~ from “Overboard” by Makayla Baez-Billiter
Princeton High School senior Makayla Baez-Billiter wrote the above lines as part of a poem about the Holocaust. The next step for her, as part of the class, was to speak these lines live, performed in person, as a gift for a Holocaust survivor. So, on Feb. 6, 2020, Makayla and nine other students visited the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center (HHC) to present that gift. Fortunately, the encounter took place just before COVID-19 ended most in-person events. Here’s what happened:
This day was a first attempt at a brand-new learning encounter for the HHC, based on the vision of Makayla’s teacher, Celine Quinn. To take the class, the students, from Princeton Community Middle School and High School in Sharonville, had to enter and win a school poetry contest. At HHC, they met Conrad Weiner.
Conrad is a Holocaust survivor who for 13 years has spoken through the all-volunteer Speakers Bureau at the Holocaust & Humanity Center. The Speakers Bureau is funded by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
“Conrad’s message that ‘if you hate, they win’ is so incredibly timely and important,” said Sarah Weiss, CEO of the Holocaust & Humanity Center. “It is a gift that he continues to share his story and message with so many even during these challenging times. While his story is painful, his optimism and humor offer us hope.”
Makayla and the others had studied the Holocaust and had written poetry that spoke of their learning, intertwined with their own life stories. Several of the students had never been to Union Terminal before, much less the HHC. So, first they toured the HHC and then sat to hear Conrad.
Conrad shared with humor, humility and grace his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. At age 3 ½, he had watched the Nazis kill his aunt and grandmother outside his own front door. Then, with his mother, he was taken by cattle car to a work camp in Ukraine. Their job was to cut timber for the Nazis. He credits his mother’s love and determination for his survival. They were liberated when he was 7 ½ years old.
“It was intense. It felt like sharing a piece of history,” said senior Haven Martin. “To be spoken to, rather than to be spoken in front of — it was very nice to learn that way.”
Then they all had lunch together. Despite his gravitas and 81 years of age, Conrad chose to sit and talk with the students, not the teachers.
Next the students performed their poetry for Conrad, who sat front and center, listening intently.
~from “Number 7” by Brooke Barry
Conrad clapped for every poem. “To say that the event today was gratifying would be an understatement,” he said. “The poems I heard today absolutely went straight to my heart, so that gives me hope that word will spread.”
The response from the students was also profound: “We are not forgetting, we are not ignoring,” said Haven.
“It was an honor to actually hear him and be in his presence,” said Makayla.
After it was over, Conrad and each student hugged and chatted a bit. After the students had left for their bus, he was asked one last question: What did he hope they learned from the day? “I hope that they learn to be strong, and face against hatred, and most important, against complacency. Against people not caring — because this is how it started,” he replied.
With the onset of COVID-19, Conrad’s work moved online. Since the pandemic began, the Holocaust Speaker Series and Speakers Bureau have reached more than 22,000 individuals. Conrad himself has spoken to more than 1,200 individuals locally, nationally and internationally. He has participated in the Speaker Series, Zoomed with schools and libraries, and has addressed everyone from police officers in Cincinnati to a Ph.D. student in India.
“IT WAS AN HONOR TO ACTUALLY HEAR HIM AND BE IN HIS PRESENCE.”
~MAKAYLA BAEZ-BILLITER
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati is located at 8499 Ridge Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236. For more information, visit jewishcincinnati.org. The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati: Together we can do almost anything.