Trudie Strobel Reflection

Marcela Becerra

Ms. Hume

English II

February 8 2017

              Reflection

I thought it was an incredible opportunity to be able to hear Trudie talk, there aren’t many holocaust survivors left and it was an incredible privilege to be able to hear a first hand account. Going off the whole message of how hearing a witness's story makes you a witness, I am very passionate about the importance of stories being told, making people feel and remember the monstrosities of certain times in history so that we can remember their importance and try to prevent them from happening again. It's one thing to hear facts and numbers, it doesn't really make much of an impact on anyone because it is much harder have empathy for numbers. When you hear the stories of people though, when you take the time to listen to what they are saying and go through the emotions of their experience there is a very human connection that develops, you now can carry a greater understanding and emotions for the struggle of these people. This is an amazing tool in preventing the horrors from occurring and in general, empathy and understanding for other people helps us to be kinder to each other.

I also thought that the whole concept of art as a way healing was very amazing. Not only did Trudie’s art help to educate people further on the prejudices that Jewish people have had to endure all throughout human history, but it helped her come to terms with what had happened to her. I think that expressions of human emotion, struggle, and experiences either through writing, art, or music is an incredible tool to both the person creating and in bringing awareness to the rest of the world.