pbs高端访谈:大屠杀幸存者"每一天都在上演仇恨,暴政

 　　JEFFREY BROWN:And finally tonight, one woman's story of survival during the Holocaust¹ and her new life in America as a champion of immigrants and citizenship².

　　Judy Woodruff has our conversation.

　　And a warning: It includes some disturbing images.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN,Holocaust survivor³: I guess we all knew that this was going to be the first step to the end of the road, either to liberation or to—to doom⁴.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Those first steps for 20-year-old Gerda Weissmann from Bielsko, Poland, that snowy, frigid⁵ January in 1945 did lead to liberation, but only after three-and-a-half months and 350 miles of unimaginable horror.

　　Of the more than 2,000 young Jewish women and girls who the German S.S. forced to walk that death march through the snows of Eastern Europe, fewer than 150 survived. Most already had endured six years of ghettos, concentration camps and slave labor⁶ after Hitler's army had invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1939.

　　All had been separated from their families and loved ones.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:I was the only one from my family who survived, the only one of my dearest friends.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Among the American forces who found the starving and half-dead women was a young Jewish intelligence officer, Kurt Klein. While she was convalescing⁷, Gerda and Kurt fell in love. They were married in 1946, and she emigrated to the U.S. They raised a family in Buffalo⁸, N.Y., and devoted⁹ their lives to community service, working for tolerance¹⁰, and honoring those who had died in the Holocaust.

　　Her 1957 memoir¹¹, "All But My Life," led to an Oscar-winning documentary in 1996.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:I have been in a place for six incredible years where winning meant a crust of bread and to live another day.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:In 2011, President Obama awarded her the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian¹² can receive.

　　For the past several years, Gerda Weissmann Klein has been championing the values of citizenship and the immigrant's role in creating a diverse and vibrant¹³ America.

　　And, Mrs. Klein, it's an honor to have you with us.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:The honor is mine. I'm deeply grateful.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:First of all, tell—tell me, why is it so important for people to keep talking about the Holocaust and what happened?

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:I think, of course, the importance of the Holocaust should only be too illuminate¹⁴ the fact that it—that hatred¹⁵ and tyranny and all that is not over.

　　It is going on every single day. And I think that we should have more people come from countries where it is happening to see the type of pictures. You know, when I see pictures of little children holding battered¹⁶ little things for food, when villages are being burned, this is still going on.

　　I just think the Holocaust should be used as a beacon¹⁷ to show of what hatred and intolerance and all those things which have led to so much pain all over the world is capable.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:People read your story or they hear your story, and they want to know what gave you the strength to survive, when so many others didn't, that terrible experience.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:I do believe that it is 95 percent of luck, to be at the right moment at the right time, you know when selection came, you, you, you know.

　　Furthermore, I obviously had a very good and healthy constitution. And the will to live is extremely strong. You know, even I - I've just gone through quite a bit of illness. I'm going to be 88 years old, and I was in the hospital with people who were over 90, and the will to live is still strong.

　　I think that's the very magic of life, and particularly if you were as young—we were all in our early 20s when it happened—or not quite 20—the will to live pushes you on.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:So, you're now—what, it's 62 years later. You are a very young 87. What's kept you going?

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:What kept me going is what kept everyone else going, the hope that, when it's all over, we will go home to our families, to the life we left behind.

　　And I think that was probably the worst is, when it was over, there was nothing there. In my case, I met my beloved husband at the very moment of liberation, and my life took a different turn. And I could credit him with everything.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:And what about in the six decades since? What's kept you going all this time? You've dedicated¹⁸ yourself to work on. . .

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:. . . intolerance.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:I've been so fortunate.

　　I mean, you know, I need to ask myself every day, why am I here? I'm no better. Why was I was holding my children and grandchildren in my arms, sitting down to dinner with friends, walking in the rain? And I said I've been given the privilege of a meal. So, you know, you have to look back and say, if you have what you have, you know, survival is an incredible privilege. It's also a very nagging¹⁹ and deep obligation. You know, it's all the time.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:And one of the ways you have given back is, you have been involved in so many causes.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:Well, hopefully to try to help a little.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:... the Holocaust Museum. And you founded a few years ago this organization. . .

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:Citizenship Counts.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:. . . Citizenship Counts.

　　What is it that you want to convey to the younger generation through this?

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:Well, let me put it this way.

　　I was so fortunate in meeting my husband, who brought me here, and I love this country. I love it with the love that only one who has been hungry and homeless for as long as I have been.

　　And my dream was, which probably is everybody else's, complete assumption, my dream was to be married, of course to him, to live in a home and become a part of a community, to have children, to be involved. And all this became mine.

　　I came here not being able to speak English, and I always wanted to write. I came here not knowing one soul but my beloved husband. And look what happened. I didn't—I wasn't Mother Teresa. I didn't work in the slums of Calcutta. I didn't give my life to it. I have lived a good middle-class life. I didn't discover a cure to cancer. You know, I didn't become rich to endow great things.

　　I was just an average person. And why did it happen to me? And it only can happen in America, only in America. And I want to give back to this country.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Finally, do you think the United States is handling immigrants, immigration the way it should be today?

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:I don't know that—having had yearned²⁰ so much for freedom, you can imagine that that's a very difficult question for me.

　　And I hope and pray that, in the ultimate decision of justice, the heart will win over the brain.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Gerda Weissmann Klein, again, it's our honor to talk with you. Thank you very much for being with us in the studio. Thank you.

　　GERDA WEISSMANN KLEIN:Thank you.

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

5 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 convalescing   

v.康复( convalesce的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She is convalescing at home after her operation. 手术后她正在家休养康复。
• The patient is convalescing nicely. 病人正在顺利地康复。 来自辞典例句

8 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

11 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

14 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

15 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

16 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

17 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

18 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

19 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 yearned   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people yearned for peace. 人民渴望和平。
• She yearned to go back to the south. 她渴望回到南方去。