hHe I Volume XWII, Issue 11 Educating Women To Excel November 17, 2004 ON THE INSIDE; World^ News Page 2 Coat Drive Page 3 Mode/ UN at Meredith Page 4 Environment Column Page 5 'Entertainment Reviews Page 6 Diversity Column Page 7 Meredith’s Weekly Weather David Faber leaves impact on Meredith WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY Suaay High 64/ Low 39 Panly Cloudy High 65/ Low 43 Partly Cloudy High 65/ Low 43 Psnly Cloudy High 66/ Low 50 Partly Cloudy High 68/ LowSI Showers High 65/Low 42 Partly Cloudy High 59/Low 39 AMBER LITTESY Layout Editor David Faber, a Polish-bom Holocaust survivor, spoke to the Mereditli community on November 10 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Chapel. Faber was a victim of the Nazis from 1939-1945. One of eight children, Faber vv'it- nessed the murders of five of his six sisters, both of his parents, and the torture and murder of his older brother Abraham, who was known as Romek. The only other surviving member of Faber’s immediate family was his oldest sister Rachel who, be fore the start of the war, had moved to England where she eventually became a famous dressmaker and designer Surviving eight different concentration camps, includ ing Auschwitz where his left arm was tattooed with pris oner number 161051, Faber was eventually liberated on April 15,1945 fromBergen- Belsen. When Faber's mov ing body was found, he was rushed to the hospital weigh ing only 72 pounds at the age of 18 and suffering from starvation and typhoid fever. David Faber's high level of intelligence was an ad vantage that other Jews did not necessarily have. Fluent in five different languages including German, Faber could understand the Na zis and was able to receive inside information by just listening to them speak. At the first concentration camp he was sent to, the Nazis be gan to separate the Jews into groups of men, women and children as well as a group of what they deemed to be the “somewhat decent people.” When it was Faber’s turn to be sorted, the then young boy Photo courtesy of Wendy Gem, staff photographer David Faber showing the tattoo he received to identify him as a prisoner, number 161051, in a concentration camp in Germany during World War II. stood up straight and spoke a ter needed to make nuclear couple of sentences in Ger man to the Nazis. The Nazis laughed and said in German, “Look at this Jewish boy trying to be a Nazi soldier'’ The Nazis then pushed Faber to the “decent group.” After all the people were sorted, the other groups were told to take off their clothes and hang them on a hook. To induce a false sense of security, the Nazis instructed the nude people to remember the number of their hook so when each re turned from taking a shower they could find their clothes. The men, women, and chil dren were taken to huge showers in which deadly crystals were deposited so that when the water fell it would melt the crystals, dis pensing a deadly gas. Those people never returned. Faber, however, survived. Faber's brother Romek was in the Polish army when Poland was captured. He was labeled a prisoner of war but continued to help the United States and Eng land. Romek was a part of a secret operation that helped to keep the specialized wa- bombs away from the Ger mans. The people who took part in this operation helped the Allied forces by dumping the water. If the Germans had access to this ingredientneed- ed for the bombs, the Ger mans could have destroyed the world. Faber's brother was murdered by a double agent who, though working for the United States, was in a spy for the Germans. When the double agent was captured and brought to the U.S., David Faber helped the FBI to convict the man. Faber is the author of Be cause of Romek, a book that recounts his struggles to sur vive the Holocaust and was inspired by the revelation of his brother's sacrifices. ■ grapner David Faber, holding up a picture of a concentration camp, uses visual aids to introduce the reality of the Holocaust.

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