"Hatred is No Solution"

I'll just say it:

I've done some cool things.

...saw authentic Jim Henson Muppets in person

...book signing by one of my favorite [living] authors

...ate a Mike's Pastry cannoli in Boston

I've been to some cool places.

...Disney World (admittedly my favorite)

...Manhattan

...Rockport, MA

But last night, I had an experience I hope I never forget.

The college where I teach has an annual Ragsdale Lecture, an event I've never attended, but this year they booked a Holocaust survivor.

Did you catch that?

An actual Holocaust survivor spoke at my school last night (click here for pictures!).

As I sat in the college's banquet hall 20 minutes early, I was impressed that the event didn't start on time due to the unexpected turnout and needing more chairs.

Once Mr. Ben Walker took the podium, you could hear a pen drop.

He began by admitting that he didn't want to talk about the Holocaust for years, but he finally decided he needed to speak up "against the hatred."

Listening to this man speak was such an honor. All the social media posts surrounding this event have used that word--"honor"--but it really was. As he told his story which I have tried in earnest to share with you below, he was very passionate about not sharing only his piece but the "untold story" of the Holocaust. He seemed to be such a genuine man.

"I only have one religion...What good can I do today?"

Beyond the event itself, I hope I never forget this:

During the Q&A session, Mr. Walker was asked about the hardest part about coming to America. At first, he said the language barrier. In fact, he didn't even hesitate. He followed that up with rock and roll music; he just didn't understand it!

He then shared the two things he knew how to say in English:

I want to say thank you to the college for such a brilliant idea, and I'd like to say thank you to the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust for the work they do. It really was an honor.

Mr. Ben Walker's Abridged Story:

Disclaimer: It has been over 24 hours now

and my notes are a MESS!

*Click here to read technical details of Mr. Walker's story via the college's press release.

I'm not going to try to retell his whole story because I wouldn't do it justice. This is quite lengthy, so for an overview of my overview, follow the bold text.

In short with no disrespect, he was born in Romania in 1935 to a small farming family. While the town knew what was going on in Germany at the time, they thought that's far enough away; they'll be ok.

1941 is when the police showed up and forced his family to the train station. On the trains, people were so tightly packed in that even his 6 year old body had no room to move. He admitted he didn't mind when someone passed out because he would have a little more space!

In an epic feat, all the passengers were transported to a ghetto which is defined by too many people in too little a space. These people were starving and literally withering away in a warehouse. They would trade with peasants--a shirt for a piece of bread--until there was nothing left.

It was here that one morning he tried to wake his father. His father always woke up early, but one morning, he never woke up again.

Three weeks later his little sister died, too.

The children from the ghetto started to become somewhat of a hindrance to the town surrounding the warehouse, so an orphanage was built. Even though Ben's mother was still alive, she sent him there with hopes that it could provide a better life than living in the ghetto.

It did. He called the orphanage "wonderful."

In 1944, his mother became liberated and found him well and alive in the same orphanage. From the messy notes I took, I believe he was in the orphanage for 1-2 years.

They got to go back home but found a family living in their house. His mother got permission to get into the attic where she retrieved an old shoebox full of letters from family in America. America!

They began corresponding, and eventually those family members sent...cans. He took a hammer and nail to try to get it open. They were amazed to find cooked vegetables among all the water! The American family members also sent cocoa. His mom thought it was coffee, so they learned the hard way that cocoa is, in fact, not coffee. However, once they started adding sugar and milk to it, it became Ben's favorite thing.

"Some of you may be addicted to Coca-Cola, but I'm addicted to cocoa!"

From there, the story moves quickly.

His mom gets to America, and due to various restricted allowances, he gets to go to Israel for free at the age of 15. He was sent to a school on a farm for young men and women, and he was overly happy to return to those farming roots. He then moved onto the military (he made some comment about how everyone else was doing it). He eventually did make it to the US by way of Orlando. He attended the University of Florida where he met a young lady from Chile; they've been married for 50 years now! They have children together who have had children, and overall, pictures persuade viewers they are a happy family.