Lessons from Auschwitz The power of our words Benjamin Zander

It really makes a difference what we say.

I learned this from a woman who survived Auschwitz.

She went to Auschwitz when she was fifteen years old,

and her brother was eight, and the parents were lost.

And she told me this,

“We were in the train going to Auschwitz,

and I looked down, and I saw
my brother’s shoes were missing.

And I said, ‘Why are you so stupid?

Can’t you keep your things together?

For goodness sake!’

The way an elder sister might speak to a younger brother.”

Unfortunately, it was the last thing she ever said to him

because she never saw him again.

He did not survive.

And so when she came out of Auschwitz, she made a vow.

She said, “I walked out of Auschwitz into life.

And the vow was,

“I will never say anything that couldn’t stand

as the last thing I ever say.”

Now, can we do that? No.

But it is a possibility to live in to.

Thank you.

我们所说的真的很重要。

我从一位在奥斯威辛集中营幸存下来的女人那里学到了这一点。

她十五岁时去了奥斯威辛集中营，

弟弟八岁，父母失散。

她告诉我，

“我们在去奥斯威辛集中营的火车上

，我低头一看，发现
我哥哥的鞋子不见了。

我说，‘你为什么这么笨？

你不能把东西放在一起吗？

看在上帝的份上！

姐姐对弟弟说话的方式。”

不幸的是，这是她对他说的最后一句话，

因为她再也没有见过他。

他没有活下来。

所以当她从奥斯威辛出来时，她发了誓。

她说：“我从奥斯威辛集中营走出来，进入了生活

。誓言是，

“我永远不会说任何不能

作为我说过的最后一句话的事情。”

现在，我们可以这样做吗？不，

但这是一个 住的可能性。

谢谢。