The daughter of Holocaust survivors spoke at a recent meeting of the Palmerton Area Historical Society.

Attorney Jim Wimmer introduced the woman he's known for 25 years and said, "Jeanette Eichenwald wants to let the public know what happened to affirm life. She dedicated her life to her parents and became a nationally known speaker. She began a program of Christian understanding at Muhlenberg College a Youth and Prejudice program."To teach the meaning of prejudice, she helped develop a play for middle school students. To date 20,000 students have seen the play. Eichenwald has received awards from Jewish and non-Jewish groups.Her mother said it doesn't matter if it rains or shines, a special event is a wonderful day.Then came Kristallnacht the night of broken glass when the Nazis in Germany and Austria destroyed Jewish businesses, schools and synagogues without affecting nearby non-Jewish buildings. Her mother looked up and saw the smoke from the synagogue.The synagogue her parents attended was among those destroyed. People just watched as the destruction went on.By the time the Holocaust was over, the family had lost 38 relatives. She said the word "killed" was not harsh enough, and she uses the word exterminated.She brought certificates showing when and where her father and grandfather were arrested as well as the passports for her father and grandmother. The passports had the letter "J" on them. Jewish Austrians were no longer considered Austrians. Her father was not allowed to sign his own name.A child, 2, the youngest among the Eichenwalds, was one of those exterminated.Her father had been born in 1909 and married in 1935 in a marriage that was filled with hopes and dreams, but by 1938 everything changed. The Jewish dream became a nightmare when the Wehrmacht (German army) came to Austria.Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg tried to prevent a takeover by striking at German leaders. Earlier there had been talk of combining Germany and Austria but under the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, Germany was not allowed to join another country, which was supposed to guarantee Austria's sovereignty.Adolf Hitler was not to be deterred and organized a nationwide vote to see if Austrians wanted to join Germans. Jews were not allowed to vote and the plebiscite passed with 99.73 percent in favor. When the Germans marched they were met with "Heil Hitler."Jews were restricted with doors closing in her mother's face. Her father's business was taken over.In November 1938 there was a knock on the door and her father and grandfather were taken."He had been a caring citizen but was taken anyway," said Eichenwald.The police fingerprinted them and they were placed in a small camp next to the train station. One hundred men were loaded in a car, then another 100 and finally a third 100.He was taken to cell block 16 and did hard labor all day. They had little food and hunger set in. Prisoners were heard as building went on for shower rooms, which did not have water but gas. Cyclo killed within a minute. There were cremations for babies as well as adults.Sixty-five thousand Austrians were taken to concentration camps and there were 2,000 survivors. Her father was taken to Dachau and later moved to Buchenwald, which Eichenwald said had a reputation for being the worst killing camp.Her mother was put in a basement closet in the home of a family friend, Lydia, and survived the war years there. To the end she felt it when she was in an enclosed space.After the war she went to a displaced persons camp. A man came from the U.S. Army and called my mother by name, Blanca. He reached for her hand and gave her a simple red dress, and in so doing gave her back her hopes and dreams.Because the Germans kept accurate records it was fairly easy to find where her husband was. They had an undying belief in God and the goodness of the human spirit. Her parents came to America. They had one wish, to bring into this world the next generation, which was Jeanette.Her father had been mistreated and could no longer see. He lived to be 97, and till the end he could still use phrases such as "I love you" and "How nice."It was a triumph of the spirit in the face of man's inhumanity to man. He could not see the light on my mother's face or the later generations.Jeanette grew up bilingual. Her mother told her to tell her with whom you go and I will tell you who you are. Eichenwald said the holocaust was unfathomable in the history of human beings. Though her father could not physically see they shone their light on one another. That is what matters.Eichenwald said she is a teacher and storyteller. If we make a difference and stand for what is right, justice and mercy will triumph.She was asked if the Nazis made use of Jewish talents. They did, and a favorite was the musicians, but mostly it was slave labor.The story I share is not only for the 6 million Jews but the extra 5 million because political civilians were also sent to the camps because of their belief system.People said they didn't know what was happening, but they must have."The most remarkable are the people who saved others," said Eichenwald.