KALISPELL — How do you respond after everything is taken from you?
How do you overcome hatred with resilience, grace, and love?
95-year-old Holocaust and Auschwitz concentration camp survivor Esther Basch will share her experience in Kalispell on Monday, November 20, 2023, during a presentation at McClaren Hall on the campus of Flathead Valley Community College.
“On my 16th birthday, is when I got off the train in Auschwitz,” Esther recalled.
In May of 1944, Esther, her parents, and countless others were taken from their home country of Czechoslovakia and placed in a cattle car.
“We were separated right away, and never saw them again.”
Esther’s parents were killed by Nazis and she would spend months being tortured in Auschwitz, working in various labor camps.
“They took us on a death march, and we wound up in another labor camp where American soldiers shut open the gate and said you’re free,” said Basch.
After being liberated, Esther eventually moved to North America, raising her family which now includes eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Esther and her daughter Rachel Turet travel around the country sharing Esther’s story at schools, churches, and community gatherings.
“Our favorite audience are high schoolers because I always start with the fact that mom was 16 which is about what their age is, just to bring them right into a reality that no one could imagine,” said Turet.
Esther believes in the power of positive thinking and is excited to share her perspective in Kalispell.
“I believe it, I believe to be good, if you can’t do anything good, don’t do anything bad, love all people regardless of race, religion, forgive.”
Esther said forgiveness has helped heal her, allowing her to find happiness in the beauty in life all around her.
“How do you feel about German today, I say well I can’t forget the horror they put me through, but I can forgive, because if I don’t forgive, if I hold a grudge, I only hurt myself.”
A documentary on Esther's life called "The Honey Girl" is currently in production.
Esther's visit to Kalispell is made possible thanks to a partnership with the Chabad of the Flathead Valley.
You can buy tickets to see Esther speak in Kalispell here.
