From Survival to Joy: Herta Amir’s Remarkable Story

On January 13, the Marlborough community welcomed Holocaust survivor Herta Amir to speak at an All-School Meeting (ASM). It was an opportunity the community acknowledged as being truly monumental. Assembly Coordinator Mila K. ’26 noted, “The opportunity to learn history from somebody who lived through the Holocaust is not something to take lightly. Few Holocaust survivors are still alive and even fewer are able to share their stories. We are one of the youngest generations and probably the last to be able to hear these stories.”

The discussion with Mrs. Amir was hosted by her granddaughter, Marlborough alumna Margalit Salkin ’25. As part of her introduction of her grandma, Margalit shared, “I think we are used to hearing a lot about the Holocaust in these far away stories. They feel very far away from reality, but they are not just stories, they are real life, as my grandmother can attest. It's really distressing to hear these stories. It's really uncomfortable, but I think it's really important that we all reflect on them.”

Margalit then asked her grandmother to share her story. Mrs. Amir, now 93 years old, was only six in 1939 when the Nazis invaded her home country of modern-day Czechoslovakia, causing her family to go into hiding for the next five years. In November of 1944, they were captured and sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Miraculously, she was one of the few Jewish children who was not killed upon arrival. She survived starvation and disease until the camp was liberated by the British in April 1945, when she was twelve years old. At fourteen, she immigrated to the United States. 

Mrs. Amir’s openness, honesty, and willingness to share her story had a profound impact on the students and staculty. This impact was felt even more deeply when Mrs. Amir revealed that she only recently started sharing her story more openly. It was the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that made her change her mind about keeping her story private. She shared, “October 7 opened my mouth because I totally understand that ignorance is dangerous and silence is irresponsible.”

As she shared the intimate story of her childhood and survival, every detail was met with attentive listening and awe. Mrs. Amir described one of her earliest memories of discrimination as a Jew in Czechoslovakia as Hitler’s policies spread: Her first grade teacher revoked her library card. Jews, the Nazi leaders had declared, were no longer allowed to have them. Reading became one of her most cherished skills as a young girl, especially while in hiding with her family as the need to be silent at all hours of the day was a matter of life or death. She noted that she would read books “front to back and back to front” to pass the time. Later in life, she made it a point to bring her children and grandchildren to get a library card “as soon as they could sign their name,” she proudly declared. “And now, if I live long enough, I will have a chance, maybe in a couple of years, to take my great-grandchildren to the library to get a library card. The library card is so significant in my life,” she added.

The stories Mrs. Amir shared of her survival were poignant. And yet, a remarkable part of her visit was the joy and laughter which she brought. Despite the weight of her story and the gravity with which the community received it, she also laughed often and had the room laughing with her. The joy and love exuded on stage between grandmother and granddaughter, her stories of extraordinary resilience, and the pride with which she spoke of her “beautiful and full life” since liberation were a powerful reminder of the humanity at the heart of her story. “I always say: in life, you can either laugh or cry. You might as well laugh. Much better off laughing,” she proclaimed.

As the ASM drew to a close, Margalit prompted her grandmother to finish her story. Mrs. Amir stood up proudly and exclaimed: “The rest of my story is that my adult life was fabulous! I have two adult children when I never thought I would be an adult! I have six fabulous grandchildren. And now, to top it all off, I have two great-grandsons and I've been renamed Gigi, for great-grandmother. I really have had a wonderful, wonderful adult life!”

This moment was met with enthusiastic applause, an affirmation of an incredible message well-received and a celebration of the resilience, joy, and openness of a heroic woman who survived the unimaginable.