Lessons from Michigan Resident and Holocaust Survivor, Irene Miller

By Cole Beehn (they/them)

Narrowly escaping a bombed house, being dropped off in a “no man’s land” between Poland and the Soviet Union, and then getting smuggled over the border only to be shipped off to a labor camp in Siberia for a few years, Irene Miller’s life as a child during the Holocaust was one of fear, hardship, and ultimately resilience. Monroe County Democrats Cole, Shawna and Sean attended Bedford Branch Library’s “Bedford History Series” event featuring Irene Miller, Warsaw native and one of Michigan’s few remaining Holocaust survivors.

Weathering the brutal cold and years of starvation, Irene, her mother and her sister defied the odds and lived through one of the world’s most infamous and terrible periods in history. Through frostbite, malaria, and lice, she found strength in the smallest of positives and lived her life practicing the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or “repairing of the world.” She went on to obtain her Masters in Social Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. She spent her life bettering the lives of others in spite of the cruelty others bestowed upon hers.

While Irene refused to talk politics, she was adamant about one thing: we need to exercise our right to vote and to do so after careful research into every person running for office up and down the ballot. This was the key, she conveyed, to avoiding a repeat of the horrors of the Holocaust on American soil. She urged attendees to speak up and ask questions, adding that people need to get their news from multiple sources so facts cannot be so distorted.

What does Irene find most concerning about the state of U.S. politics today? The divisiveness and hatred of the “other.” Hitler was elected democratically, and he was able to move his people to commit truly atrocious acts of violence on their neighbors through fear and scapegoating. When someone is considered less than human, any amount of violence toward them can become excusable to the masses. She is scared of what is happening here. We must put an end to “othering” and dehumanizing speech no matter who we are talking about, lest we see our country fall to the terrors of Germany’s past.

Cody Crutchfield, Cole Beehn, Irene Miller, Shawna Farley