While Facebook gets lots of criticism and has its drawbacks, one of its very positive things for me is connecting to the many dancers I’ve worked with from the time Avodah began in the early 70’s to the women who were part of the recent Healing Voices – Personal Stories film Through the Door. Lisa Watson, a member of Avodah in the 90’s, is a friend on Facebook and this past May 19th she posted about Dr. Edith Eva Eger (now 92) who wrote a book at age 90 about surviving the Holocaust. The book is called The Choice: Embrace the Possible, and I thank you, Lisa, for bringing the book to my attention.
Recently I have tended to stay away from reading accounts of Holocaust survivors but this book held special interest for me because prior to her deportation to Auschwitz in 1944 at the age of 16, Eger had been training as a dancer and gymnast. The post that Lisa shared on Facebook related to the fact that Dr. Eger was in the Netherlands to meet with the director, the actor and the ballerina who would be portraying her in a performance about the time that Dr. Mengele in Auschwitz asked her to dance for him. There is a wonderful interview of her trip to the Netherlands which includes her watching a rehearsal and hugging the dancer who is portraying her. The interview is a good account of her life and philosophy and I highly recommend it whether or not you plan on reading the book. https://dreditheger.com/2019/05/04/interview-with-eenvandaag-dutch-national-television/
I wonder, if I were still running Avodah, if I would choose to build a piece about Eger and the moment that she danced for Mengele, who had come into the barracks looking for a ballerina. She found that the way she was able to dance for him was to close her eyes and pretend that she was at the Budapest opera house dancing Romeo and Juliet. But it is not only that moment that I find gripping and would want to convey. It is her overall philosophy and spirit, even in her 90’s, that I would want to capture (demonstrated by the fact that she ends her lectures with a high kick).
Among the many gems in the book is her recalling and giving examples over and over again of the inspirational words from her mother, spoken in the cattle car as they were being transported to Auschwitz. Her mother said to her that no one can take away from you what you think and feel inside. The day they arrived her mother and father died but she and her sister survived. Toward the end of the war, prisoners were marched to Austria. She and her sister were found by a soldier on May 4, 1945. She was barely alive, sick and with a broken back.
We learn how she recovered, married and moved to the United States where she eventually studied Psychology, earning her Ph.D. and becoming an expert particularly with war trauma victims.
She shares stories of some of her patients and how they help her work through her own challenges. While physically free she shares the struggle to mentally free herself. She relates this to her patients that are living in their own prisons, and so much of what she shares has relevancy to all of us about how we can live in a prison of our own making, choosing to be our own jailers. A comment by her I noted, most likely when she was recently interviewed by Oprah, is to choose expression rather than depression. It is what we keep secret and do not work through that causes our depression. Here’s the link where you can watch the interview.
http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/dr-edith-eva-eger-the-choice
One of her mentors is Victor Frankel, another Holocaust survivor who wrote Man’s Search for Meaning. She describes their friendship.
To conclude I want to share quotes from two sources. First, a review in The New York Times written in October 2017 ends with the reviewer’s comment, “I can’t imagine a more important message for modern times. Eger’s book is a triumph and should be read by all who care about their inner freedom and the future of humanity.” Second, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu said: “The Choice is a gift to humanity. One of those rare and eternal stories that you don’t want to end and that leave you forever changed. Dr. Eger’s life reveals our capacity to transcend even the greatest of horrors and to use that suffering for the benefit of others. She has found true freedom and forgiveness and shows us how we can as well.”
I am so glad to have read Dr. Eger’s book, which then led me to watch her various interviews. What a wonderful role model she is for those of us looking for people in their 80’s and 90’s leading rich meaningful lives.
Dr Eger holding her book. Photo from her website
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