Holocaust Memorial Exhibit Opens in the Lila D Bunch Library

40 Holocaust survivors solemnly gathered into a room to share the terrors they experienced.  

Belmont students came to listen.  

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum opened the “Some Were Neighbors” exhibit in the Lila D. Bunch Library on Sept. 8. Belmont is the first university to host the traveling exhibit.  

Peter Feigl, a Holocaust survivor from Berlin, told his experiences of living during the rise of Nazism in Germany.  

“Summers we would go on vacation, either to the beach or driving to the mountains in Tiro when my father’s oldest sister lived in Innsbruck, Austria. I was exposed to a lot of good living,” Feigl said. 

He recalled an experience of hearing of Nazi influence during his early years, starting in his first-grade classroom.  

“The title of the book was ‘The Poisonous Mushroom.’ The mushroom had a Jewish nose and the Star of David on its chest. The teacher proceeded to tell us that it was representative of Jews,” Feigl said. 

Feigl’s grandfather was a Rabbi and at that time during Nazi racial laws, meant he and his family were considered part of the Jewish race.  

With the growing threat in Germany, his parents decided to move to Vienna, Austria, his father’s home country. 

Austria was 98% Roman Catholic and had a long history of antisemitism at that time. His parents made the decision to have Feigl baptized. 

In March of 1938, Germany annexed Austria. Feigl said that he remembers Hitler being a mile and a half from where he lived.  

“I joined hundreds of thousands of people around the Main Street there, waiting for Hitler to pass by. He came by in an open car, waving at the people. We were all screaming, ‘One people, one empire, one leader,’” Feigl said. 

After 10 days of Austria being annexed, he and his parents left for Belgium, leaving behind most of their possessions, only allowing one suitcase each. 

“I was devastated,” Feigl said. “Everything that they owned was left behind...This was quite the trauma.” 

Feigl and his family were not affected until May of 1940, when Belgium was invaded.  

His father was arrested by Belgian police as an enemy alien. Feigl, his mother and grandmother fled for France, leaving his father behind. 

They were detained and sent to Gurs internment camp. 

“Gurs was really traumatic. Every barrack held about 60 people, and there were no toilets, no running water. There was a single cold waterspout outside each barrack,” Feigl said. 

The camp held 14,000 people ranging from newborns to 80-year-olds. 

“We slept on the floor, on straw. I was in the barracks with my mother and grandmother. There were bed bugs, body lice and fleas. There was next to nothing to eat, and we were cut off from the outside world,” Feigl said. 

They stayed in Gurs for six weeks until they were released and found a Catholic Convent in Auch, France.  

His mother began working for a local food distribution center as a part-time job with the Swiss Red Cross and the American Quakers. 

“With the part-time job, she was able to go to the police and get her resident permit. And secondly, she was able to bring home some food everyday,” Feigl said. 

Feigl said that his father was ultimately brought to Gurs but was released in March of 1940 after developing heart issues.  

“They figured he wasn’t going to live longer than 30 days, but my mother nursed him back to health,” Feigl said. 

Feigl and his family remained together until July of 1942, when he was sent to summer camp with the Quakers and his parents were deported to Auschwitz in late August. 

Feigl began writing a diary daily, which is now held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  

France surrendered to Germany on June 22, and the village was invaded. 

“The village realized it was too dangerous for me to stay there. So, I am with four other boys, and they give us new identities,” Feigl said. 

Feigl’s diary was confiscated in Feb. of 1943 before he was moved to Figeac, France where he attended high school. It disappeared for 45 years until it was eventually recovered.  

He started a second journal on January 1, 1944, and it records his time in Figeac until May 12, 1944.  

He took a train to Switzerland, where his baptismal certificate allowed him to stay in the country. 

“The war was over for me, and in my diary, I wrote, I am now sleeping in a country at peace,” Feigl said. 

The significance of being a neighbor was what saved Feigl’s life. 

“Silent bystanders are just as bad as the perpetrators. When you see something, say something and stop it,” Feigl said. “Because next time, you might be the victim.” 

The museum will run until Dec. 8. 

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This article was written by Kyla Davidson