Holocaust
from fhixe AI
when they were just college
students In ,1940 for trans
porting children on their bicy
cles to homes where they
could be hidden from the
Nazis. A woman turned them
in to authorities after she pre
tended to want to help them
hide Jewish children. Once
imprisoned. Voute recalled,
she and her friend would sing
songs to keep their spirits up
and occupy their days.
"It seemed like you had
more life in you, more good
spirit," Voute's voice said on
the tape about their singing in
the camps. "It was like hell. It
was really unbelievable when
you came in."
Voute's family volunteered
to take in children from Aus
tria and Germany after the
war. She explains to Klempn
er on the tape that "those girls
became our friends....We were
seven, so it was very easy that
there came some more. It
made no difference."
After helping prisoners in
a cell above them escape.
Voute and Sohulein were
deported to concentration
camps. Both women insist it
was their friendship that got
them through their difficult
times. Voute explains how
"fantastic" it was to then be in
the company of women from
so many nationalities. Voute
now c?n speak five languages.
"One quality I saw in
Hetty as well as many of the
rescuers was a propensity to
question and. if need be, defy
authority," Klempner said
about Voute. whom he consid
ers to be a daredevil.
Klempner told a story
about Voute, who was forced
by the Germans to work in a
factory to manufacture gas
masks. She dug her nails into
the nose clips so that when the
masks came out of the oven,
no one was able to breathe
while wearing one.
On one audio interview.
Klempner speaks with Pile
Meerburg. who even today is
still not satisfied with the hun
dreds of children he helped to
save. The number of children
who needed help was so large
compared with the number he
actually assisted. Meerburg
considers his efforts to be
"peanuts - it's not' enough.
That's one of the things which
I regret very much now
today."
More than 17,000 rescuers
from around the world have
been honored for their efforts.
Many of those still living are
tlown to Israel to participate
in a special ceremony where
they receive medals and are
given the chance to plant trees
in their names along the
Avenue of the Righteous, and
are then recognized as being
"righteous."
"Those who tried to help
Jews in the Netherlands put
themselves in a very high risk
situation with a most uncer
tain outcome. Yet they went
ahead and did it," Klempner
said.
All of the rescuers quickly
won Klempner's affection, not
simply because of their hero
ism but because of their good,
innate human nature. Accord
ing to Klempner. the rescuers
continue to do good and help
others in small and large
ways.
"This is the rescuers: able
to face the worst about the
world whjle laboring to repair
it." Klempner said.
Klempner. an oral histori
an and folklorist. is the son of
a Holocaust survivor and
spent the early part of his :
career in the music industry. A
graduate of Cornell Universi
ty. Klempner also received a
master's degree from UNC.
Klempner recently completed
a book titled "Just the Human
Thing to Do" on the Holo
caust rescuers. It has not yet
been published.
Watt
from pane AI
O
military, which is where we are
headed now." he said.
Watt would like the conversa
tion to shift to issues that he says
are equally as pressing, issues
such as the economy. Social Secu
rity and even universal health
care. He says if Democrats were
in the driver's seat in the House,
such issues would he swept from
under the rug.
When Watt first went to
Washington, he arrived at a
House that was controlled by
Democrats, but voters quickly
shifted that control to Republicans
by the time Watt won his first bid
for re-election. While Watt will be
working hard to keep his own
seat, he said he also will do all he
can to help other Democrats. He
believes this year the Democrats
can regain control of the House,
which he says will result in tqngi
ble benefits for his constituents if
Democrats can pump life into the
sagging economy, o
Watt said voters with good
memories will remember that
Democrats, led by then-President
Clinton, led the nation out of the
economic downfall experienced
after two consecutive Republican
administrations. He says the elec
tion of President Bush has put that
nation in an economic hole again.
"(The Democrats) got the
country out out of the economic
ditch, (hen we get punished for it
by getting a Republican adminis
tration that gets us back in an eco
nomic ditch." he said.
Watt said that he is baffled
about how a projected budget sur
plus of more than $3 trillion has
vanished into thin air since Bush
took office. Many say the surplus'
demise is due the devastation of
Sept. 11. Watt disagrees.
"If you look at the figures, you
see that that is untrue," he said.
He says the economy was tak
ing a nose dive before the attacks.
While Watt is often outspoken
on many issues, he says that he is
remaining neutral on one promi
nent topic of discussion - which
Democrat should get the chance
to light for the seat of outgoing
Sen. Jesse Helms.
The three main candidates -
Elaine Marshall. Dan Blue and
Erskine Bowles - have been run
ning hard and picking up endorse
ments from key individuals and
groups along the way. But none of
them should wait for Watt to
throw his support their way.
"All three of them are my
friends, and I am supporting my
friends," he said.
Watt is more opinionated on
the topic of Elizabeth Dole, the
likely Republican nominee for the
seat.
"I think she is vulnerable -
first of all. because she is really
not a North Carolinian and has not
been one in 40 years." Watt said.
Zetas promote finer
womanhood at event
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The sisters of Beta Nu Zeta
in Greensboro, of Theta Eta
Zeta in Thomasville, and of
Rho Zeta in Winston-Salem
met with hostess chapter Nu
Tau Zeta in observance of
finer womanhood. About 125
women met on March 16 in
the main dining room of
Anderson Center on the cam
pus of Winston-Salem State
University. where they
enjoyed a delicious meal fol
lowed by the entertainment of
Lorenzo "Logie" Meachum.
who captivated his audience
for about 45 minutes with
song and poetry.
Beta Nu Zeta recognized
its members who had served
Zeta for 40 years or more. Rho
Zeta recognized and presented
plaques to its president, Pollye
Bailey; its vice president,
Danetta Fitts; and longtime
servant Vivienne Conley.
Sorors Addie Jabbar and
Alberta Mickens won top hon
ors in Nu Tau Zeta Chapter.
Jabbar was chosen Zeta of the
Year for her all-round partici
pation while Mickens worked
Mickens
behind the scenes to get a lot
accomplished, thus being pre
sented with the Quiet Storm
Award.
This chapter also paid spe
cial recognition to H$d Out
the Life Line Ministry at
Today's Woman and Minister
Arlean Crump for excellent
and outstanding community
service.
Special guests included Nu
Tau Zeta Wanyibu Queen
Christina Reid and her mother.
Jabbar
Valorie Coplin. and first run
ner-up Evyan Durham and her
mother, Evelyn Durham.
Chapters throughout Zeta
dom eelebrate finer woman
hood each year during the
period of the last week in Feb
ruary through the full month
of March.
The Finer Womanhood
Committee consisted of sorors
Jabbar, chairman; Juanita B.
Penn. co-chairman; Alberta
Mickens and Blondell Penn.
Colleges
from page A3
African-American life and
culture.
The audio recordings are
part of the university's South
ern Historical and Folklife
Collections. The Southern
Folklife Collection has 82.000
sound recordings and is one of
the nation's foremost archival
resources for the study of
American folk music and pop
ular culture.
The University of North
Carolina at Greensboro won
S60,000 to study antebellum
petitions sent to Southern
state legislatures and county
courts. The petitions provide
insights into slavery and race
relations in the period after
the American Revolution and
before the Civil War. The peti
tions offer unique revelations
into the manumission (free
ing) of slaves and the chal
lenges faced by free women of
color.
The N.C. Museum of His
tory in Raleigh will use
$39,561 to develop an exhibi
tion about the Civil Rights
Movement in North Carolina.
The exhibit, scheduled to
open in 2004. will focus on
the social and political
changes initiated by African
Americans and American
Indians in North Carolina
between 1945 and 1975.
The National Endowment
for the Humanities is an inde
pendent grant-making agency
of the U.S. government dedi
cated to supporting research,
education, preservation, and
public programs in the
humanities.
The Chronicle's new e-mail address for
news items is news@wschronicle.com
Technology companies are a part
of our electric coop.
North Carolina's
electric cooperatives
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