Eva Olsson's Presentation

Hate. A word we use everyday, without really realizing its strong meaning, and its power. People say that they hate vegetables, or they hate a pair of shoes, or a T-shirt. We use the word hate too loosely. It's okay to dislike something. But never hate. Why? Because hate is what brought Eva Olsson to her near death experience. Hate is how six million completely innocent people were killed. Not one of them did anything wrong. They were hated because of their religion. Because they were Jewish.

This Monday at school, grades 7-12 attended a presentation by a remarkable lady named Eva Olsson, who is a Holocaust survivor. She told us all about the events that killed her family, and many other Jews. Her presentation was inspiring, and at the same time, heart-breaking. Many people were crying, and I can promise you that every single person in the chapel was listening.

Eva Olsson is said to be lucky. Lucky because she survived the Holocaust. But may I ask you, is she really lucky? She saw her mother, and the rest of her family killed right in front of her face. She suffered the horrible fate of being a Jew in that time. She was not only tortured by bullies, but also let down by the bystanders, who lined up like they were watching an interesting parade, when the Jewish people were marched to the box cars where they were shipped to their death.

I think that Eva had many good points, but I really liked this one: She told us that family is the most important thing in life, and that we should tell our family that we love them every day because tomorrow we might not have the chance. Even though Eva has lived through those horrible events, the thing that she is most traumatized by is losing her mom, and the rest of her family. It shows you that family is definitely important. You can never replace family.

When the Holocaust finally ended, Eva found a true friend. Her husband. But he was also taken away from her when he was only 38 years old by a drunk driver. That was the reason for her last lesson. Never drink and drive because it takes innocent lives, like Eva's husband's, just like the Holocaust did.

After 50 years of silence, Eva has found even more courage, and has spoken up and told her story to over one million people. Why? Eva wants everyone to know what happened to her, and to so many other innocent people, so that it will never, ever happen again. She taught everyone in the audience valuable life lessons that she learned from her experiences. I will definitely never forget her moving speech, and I hope that others won't either.