Eighty years since the Holocaust but history leaves painful legacy

When Frank Lowy was a 13-year-old boy, his father Hugo vanished.

The year was 1943, it was the middle of World War II, and Frank’s dad was one of an estimated 960,000 Jewish victims who lost their lives at the notorious* concentration camp* Auschwitz*.

Eighty years have passed since then. That young teenager Frank survived the war and migrated* to Australia, where he became one of our nation’s most successful businessmen: Sir Frank Lowy AC, founder of the Westfield group of shopping centres.

The Australian-Israeli businessman now lives in Israel but travelled to Poland to attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27.

Sir Frank said his life changed when his father Hugo “disappeared in the ether*” and said that the anniversary must “remind the world of the evil” and “bring the issue of hate to the fore”.

He made the comments during an interview with Polish television reporter Witold Tabaka that aired ahead of the commemoration at Auschwitz.

“In this beautiful world of ours, we can make it better for most of us most of the time … and at the same time not to forget what has happened,” Sir Frank said.

The 94-year-old said lessons must be learned about “how bad and terrible anti-Semitism* is; we need to respect each other”.

Survivor Tova Friedman recalled being imprisoned when she was just six years old.

The 86-year-old Ms Friedman was among about 56 Holocaust* survivors who attended alongside world leaders and dignitaries* at the former concentration camp that claimed the lives of almost one million Jews in a five-year period during WWII.

Only Holocaust survivors and dignitaries associated with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum spoke at the sombre* two-hour service.

American businessman Ronald S. Lauder gave an address on behalf of the donors of Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and said: “It’s hard for us to believe today but we see the sudden violence of hatred against Jews.

“Fifteen months ago, not 80 years ago, we saw Jewish children slaughtered, once again for one reason: because they (were) born Jewish.

“What happened in Israel on October seventh*, that happened here in Auschwitz – one common thread – the age-old hatred of Jews”.

Leaders from around the world attended the service including King Charles III – the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz – Denmark’s King Frederik and Australian-born Queen Mary, French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Australia’s delegation* included Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is Jewish.

King Charles III delivered a speech at the Jewish Community Centre in Cracow* and spoke with Holocaust survivors before he attended the commemoration.

“In a world that remains full of turmoil and strife, and has witnessed the dangerous re-emergence of anti-Semitism, there can be no more important message – especially as the United Kingdom holds the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance,” King Charles said.

“As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders, and on those of generations yet unborn”.

Approximately six million Jewish men, women and children perished in the Holocaust, Nazi Germany’s organised, state-sponsored genocide* of European Jews during WWII.

LIFE AND DEATH INSIDE AUSCHWITZ

POLL

GLOSSARY

• notorious: widely known for negative reasons
• concentration camp: a place where a large number of people are imprisoned without trial and usually (but not always) forced to labour and kept under harsh conditions
• Auschwitz: now the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, this former concentration camp and extermination centre has become a global symbol of genocide and terror since it became the largest camp of its kind in Nazi-controlled Europe during WWII
• migrated: moved from one country to another to work and live
• ether: high up in the air, clear sky, beyond the clouds, sometimes referred to as “the heavens”
• anti-Semitism: hostility towards, discrimination and prejudice against, or hatred of Jews
• Holocaust: the systematic, mass extermination of European Jews during WWII by Nazi Germany and its collaborators
• dignitaries: high ranking officials and others holding senior positions in government and elsewhere
• sombre: serious, sad, melancholic
• October 7, 2023: the date of the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel, the deadliest in Israel’s history. Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia and is described by the Australian National Security site as an “ideologically and religiously-motivated violent extremist organisation”. Hamas has controlled Palestine since 2007.
• Approximately 1200 civilians were killed in Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and more than 250 were taken hostage. Israel responded with force and the resulting Gaza war has since claimed the lives of nearly 50,000 Palestinian civilians before the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal took effect on January 19 after 15 months of devastation and war
• delegation: group of people chosen to speak on behalf of or otherwise represent others
• Cracow: also Kraków/Krakow is an industrial city in southern Poland built on the banks of the Vistula River
• genocide: acts committed with the aim of destroying or wiping out an ethnic, racial or religious group

EXTRA READING

What is the Israel and Palestine conflict?

Author inspired by family’s Holocaust story

Questions I am asked about the Holocaust

QUICK QUIZ

1. How old was Sir Frank Lowy AC when his father died at Auschwitz?
2. Which group of Australian shopping centres would Sir Frank famously go on to establish?
3. How many Jewish victims were lost at Auschwitz?
4. How many years have passed since the liberation of the camp?
5. Who operated the camp and during which major international conflict?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Crimes of hate
As a country and entire civilisation, have we learnt enough from the atrocities that saw almost one million people killed 80 years ago just for being born Jewish?

Work with a classmate and come up with ways we’ve shown we have become better for it, and ways that show that as a society, we haven’t come far enough.

Positive changes towards hate and violence:

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Things that show us we have a way to go:

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Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History, Ethical, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Anti-Semitism is defined as the manifestation of hostility, violence, prejudice or discrimination against the Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group.

Why do you think we are still dealing with anti-Semitism in Australia today?

What other groups in Australia are ostracised for their race, religion or ethnicity?

How can we promote peace among each other despite our differences?

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Ethical, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
The stuff of nightmares
When Frank Lowy was a 13-year-old boy, his father Hugo vanished. Imagine you are Frank. What would be going through your mind? How would your family cope? Did you see it coming or was it a complete shock?

Either write a diary entry imagining you are Frank, recounting the days before and after your father’s disappearance.

Or create a new narrative. Imagine Frank does not know where his father is or why he has disappeared. You can decide if it’s the present day or in the past. Will Frank go looking for his father? Will others also go missing? What will the outcome be?

Remember to read your work aloud to make sure it makes sense and there are no omissions, then share it with a partner.