While Whitman College offers a slew of colorful, interesting speakers for the community every year, it does not often bring in eyewitnesses of one of the world’s most horrifying tragedies.  

Rarer still, the night of the Tuesday, April 21 event saw Maxey Auditorium completely fill up with Whitman and Walla Walla community members, to listen, learn and see the story of the Holocaust through a survivor’s eyes.

In honor of Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Week, Whitman’s club Hillel-Shalom presented Holocaust survivor Fred Taucher on Tuesday, April 21 to present his story, entitled “Saved by the Enemy: A Holocaust Survival Story.”

Hillel-Shalom is part of Hillel, The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. Hillel-Shalom seeks to provide a connection to Jewish students on campus. The group provides students with a central social gathering of Jewish campus students and staff members. Events include monthly gatherings at the local synagogue, Temple Beth Israel, holiday celebrations and other social events such as Shabbat.

Born 1933 in Berlin, Germany, Taucher survived one of the most horrifying periods in human history largely though the protection of Gertrude Nölting, a family friend and high-ranking member of the Nazi Party and a personal friend of Hitler.

Taucher and his brother were the only members of his family to survive the Holocaust. His father was arrested and sent to Aushwitz, where he died a few days later. Shortly before the Soviets liberated Berlin in May 1945, Taucher’s mother disappeared and was never heard from again.

Taucher was also captured at one point and sent to Sachenhausen, another concentration camp, after two days of interrogation. Due to an air raid, he and several Russian soldiers escaped from the train on the way to the camp and returned to Berlin.

Taucher now tells his powerful story of survival all over the country, it took him over 42 years to finally begin telling it.   Taucher stated in an interview that he began telling his story about twelve years ago because of his ex-wife.

“My ex-wife I think was a bit anti-Semitic, and didn’t believe I went through all those things,” said Taucher. “I was not allowed to talk about it. After I had open heart surgery, I decided that life is too short and that I… [needed] to start speaking about it. So she decided to divorce me.”

Despite the darkness surrounding his story, Taucher occasionally punctuated the sorrow with humor.

“[After the liberation], we went to an area [where American soldiers were stationed]… and told the soldiers we wanted to go to America and that our father was born in Manhattan,” said Taucher. “That was all we knew. We didn’t know that Manhattan was not a state but a part of New York City.”

Taucher’s detailed account of his youth during this trying period generated spontaneous applause, tears and a standing ovation as he concluded his presentation.

For Hillel-Shalom advisor Sharon Kaufman-Osborn, Taucher’s presentation holds great importance to her and to the rest of the community.

“We are approaching a time where there are going to be fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors that are still living,” said Kaufman-Osborn. “It’s important to hear these stories as a way of reminding us to speak up [against] intolerance.”

“For genocides that have occurred during these past ten years in Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Darfur… these are problems that carry on,” said co-president of Hillel-Shalom and senior Amy Strauss.

“With the rise of the Aryan Nations [a racial purity group] occurring now in today’s world, it’s important to remember that hate is not gone, and we need to be exposed to the past and not shut it away,” said co-president Julia Nelson. “It’s important to educate people, especially from a first-hand experience of a survivor.”

Taucher’s reaction to his praise was one of humility, despite students and community members asking for photographs and autographs of him. At one point a fellow war veteran well-wisher: as Taucher is a veteran of the Korean War: recounted old war stories with him and shook his hand.

Taucher was very open and generous to his audience members and greatly appreciated the openness of the Whitman College and Walla Walla community members attending his presentation.

“This was by far one of the best audiences I have spoken to,” said Taucher. “Everybody, everyone, really listened.”