Stirring Speech Changed Lives

After a recent presentation at an unnamed high school, Dr. Olsson said a Grade 10 boy came up to her and said, "I don't want to be a Nazi anymore." "His father was a well-known Neo-Nazi in that community

Eva's book

Part of the healing included writing a bestselling book

 

Saved From Junior Nazis

At another high school earlier this year, she learned that a group of boys had planned to approach her after the presentation, in full view of the audience, and give her the Nazi salute.

A young girl overheard the boys' plans and went to the principal.

"She refused to be a bystander," Dr. Olsson said. "She heard what they were planning and she did something about it."

Recent Events Frighten Her

"Tombstones pushed over in cemeteries, swastikas painted on buildings; and we see it today, again."
 

Nazis Hung Priests

It wasn't just Jews she told the nine year-olds, the Nazis hung Catholic priests.
 

Whole Families Put On Trains.

 She never knew where her father and brothers ended up; only that they perished. Then, we were packed into the boxcars. It was four days of standing room only and many people suffocated.

The Selection

 Dr. Josef Mengele" -"He just stood there, pointing to the right and the left," 

Unholy Medical Experiments

She actually witnessed some of Dr Mengele's "despicable surgeries", especially on twins, 4,000 sets of them; he would sew them together back to back.

 

Audience Cries

But, she began to cry as she told her audience of the last time she saw her mother, and her nieces.

"Why did she have to go left?" she asked her audience, many of whom wept openly with her.
 

The Humiliations

Nazis stripped her bare and shaved her head.

Where Is My Momma

She asked a guard where her Momma went, and he pointed at the oven.

Soup Made From Dead Jews

She talked of the Nazis' unspeakable practical jokes, forcing her to help serve 'surprise soup.' The soup itself often contained only water and potato peels; the 'surprise' was when it contained human hair and bones.

Mother And Baby Executed Together

She told of how shooting a baby in its mother's arms meant a well-placed bullet would also kill the mother.

"It was cheaper that way; it saved bullets," she said.

Telling Her Stories Heal Her Wounds

She told the children seated at her feet that she does not judge or blame others, but that we must all learn from the lessons of history. And, she told the children that her presentations to young people are, in a small way, part of a healing process.

"Never, ever will I be free of the memories, but, it helps me to do this, to move forward. And, if I reach even one child, it's worth it."