Kindness, ‘Hope and Perseverance’ at the Heart of Message

Driven by a goal to connect with as many audiences as possible, Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan will be speaking at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center on Jan. 20. It’s a week before International Holocaust Remembrance Day and part of Am Yisrael Chai’s annual event series. As this year’s keynote speaker, Blumenthal Lazan’s discussion, titled “Hope and Perseverance,” fits in with her goal of furthering Holocaust education.

Born in Bremen, Germany in 1934, Blumenthal Lazan fled to Holland after Kristallnacht with her parents and brother, Albert. They hoped to escape to America, but their plans were halted by German invasion and the Blumenthals spent the next 6 1/2 years in transit and prison camps, including Westerbork in Holland and Bergen-Belsen in Germany, where tens of thousands died.

Eventually they were liberated from the camp; and while all four had survived, her father succumbed to typhus shortly afterward. Getting to America was a slow process that took three more years, but eventually, they settled in Peoria, Ill.

Her journey is documented in her book, “Four Perfect Pebbles, A Holocaust Story,” written with Lila Perl. Blumenthal Lazan explained to the AJT that the name of the book stems from one of a number of games she made up to stay occupied when times were bleak.

“One of them was based in superstition, and I decided that if I was able to find four pebbles of about the same size and shape, that it would mean that the four members of my family would all survive,” she said. “It was a painful pastime. What if I couldn’t find that fourth pebble? … Nevertheless, this game and others gave me something to hold on to, a distant hope. I was lucky to have such an imaginative mind that saw me through those difficult days.”

Now, Blumenthal Lazan is tireless in her quest to educate people, taking six flights to different cities in the months of November and December alone, with her husband of 65 years, Nathaniel.

“It’s a lot of schlepping at our age,” she joked.

She emphasized that now, perhaps more than ever, it is important to pass on the lessons she learned from her experiences.

“When I speak, I make it clear that in the not-too-distant future, we will not be here any longer to share our experiences and to pass these messages along. Someday, the audiences that I address are the ones who will have to bear witness,” Blumenthal Lazan said.

Marion Blumenthal Lazan travels regularly, sharing her story in the hopes of educating and passing on the importance of lessons learned.

Her message is one that seems so simple, and yet, she emphasizes, it is so difficult to achieve.

“Number one lesson is to be good, kind, compassionate and respectful towards one another. That is the reason for peace,” she said. “Had there been respect and tolerance toward one another some 70 or 80 years ago, we would not be talking about this dreadful period of our history.”

In part, she blames the media for continued negativity in the world today, and encourages publicizing the good, in the hopes of making the world a more peaceful place.

Blumenthal Lazan thanked Am Yisrael Chai President Andrea Videlefsky, in particular, for organizing her local speaking event.

Videlefsky said of the upcoming speech:

“We are seeing increasing hate crimes, prejudice, discrimination and violence in our world today. Now more than ever, we need to hear her message of respect and tolerance.”

Among the lessons Blumenthal Lazan hopes to relay from her keynote and her story, she said, “Do not follow a leader blindly without first searching one’s heart and mind for what the consequences might be. We must never generalize or judge another group by the actions of some within that group.”

The event opens with an exhibit at 6 p.m. followed by Blumenthal Lazan’s keynote speech at 7. The event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required, at www.2019remember.eventbright.com. To learn more about Blumenthal Lazan, visit her website, www.fourperfectpebbles.com.

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