“After physically surviving a horror one needs to learn to live again, learn to survive again,” said holocaust survivor Fred Katz, while presenting his book ‘Confronting Evil: Two Journeys’ in the Hege Library Art Gallery on September 29th.
Gallery Director and Curator Terry Hammond chose Katz, a class of ’52 Guilford alumnus, to keep in theme with the ‘Fabric of Survival’ art exhibit, which coincides with the One City One Book reading of ‘Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl.’
In an emotional presentation to fellow alumni, current students and community members, Katz shared some of the momentous periods of his life. He told of his family that didn’t survive; described the “hollow look in the fearful eyes” of those that did return from the concentration camps; and took listeners on the journey, of coping with such a horrific experience, that he still endures today.
“I didn’t sing for 30 years after being forced to stand and listen to my classmates sing ‘When Jewish blood spurts from the knife, all is well,'” Katz said fighting back tears.
Katz spoke of his days at Guilford in a happier, more hopeful tone. About Fred Crownfield, his most influential professor, he said, “He showed me, without trying to convert me to Christianity, how to appreciate some of the teachings of Jesus, which in turn made me a better Jew.” He continued, “Guilford launched us into adulthood, but it was not sending us off empty handed.