Unveiling Holocaust History in Miami

by Jamie Hackbarth (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find USA

The sunshine of Miami energized me to explore beyond the beachfront. I veered off the main streets of South Beach speckled with their rainbow colors. I began walking aimlessly with no destination. Slowly, I became lost in my intentional yet thoughtless exploration. As I came to a bustling intersection, I looked across the street to see a giant stark hand sculpture sprouting out of a lilypad pond. I intriguingly crossed the street and I noticed the hand had suffering bodies falling off it dramatically into the pond’s darkness. This powerful form drew me in to answer all the questions running through my mind. I quickly learned it was a Holocaust Memorial commemorating the large Jewish Holocaust survivor population whom now reside in Miami, Florida and call it home. After they were forced away from their original home decades ago. I wandered through the outside exhibit stopping in astonishing awe of humanity’s atrocities and the history we have quickly veiled. The illustrative photos, facts and chiseled sculptures guided me on an emotional unveiling of the reality that six million people died throughout the holocaust. I found myself quietly crying alone at the foot of the statue after years of education, reading and studying the historical event were awakened and brought an emotional wave over me. As I entered the little reception area, the elderly man behind the desk looked up with a cheer “Where are you from sweetie?” he asked in an accent I could not place. “I am originally from Ohio, but currently living and working in Peru. Where are you from?” I asked with peaked interest. “Honey, I am from Poland! I was in the holocaust,” he stated as he pointed to a tattoo number on his arm with a wide toothless smile. I was speechless as I had never met an holocaust survivor. I sat down to listen to his story. He openly shared about his time throughout the holocaust which drastically shaped his trajectory of life. He lived and moved to five different concentration camps. He had lost his parents and sisters throughout this horrific time. Unaware of their whereabouts, he presumed them to all have died. After sharing these details he paused and looked up, ““Do not pity me. The holocaust was a part of my life, and in the end it makes me who I am, which I would not change. The key to life is to stay positive and everything will be beautiful.” He thought he was the last one living in his family. Until, he looked over one day on his ship voyage to the US and encountered his brother. They reunited with an overwhelming thrill to have found one another shadowed by the sadness they may be the last ones still breathing. He began the next chapter of his life when the ship arrived in the US. The ship-hands handed him $10 and he stepped off with confidence to be his best self. I asked how he managed with the pain induced from the holocaust, such as losing your family, home and life as you know it. My assumptions were quickly stupefied by this man’s wisdom. “If you are stabbed on the outside, it will heal. But if you are stabbed on the inside...it takes time, perseverance and forgiveness to heal so you don’t continue hurting on the inside. Because if you don’t forgive the wound will never heal.” He unveiled the truths of a haunting historical period in Europe while volunteering at the memorial he helped build in one of the most diverse cities in the United States. He was a tenacious example of living your values and sharing your story. This powerful encounter of the memorial and learning from a living human artifact with moving wisdom was not what I expected to find along my exploration of Miami. But, what my soul truly needed. I am grateful I continue to become lost with his words always as a guide into clarity. He is the stranger guiding me when I am lost. His voice reminds me along the streets I meander to look for the historical whispers that need to be listened to, remembered and shared.