Poland - Part 3: What Would the Victims Want?

Millions of victims from Nazi atrocities during the Second World War are still unacknowledged in Holocaust literature. Sure, there is documentation on the subject. But it is limited and to this day, the approximate numbers of non-Jewish victims, and their stories, continue to be skirted by the media at large.

I thought of those millions who met a grisly end during the Second World War, only to be forgotten by millions more. And I wondered, "What would these forgotten have wanted?" In fact, what would all eleven million victims want today?

Would they want us to represent their voices on a segregated basis, that is, by religion, culture, race, nationality, politics, or sex?

Or would they ask us to consider them collectively through no affiliation?

Would they want us to give prominence to some orientations, but give vague or general billing to others?

Or would they ask us that we honestly account for all affiliations by number - even if approximate - when broaching the Holocaust?

These are questions that I wondered about upon my return to Toronto. Remarkably a few days later, I came across some answers.

Lise and Maurice Spagat live down the street from me. They are an exemplary couple who have been married to one another for years, and have raised a family. They are also survivors of Nazi concentration camps in Poland.

I met Lise and Maurice last June, briefly enjoying their company while I photographed an event. And I remember mentioning to Lise that I would have to go to Poland. It was absurd not to after I had written four chapters of a story, set in that country during 1942.

Eleven months later, and after my first visit to Poland, I walked down my street and chanced upon Maurice. I informed him of what I'd seen during my travels and how disturbed I was by the Nazi concentration camps.

"Some, like the leader of Iran, don't believe that the camps existed, that the atrocities ever happened," he said.

"Then they should go there," I replied.

Asking me for more details, Maurice mentioned that Lise had been interned in Stutthof. Then he unbuttoned his shirt cuff, rolled it up, and turned his wrist to show the inside of his forearm. There, was a numbered tattoo; he had been in Auschwitz.

I told Maurice that I was troubled by my experiences at Auschwitz, not only because of the worst and most systematic cruelty I have ever seen represented. But also because of the religious conflicts I sensed in evidence today. "We have learned nothing," I added before asking him, "As a survivor, if you were chosen to speak on behalf of all those who did not make it, what do you think the victims of Nazi concentration camps would want, today?"

"The truth," he replied, adding, "And to know why it took so long for the West - Britain and the United States - to do something."

Maurice is still resentful of Poles, mentioning that they did nothing. And I pointed out that that is not altogether true; that there were many Poles who risked their lives at a time when the population was threatened with death for helping. I'd like to ask Maurice for his personal experiences in this regard. I'd also like to lend him a book I picked up on a similar topic.

London Has Been Informed: Reports by Auschwitz Escapees, edited by Henryk Swiebocki, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (2002) mentions with proof the information relayed by the Polish Underground to the Polish Government-in-Exile in London. That information, in turn, was reported to the Governments of the Allied and Neutral Powers as early as May 1941. Unfortunately, early reports on the atrocities committed against Poles were not taken seriously. And subsequent reports on the exclusionary horrors being perpetrated on Jews were also treated in a cavalier manner by the West. That is, until 1943. Even then, it would take another year or so to finally dismantle the Nazi grip on the camps.

But back to the present...Maurice wants to see my photo essay, and while I prepare, I wonder whether my images can accurately convey all that I saw and all that I felt.

I also wonder if there is hope through dialogue. Dialogue to establish more intellectual honesty on all counts. Dialogue to gain more respect and accountability for all differences.

In the meantime, I welcome getting together again with the Spagats. I would also like to continue connecting with the many who extended their kindness to me during my visit to their countries.