Wright-Patt hosts Holocaust events Published April 15, 2016 By Amy Rollins Skywrighter Staff Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio -- Survivors, liberator share stories of grief, resilience, triumph The 2nd annual Holocaust Remembrance Day was held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on April 12 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Hundreds of schoolchildren and members of the greater Dayton community heard from a panel comprising the daughter of "righteous Gentiles," a Holocaust survivor and a prisoner of war/concentration camp liberator. A second and similar on-base event was held April 14. The event at the museum was hosted by Col. Elena Oberg, 88th Air Base Wing vice commander. Oberg thanked the panel members for doing their duty in reminding the audience about one of the darkest periods in world history, maintaining their resiliency and when called, doing what was right. "It is our responsibility to make sure that the voices of those who can no longer speak are heard and that today's generations can never forget the atrocity of what happened and be thinking about, when they are called, how they might respond," she said. Oberg reminded the audience that despite the years that have passed, the memories are still strong. Panelist Marilou Brewster Marilou Brewster's parents, fleeing from Germany to Holland, acted as "righteous Gentiles." They provided aid, comfort and hope to those fleeing the Nazis by working with underground groups. "They were very courageous people," Brewster recalled. "When their friends starting disappearing, when laws were made that were so inhumane, they could not stand by and not do anything. ... And so they worked with the Underground, the Resistance movement." Her father printed false identification papers for Jewish people to help hide their true identity, while her mother acted as a courier to get the papers to another group - even riding almost 19 miles on a bicycle with no tires and while eight and a half months pregnant with her daughter. Brewster's parents also sheltered Jews overnight while they were fleeing from persecutors. Her father was eventually imprisoned then put to work digging up live bombs that had fallen on Berlin. Brewster's mother finally was able to ransom him and he survived. She has shared her story many times as an instructor at Sinclair Community College and as a German teacher at Centerville High School. She said she wants to make sure today's young people learn about the Holocaust so it can never be repeated. Panelist Dr. Renate Frydman Dr. Renate Frydman was born in 1935 in Frankfurt, Germany; her ancestors had lived in Germany for 400 years. Because she and her family were Jewish, they were declared enemies of the state by the Nazis and their businesses were confiscated. Her maternal grandfather was able to emigrate to the United States alone, and through luck and the kindness of a stranger who sponsored the family, eventually was able to bring them over but not before the events of Kristallnacht on Nov. 9, 1938. Frydman and her parents were able to reach the Frankfurt train station the next day, made it to the Netherlands, then England and eventually the U.S. She grew up in Dayton and faced prejudice as one of only five Jewish children among 1,000 students. Frydman befriended her oppressors and even attended church with friends, as they attended services with her at synagogue. "I decided I would never become a person who called other people names because of who or what they were," she said. Frydman also described experiences of husband Charles, the single Holocaust survivor of his family and a Polish partisan who had an amazing story of survival. After the war, the couple met in Dayton, married and had four children. A special writer for the Dayton Daily News for decades, Frydman had counted on her husband to help her write his story. Unfortunately, he passed away before that could happen but she had taped many bits and pieces of his remembrances. "I always wondered how the ripples that forecast what was going to happen in Europe were ignored. There were telltale signs," she said. "In today's world, there are such ripples appearing. What I would ask you now is don't ignore them." Panelist Henry Williamson Starting when he was 19, Henry Williamson served in Charlie Company, 272nd Infantry Regiment, 69th Division, U.S. Army. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and described the daunting, freezing conditions the soldiers faced during the bloody final German offensive. "It was a grisly, tough period," he recalled. In April 1945 he was part of a small detail sent to Buchenwald concentration camp to assist the barely alive men, women and children there onto a freight train for transport to a better place. "What did I see in Buchenwald? I saw people. I saw faces. I saw human beings," Williamson said. "I had the privilege of going to Buchenwald." He advised the audience: "Reach out to people in any way you can." The panelists responded to a question-and-answer session and spoke about resilience of the spirit and working to let go of pain. Frydman said she has accepted requests to teach about the Holocaust so young people realize that to some degree, they determine the future. She spoke of the Hebrew concept of tikkun olam, helping the world heal. "That's my very small way of trying to live with what I know happened," she said. Brewster spoke of the importance of accepting others who are different from you and that one person can make an amazing difference. "Make that little effort to help someone; be kind," she said. Oberg presented each panelist with a Wright-Patterson AFB coin as a token of appreciation. "You each spent your life reaching out to people," the colonel said. "Thank you." The event ended with a tour of the Prejudice & Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit, located in the hallway between the Early Years and Air Power Galleries.