Montezuma speech production of the ‘Lucky Ones’ brings story of a Holocaust survivor alive

      The scene captures the horrific nature Jewish prisoners endured during transport to Auschwitz by a train cattle car during the Montezuma Speech production of the "Lucky Ones' written by Dianne Singleton. The performance is based on the life of Dr. Edith Eva Eger, 96, and based on her memoir, "The Choice."

By J.O. Parker
 
      The Montezuma High School Speech Choral Reading production of the “Lucky Ones” was more than an All-State performance, it was a history lesson based on a true story of a concentration camp survivor.
      Written by Dianne Singleton of Montezuma, the production was about Dr. Edith Eva Eger a Hungarian born Jewish girl who in 1944 at age 16 along with her sister, Magda, survived life in the concentration camp, Auschwitz, during World War II.
       Singleton wrote the production after reading Edith’s memoir, “The Choice” published in 2017. Edith was born in 1927 in Kosice, Slovakia, where she lived with her parents and two older sisters, Magda and Klara.
      According to Edith’s story, her family later moved to Budapest, Hungary and it was there that German Nazi soldiers came into the family’s home, forced them to gather a few belongings and stuff them into one suitcase and board a cattle train car to Auschwitz. Klara, a violin player, was hidden by her music professor and was not taken by the Nazis.
       “Only Edith and her sister, Magda, survived as her mother was killed upon arrival at the concentration camp,” said Singleton.
        At Auschwitz, Edith was forced by Nazi officer Dr. Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death, to dance for his amusement, which helped save her life.
       A few months later, Edith was placed in full prisoner garb and loaded on top of a munitions train as a human shield to keep the British from bombing and taken to Poland where she and Magda were placed on a forced death march to Germany.
       She was eventually saved by American soldiers and had to spend six months in a baby crib to regain her full strength before going on to marry and move to the United States.
        “The details of her story are so incredible,” said Singleton. They (Edith and Magda) were two of 100 who survived the death march out of 18,000 prisoners.”
         Singleton said for several years, Montezuma Speech Director Liesl Roorda had been talking about doing a choral reading based on the Holocaust. Singleton spent about a year reading memoirs and books about concentration camp survivors when she came across “The Choice” in September last year.
      After reading the book, Singleton reached out to Edith via email and asked for permission to tell her story as a choral reading production for high school speech. It took Singleton about three weeks to write and edit the production.
       “I took the details of her miraculous story of survival from the death camps and turned it into the choral reading production,” said Singleton.
        The production featured Bryn Fantazia, Claire Erselius, Faith Ferry, Gracie Wilson, Isabella Roorda, Kaya Latcham, Letisia Wilson, Lily Shoemaker, Lydia Singleton, Madison Van Zee, Mya Smothers, Taylor Wilcox, Jayden Doll and Eli Smothers.
       When asked, Singleton said the students were very humbled and moved by the experience because Dr. Edith Eger, who is 96 today, is still alive.
          “They watched her You Tube videos of her experiences and they were inspired and moved by her story,” she said.
         Edith went on to become a psychologist and during her career worked with soldiers who had PTSD and helped them learn to forgive. 
         “She is such a great person,” said Singleton. “That was the kind of person who the students learned from and acted out her story. It was pretty amazing.”
          When asked, Montezuma student Izzy Roorda, who played Edith in the production, said the choral reading production was a very good way to show what happened during that time.
       “It was a symbol of remembrance and I am really glad to be a part of it,” said Roorda. “I’m glad we have coaches who put so much effort into the student body.”
         “This has been so important for me because it is a heavy subject,” said student Kaya Latcham. “It’s important to bring attention to the Holocaust and to keep history alive.”
        “I remember when we started practice,” said Montezuma student Bryn Fantazia. “It was an eye opener. It put us into a new perspective on how people were treated in concentration camps.”
         Fantazia went on to say it was a fun experience.
         “It was also great to spread the message of what really happened,” she said.
        “I thought it was a lot of fun,” said Montezuma student Mya Smothers. “It was a big eye opener to how the people where treated. It gave us a feeling of what it would have been like had we been alive then. With all the talent of the people in the production it made it a real experience.”
       Singleton said plans are to send Dr. Eger a video of the production as a gift for allowing the speech program to share her story.
        When asked what she loves about being a speech coach, Singleton said she loves inspiring the next generation in their creative gifts.
          “It is a wonderful experience to watch the students grow in confidence and skills,” she said.
         Singleton has been working with the speech program as a coach for about six years. In addition to speech director Liesel Roorda, Kelly Kaup, who directs the fall musical at Montezuma, also works as a speech coach.