“There are no words that can explain what we suffered”, testifies Ginette Kolinka, 98 years old, survivor of Auschwitz

“There are no words that can explain what we suffered”, testified Tuesday September 26 on franceinfo Ginette Kolinka, 98 years old, survivor of Auschwitz who tells her story in the comic strip “Adieu Birkenau” published by Éditions Albin Michel and Radio France Éditions. This work was produced with the collaboration of the screenwriter JDMorvan, Victor Matet, journalist at franceinfo and the Spanish cartoonists Efa and Cesc.

Since the 2000s, Ginette Kolinka has been an ambassador for memory and speaks to young people in schools and high schools about the Shoah. From now on, Ginette Kolinka “count on the teachers” to pass on to future generations.

franceinfo: Why did you choose the comic strip format?
Ginette Kolinka: We should ask the gentlemen who made it. I honestly admit that when someone told me about comics, I wasn’t happy. In my time, comic strips were Mickey, Nickel Feet, lots of comical things. A story like this in comics? Afterwards, I saw that this comic strip was very interesting. The bubbles were interesting. Young people don’t like reading. Bubbles are very good. As it is very short, they are interested. When they see the comic, they want to know more.

We follow you to Auschwitz with a class. We still feel that there are things that are still impossible to say today. Is there still something unspeakable in the experience you had?
It’s not that it’s impossible. There are no words powerful enough to describe hatred. I repeat this word “hate” because it is my hobby horse. It was out of hatred that Hitler did all this, hatred of the Jews. It’s my hobby horse. Warning warning ! Hatred drove the Nazis. I differentiate between the Nazis of the time and the Germans of our time.

“I absolutely don’t blame a German. I’m going to meet a German. He’s 75 years old. At the time, he was three or four years old. He didn’t do anything to me, I’m not going to blame him .”

Ginette Kolinka, 98 years old, survivor of Auschwitz

at franceinfo

But their father, their grandfather, yes, because they thought about it. It didn’t just happen instinctively. They thought about how they were going to go about killing us. We were killed right away, but also, they needed us. So they looked for a way to use us until we die. I don’t think there are any words that can explain what we suffered.

>> “From now on, you are our memory”: Ginette Kolinka, survivor of the Shoah, goes to meet young people

You go to schools a lot. Today, it’s sometimes hard in schools in France. There is hatred, there is racism, there is identity. Do you feel it when you meet students?
A long, long time ago when I started, it was a bit like that, but not anymore, not anymore because the teachers warn the students. They let them know. So never, never. Many teachers tell us, if only they could listen to us for half an hour like they listen to you for 2 hours, we would be really happy.

Do you feel an urgency to speak to young people?
I’d be lying if I said I thought about all this. No, I don’t think about that at all. They make me come, I come with pleasure. I see that the students are listening to me in a very interested way. They are interested, it’s true.

In the comic strip, you tell the teacher, it’s up to you to pass it on. Is it important to pass the baton?
Yes, because I really think so. They are the ones who will take our place. When we were under fifteen, we were killed. All surviving Jews were fifteen years old during Hitler’s time. So now the youngest are 92 or 93 years old. It’s still a certain age. When there is no longer this category of people, it will be the teachers who will replace us. We rely on the teachers.

What is striking about the comic strip is your humor as you evoke a very difficult past. Where is he from ?
It’s my nature. It’s like that. I certainly have friends who must not be very happy to see me joking on this subject. But I’m not playing a role, I’m here to tell the story, I’m me and no one will change me.