difficulty, Ms. Bader said she went to England, where she reconnected with her other siblings who had survived the war. She went to art school in London, and received a scholarship to the University of Denver in the United States. She said she arrived in the United States in November, 1949.
“When I saw the Statue of Liberty, it spoke to me,” Ms. Bader said. “When I arrived in the United States, I could have kissed the ground. For me, America was my lifesaver.”
When Ms. Bader arrived in New York on a ship, she went to earn a bachelor’s degree at the University of Denver in Colorado. She then received a grant to Columbia University, where she received her master’s degree. Ms. Bader was an elementary school teacher for one year, and later taught art until she retired from public education in 1993. She now speaks about her experience as a Holocaust Survivor to schools and colleges.
“I talk about my experience during the Holocaust because I hope people will listen to each other,” Ms. Bader said. “We want people to listen to us, hear us, see us, and respect us. I have to be the same type of person that I expect others to be.”
What was usually a 90-minute class at Anna Maria College turned into a one hour and 45 minute historical account from someone who had looked Evil directly in the eyes, and prevailed, despite the traumatic journey. Not one student left the class early. It was so quiet during Ms. Bader’s account, that nothing but the sound of her soft voice could be heard in the room where she spoke.
After Ms. Bader’s presentation, she was embraced by several students. She showed them historical pictures of her family, as well as her identification she had received after the war. Several students commented on how the intensity of her survival had touched them.
“It was history coming alive for them,” Fournier said. “My students remained clearly engaged in the presentation by Magda, as evidenced by not using their phones at all during her visit and their willingness to remain totally engaged in her speaking beyond the time that was allotted.”
Dr. Lisa LeBlanc, who has worked at Anna Maria College for several years as an English and Humanities professor, and has worked in the role of Department Chair, said she proposed a Holocaust Literature class many years ago to the Department Chair at the time.
“The Chair didn't think it would run, so I offered to do it as a summer class, “ LeBlanc said. “It was the highest enrollment for any English summer class we'd had, so it became a part of the regular rotation and I've been teaching it since.”
LeBlanc said when Fournier had suggested the Arts course, she approved it, knowing it would add something important to the curriculum.
“I have taught this course many times, and now I have students helping me with it,” LeBlanc said. “One student has introduced me to a couple of survivors; another brought in souvenirs from the war. It's great that they [my students] are able to continue my education as well.”
The most important lesson came from Ms. Bader herself. She shared that during times of war, hatred, and conflict, we must all remember to be kind to one another and to treat everyone, no matter their culture, race, or religion, as human beings.
“We are all human beings,” Ms. Bader said. “We need to learn to get along, respect each other, and live side by side.”