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Bianca
is a wife, mother, and grandmother who loves animals, nature,
and music. She used to speak before many audiences about her
experiences as a concentration camp survivor. The story she shares
below shows an angel animal who went beyond training to show
wisdom.
The Quality of
Mercy
by
Bianca Rothschild
Animals have always been part of my
life. I love them with a passion. But one special "angel
animal" will remain in my heart forever.
I am a lady in my mid-seventies who
has an amazing story to tell. It's recorded in my testimony for
Steven Spielberg's collection of Holocaust stories. He's recorded
testimonies of survivors and liberators and righteous gentiles
who, at great risk to themselves, helped people in need during
those terrible times. These stories come from all over the world
and bear witness to man's inhumanity to man as well as the capacity
for great courage and honor. Another collection of these stories
can be found at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. which
has exhibits, including a boat from Denmark used by Danes to
smuggle people to Sweden from Poland and a cattle wagon like
the one which transported me with fellow prisoners to Germany.
Born in Poland, I was a teenager when
World War II began. My family always had pets. All of us loved
them dearly. When the Nazis forced us to leave our home to be
put into prison, we entrusted the animals to friends for safekeeping.
By 1945 I was separated from my family
and imprisoned in the Ravensbruck, Germany concentration camp.
Starving, dressed in only a flimsy uniform, I had to work in
the bitter cold. Every day prisoners at the camp congregated
in early morning and waited outside to be counted. One day exhaustion
and cold overwhelmed me and I fainted. Although my two friends
stood in the long row on either side, they couldn't help me.
When
the Nazi soldiers saw me lying on the ground, they took one of
their large German shepherd dogs off of his leash, removed the
dog's muzzle, and commanded him to attack. As the dog ran toward
me, the prisoners looked in horror, fully expecting the animal
to rip me apart.
But something miraculous happened in
that moment.
When the huge dog reached me, he stopped
in his tracks. Then he smelled me. To everyone's amazement, the
dog, instead of attacking me, licked my face until I revived.
Everyone in the line stood frozen with
fear. The soldier who had sent the dog to kill me looked incredibly
puzzled. After a minute, I staggered to my feet. Shocked that
the dog had allowed me to live, the soldier called the vicious-looking
animal back to him.
Those many years ago, an animal befriended
me in an insane world of human hatred. I am alive today because
a dog disobeyed the command to destroy me and instead showed
compassion. Was it fate? Was he an angel? I will never know.
But till today I have never forgotten the dog's act of mercy.
For the rest of my life I have done whatever I could to save
all living creatures.
What's the
Spiritual Message?:
Is there anyone who would be transformed by your kindness, compassion,
and unconditional love? Could angel animals teach us how to have
these spiritual qualities in our lives?
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