Miriam Itzkowitz – Year 10

Last Tuesday, Year 10 had a visit from guest speaker, Mr Paul Drexler, to speak about his life as a Holocaust survivor and shed light on his father’s story. This was integral in our understanding of the history behind the Eugen Drexler Memorial Essay and the Holocaust, a task which Year 10 students complete based on their understandings of the Holocaust, World War II and a primary account from a Holocaust survivor.

The Eugen Drexler Memorial Essay is named after Mr Paul Drexler’s father. Mr Drexler and his parents were taken to a ghetto where he and his mother were separated from his father. Mr Drexler spoke resiliently and vividly about his memories of the Shoah, recounting his experiences hiding on a farm, being arrested, seeing his parents being beaten – things that “no child should ever have to experience”. He didn’t think he’d ever see his father again, but while in the ghetto, his father actually served him food once, a memory that has stuck with him and which was unfortunately the last time he saw his father.

Mr Drexler and his mother were sent on a train to Theresienstadt just before the war finished and once they were liberated, his mother went to check for Eugen every day. One day, Mrs Drexler came back with the news that he’d been shot and killed, something which Paul struggled to come to terms with for many, many years.

I commend Mr Drexler for being so willing and capable of talking about such a painful subject, and while the school task can be confronting at times, it’s a respectful way of commemorating and recognising the lives of so many who perished because of mass discrimination, genocide and prejudice. I hope that this task will improve my understanding of the Holocaust and in doing so, allow me and my peers to grow a stronger connection to our Judaism.