Holocaust Survivor Struggled To Recapture Faith

Zev Kedem got a tattoo when he was 10 years old, and as might be expected of a child his age, he cried. However, he did not cry tears of discomfort, but tears of happiness.

He was happy because he knew that getting that tattoo meant the Nazis weren’t going to kill him that night.

Zev Kedem, a Holocaust survivor and self-proclaimed Schindler’s List reject, spoke the Lyric Theatre recently about his experiences growing up during the Holocaust. Kedem also discussed the relevance and effectiveness of the film “Schindler’s List,” which he both consulted on andappeared in.

“Schindler’s List” was shown preceding Kedem’s speech.

“If it dealt with all the absolute truth of the Holocaust it would be totally unpalatable,” Kedem said when talking about the film. “It deals with the essential truth of the Holocaust. It is structured in a dramatized way which communicates to normal people.”

Kedem consulted with director Steven Spielberg on a scene which shows children trying to find a hiding place during the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto.

In real life, 8-year-old Kedem hid in a pigeon coop with his grandparents while the soldiers of the SS were making their way through the ghetto. Kedem had to hide because the minimum working age for a concentration camp was 13 years old, and anyone younger than 13 was supposed to be killed.

“I had no doubt what my future was,” Kedem said, expecting to be killed.

Kedem also described his views of Oscar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved the lives of more than 1,000 Jews and was the inspiration for the book “Schindler’s Ark,” which later inspired “Schindler’s List.” He spoke of Schindler as the ultimate hero.

“If Oscar Schindler had been a virtuous, righteous man he could never negotiate with the Nazis,” Kedem said. “He used his imperfection to save lives.”

“I wish I would see more of that in present day society,” Kedem said.

Later on, Kedem talked about his struggle with believing in a God after living through the Holocaust.

“How can I make a leap of faith to a religion,” Kedem said, “and where was God during this period?”

Kedem said that the audiences at his speeches serve as his support group as he continues to work through and grow his Jewish faith, and he compared this relationship to having a support group in Alcoholics Anonymous.

It was Kedem’s first time in all of his years of speaking to talk right after a showing of “Schindler’s List,” he said.

This event was the first Holocaust Awareness Week that Hillel has sponsored a showing “Schindler’s List,” Susan Kurtz, executive director of the Hillel program at Virginia Tech, said. They have had different survivors from the surrounding community come and speak during past events, Kurtz said.

Rachel Castonguay, a Virginia Tech student, says that the movie is important because it “…speaks to a number of things no one wants to remember.”

“You see something different every time you watch it,” Shay Nevo, the Hillel president, said.

Kurtz had never seen “Schindler’s List” before. “Schindler’s List” is a hard film to watch, and the fact that it is more than than hours long makes it even harder, Kurtz said.

After watching the movie and listening to Kedem speak, Kurtz reiterated that the film was difficult to watch.

“It was really hard,” Kurtz said. “He [Zev Kedem] said it was awesome. It was awesome.”