Based on a true story - high school teacher's attempted lesson on fascism gone awry

Whole Earth Review, Summer, 1993 by Ron Jones

"I have no mother to come and fuss over me. No mother to show my healthy child to. You must realize we have no one but our children. Our families are gone, our parents, brothers and sisters, our uncles, all gone. Everything is gone, taken away from us -- even hope for the future sometimes leaves us. It is hard to explain. We are like actresses. On the outside we are laughing and smiling and talking to you. But inside everything is rotten and dark, and will remain so until the end of our lives."

Other members of the conference slowly took their places next to Eva.

"My mother thrust into my hand a toothbrush and toothpaste, that's all I remember; she was told to go to the left side, toward this building that seemed on fire --"

"Two children on the train, in the car with us for so many days without food or water. And they were crying, all the way crying, they wouldn't stop crying. Their mother choked them to death because she could not stand to watch them suffer. But, you know something, I was glad the crying finally stopped."

"I had this nail on my platform sticking out and at night I'd stick myself, make myself bleed, 'cause I wanted to be like the doctors."

"Two dwarves, twins like us, and the guards made them dance naked in front of Mengele. Standing naked the guards always laughed at us..."

"I remember this small gypsy boy all dressed in white and kept on a leash like a dog."

"Sonderkommandos, the young boys who worked inside the gas chambers, every day they'd give us reports: 10,000 burned today, 8,000 yesterday, you'll be next! They kept telling me: you'll be next!"

Eva stopped the bleeding by directing the press to the next item on her agenda. "So today at three o'clock we are going to the high school here, and we will be telling students our stories, and Mr. Jones he will be telling students about what happened in his classroom, it's an important lesson for the children to hear. Can you imagine, we will be talking to over two thousand children here in Terre Haute and we hope you will report this on your television and in your newspapers ..." As Eva spoke, the reporters filtered out of the room. Eva was explaining how she had personally financed the conference and how she expected many late arrivals as the last reporter left the room. The man with the mustache muttered, "They don't really want to know, don't really care."

For a moment Eva was silent. And then she was once again cajoling, pushing, insisting that we proceed to the high school. "The teachers will care, the students will care, they will be waiting for us." Her faith was unmovable. "They will listen to us and know they have a choice in life, not to hate, they will know the importance of resisting racism and its lies ..." With Eva leading the way we marched to the school auditorium.

Our destination was the final insult. The auditorium was empty. We huddled in a circle at the foot of the stage -- looking, waiting, for Eva to tell us to just go home. Then the rear doors of the auditorium opened.