Humanity's Day: Addressing the perils of indifference

Charlotte Latin Upper School English teacher Jackie Fishman (center) and her mother, Holocaust survivor Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz (left) participate in a panel discussion with Stephanie Ansaldo, president of The Echo Foundation, as part of foundation’s Humanity’s Day activities at East Mecklenburg High School on February 3.

Cernyak-Spatz was born in Vienna, Austria, and spent two years, from January 1943 to January 1945, at Auschwitz-Birkenau, a Nazi concentration camp. She spoke to students about her experience there, where “minute by minute you had to decide whether to live or die,” and explained that she was able to survive because she was young and healthy enough to work. After surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau, Cernyak-Spatz came to the United States, earned her Ph.D. in German literature, and taught at UNC-Charlotte, where she is associate professor emeritus. She also published her memoir, Protective Custody: Prisoner 34042, in 2005. As part of the panel discussion, Fishman spoke about her approach to teaching in relation to her mother’s experiences, as well as the World Literature of Oppression and Hope course that she teaches at Latin.

After hearing from the panel, students gathered in groups to discuss ethical and human rights issues. “We can only hope that eventually we will come to a point where…humanity will be polite and civil to each other,” Cernyak-Spatz said.