Event Title
Noémi Ban Speaks: a compilation of recorded public talks
Description
In Marla's words:
“Why is this project important?
My grandparents escaped from Poland before they were teenagers. Members of their extended family did not. My mother used to tell me the story of her mother, my grandmother, pointing out family members photographed in the camps that were shown on the newsreels in the movie theater.
Shortly after 2001, when my daughter was in public middle school, I had the opportunity to hear Noémi Ban speak of her personal experience in the concentration camps. I had met her well before then, but didn’t know her story. What I heard that day shook me and changed my life. I had never met a Holocaust survivor in person, or had even heard a story from a witness, until that day.
Noémi has told her story hundreds of times over the past thirty years to thousands of listeners. I have seen her speak in front of groups of people an average of once a year. Middle school, high school, and college students, as well as members of the community of all ages. Her voice is strong, even though sometimes her volume wavers. She is still telling the whole story, from start to finish, in just an hour, with no notes.
This is not a story that she wrote down and had to memorize. She is not acting when her eyes tear up as she speaks of losing her loved ones. What I can tell you is that over the years, while the story has not changed, her memories become occasionally sharper as the years go by. Sometimes, the words are hard to find. Some events are remembered and discussed in great detail. Others may be left out when she speaks.
Noémi is 95 as I write this. She has great-grandchildren that are under the age of 10. In five years I want them to be able to hear her tell her story, to give her testimony, complete, from start to finish. The memories stay with her and come back to haunt her. I hope to help future generations to hear her same story directly from her.
A number of talks were sponsored by the Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Ethnocide Education of Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University. These have been recorded over the years. There was not time at every talk to give all of the details of her story. In 2005, she talked about the guards throwing dresses to the women after they showered, and how they didn’t always fit. In 2011, she spoke of her grandmother’s words regarding her hidden candlestick in Hungarian. She also told the story of her grand piano, and recounted the potato story for the first time. In 2017, she talked about the Jewish star she wears all the time. I have edited these together into a single timeline, for the purpose of having a legacy of Noémi’s testimony, to be used as a teaching tool for future generations.
Noemi has had the opportunity to view this video. I want to thank her for sharing her story, and for speaking of her love of life.”
Document Type
Event
Resource Type
Moving image
Genre/Form
lectures
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Hungary--Personal narratives; Holocaust survivors--Biography; Jews--Hungary--Biography; Concentration camps--Poland
Geographic Coverage
Oswiecim (Poland)
Subjects - Names (LCNAF)
Ban, Noemi
Keywords
Holocaust survivor, Auschwitz, Concentration camps, Noemi Ban
Type
Moving Image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Noémi Ban Speaks: a compilation of recorded public talks
In Marla's words:
“Why is this project important?
My grandparents escaped from Poland before they were teenagers. Members of their extended family did not. My mother used to tell me the story of her mother, my grandmother, pointing out family members photographed in the camps that were shown on the newsreels in the movie theater.
Shortly after 2001, when my daughter was in public middle school, I had the opportunity to hear Noémi Ban speak of her personal experience in the concentration camps. I had met her well before then, but didn’t know her story. What I heard that day shook me and changed my life. I had never met a Holocaust survivor in person, or had even heard a story from a witness, until that day.
Noémi has told her story hundreds of times over the past thirty years to thousands of listeners. I have seen her speak in front of groups of people an average of once a year. Middle school, high school, and college students, as well as members of the community of all ages. Her voice is strong, even though sometimes her volume wavers. She is still telling the whole story, from start to finish, in just an hour, with no notes.
This is not a story that she wrote down and had to memorize. She is not acting when her eyes tear up as she speaks of losing her loved ones. What I can tell you is that over the years, while the story has not changed, her memories become occasionally sharper as the years go by. Sometimes, the words are hard to find. Some events are remembered and discussed in great detail. Others may be left out when she speaks.
Noémi is 95 as I write this. She has great-grandchildren that are under the age of 10. In five years I want them to be able to hear her tell her story, to give her testimony, complete, from start to finish. The memories stay with her and come back to haunt her. I hope to help future generations to hear her same story directly from her.
A number of talks were sponsored by the Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Ethnocide Education of Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University. These have been recorded over the years. There was not time at every talk to give all of the details of her story. In 2005, she talked about the guards throwing dresses to the women after they showered, and how they didn’t always fit. In 2011, she spoke of her grandmother’s words regarding her hidden candlestick in Hungarian. She also told the story of her grand piano, and recounted the potato story for the first time. In 2017, she talked about the Jewish star she wears all the time. I have edited these together into a single timeline, for the purpose of having a legacy of Noémi’s testimony, to be used as a teaching tool for future generations.
Noemi has had the opportunity to view this video. I want to thank her for sharing her story, and for speaking of her love of life.”
Comments
Credits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPnPze-LROo Viking News 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7guKKbnz94 Lynden High School 2015
https://youtu.be/zcQh4Rv4QiE
Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION :56 A BIT OF HISTORY 3:00 THE ANTI-JEWISH LAWS 3:02 THE YELLOW STAR 3:58 THE GHETTO 6:57 CALL FOR ABLE BODIED MEN 8:18 THE FACTORY 12:41 THE CATTLE CAR 18:29 ARRIVAL IN AUSCHWITZ 26:40 FOOD 33:09 WATER 36:10 ROLL CALL 44:38 WHERE ARE OUR DEAR ONES? 47:56 TRANSFER TO BUCHENWALD 53:30 THE BOMB FACTORY (MÜNCHMÜHLE) 58:21 WHY TALK ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST 1:00:00 THE BEGINNING