Amanpour and Company

THINGS HAVE TO COME INTO PLACE FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, HAVING SAID THAT, I WANT TO PLAY THIS SOUND FOR MY INTERVIEW WITH EHUD WHO HAS CALLED FOR ELECTIONS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

>> I CALL UPON THE GENERALS FORMER HEADS OF THE IDF WHICH HAVE JOINED RIGHTLY SO TO STAND UP AND TELL NETANYAHU , WE DEMAND TO SET AN ELECTION DATE AT MOST, EARLY JUNE AND WE ARE CALLING UPON OTHER LEADERS OF THE OPPOSITION WHO WILL STAND UP.

>> IS CALLING IT AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT THE LONGER THAT NETANYAHU STATED OFFER YOU THIS OFFICE.

WITH THE LIKELIHOOD IT WILL TAKE EFFECT?

>> I THINK THE TWO GENERALS, I THINK THEY SEE THINGS LIKE BARACK DOES EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T SAID PUBLICLY AND THEY ARE LOOKING FOR AN OFFRAMP FROM THIS COALITION BECAUSE THEY NOW HAVE AROUND 40 SEATS IN ALL THE POLLS AND THEY DON'T WANT TO LEAVE THE COALITION IN THE WAY THAT WILL BASICALLY MAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE STOP SUPPORTING THEM AND MAYBE EVEN GOING BACK TO SUPPORT NETANYAHU.

ARE LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT TIME, AND FOR THEM, THE RIGHT TIME IS AFTER THERE IS SOME SORT OF DEAL ON THE RELEASE OF HOSTAGES.

ONCE THIS HAPPENS, THEY CAN SAY, THIS IS WHY WE WENT TO THE GOVERNMENT.

WE MANAGED TO GET ONE DEAL ON THE HOSTAGES, SECONDED ON THE HOSTAGES, AND NOW WE CAN LEAD THE COALITION AND CALL FOR AN ELECTION.

A LOT OF PEOPLE -- BIG PARTS OF THE RESIGNEDLY PUBLIC SUPPORT BOTH OF THEM DON'T GO TO THE STREETS BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY ARE STILL IN THE GOVERNMENT.

ONCE THEY LEAVE THE GOVERNMENT, THIS WILL BE A SORT OF CALLSIGN AND TRIGGER FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO SAY, OKAY, NOW WE ARE GOING BACK TO THE STREETS AND CALLING FOR AN ELECTION AND NETANYAHU'S RESIGNATION.

>> SINEX QUESTION WHAT IS NETANYAHU PRIORITIZING ?

THERE WOULD BE CAUSE FOR AN ELECTION OR KEEPING THIS GOING FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE?

>> IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE POLLS IN ISRAEL THE LAST TWO WEEKS, PUBLIC IS VERY CLEAR ON THAT QUESTION.

MORE THAN 50% AND EVERY VOTE THINK NETANYAHU IS FIRST AND FOREMOST CONCERNED ABOUT HIS POLITICAL SURVIVAL AND NOT ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE.

>> THAT IS DISCONCERTING.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>>> NOW AS THE WORLD SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND THE DEFINITION OF GENOCIDE AND HOW TO PREVENT IT WHILE ALSO REFLECTING ON ISRAEL'S HISTORY, WE LOOK AHEAD TO INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBERED TODAY THE SATURDAY AND ITS MESSAGE IS PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER WITH ACTS OF ANTI-SEMITISM RISING GLOBALLY.

IS EAGER WAS JUST 16 YEARS OLD WHEN SHE WAS SENT TO AUSCHWITZ CONCENTRATION CAMP BUT WHAT SHE SAW REMAINED A SECRET FOR MANY YEARS.

INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED PSYCHOLOGIST, SHE DEVOTES HER LIFE TO HELPING PEOPLE HEAL FROM THEIR TRAUMA.

IS ENTERED DAUGHTER MARION JOINT WALTER ISAACSON TO DISCUSS THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS, HER BEST SELLING BOOK THE CHOICE AND WHY TELLING HER STORY SET HER FREE.

THIS INTERVIEW AS PART OF EXPLORING HATE THEM OUR ONGOING SERIES ON ANTI-SEMITISM, RACISM AND EXTREMISM.

>> THANK YOU.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE ARE DELIGHTED TO BE HERE.

>> SATURDAY IS HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY.

A LOT OF PEOPLE NOW, ESPECIALLY YOUNGER PEOPLE THINK OF THE HOLOCAUST AS WAY BACK IN HISTORY .

DIDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT IT, BUT DR. EDIE, AS YOU CALL YOURSELF, YOU WERE THERE.

I WANT YOU TO TELL US ABOUT THE STORY SO WE NEVER FORGET EUROPE TELLS ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AND MAYBE START WITH THAT CATTLE CAR GOING TO AUSCHWITZ.

>> THE CATTLE CAR WAS VERY CROWDED AND MY MOTHER WAS SITTING ON A BENCH, MY FATHER WAS SITTING ON THE FLOOR WITH THE GIRLS.

I BEGGED MY FATHER TO SHAVE SO HE WOULD LOOK YOUNGER, BUT HE DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME.

WHEN WE ARRIVED, I WAS MET WITH A SIGN.

MY FATHER WAS VERY ENCOURAGING THAT WE ARE JUST GOING TO WORK A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN WE GO HOME.

AND OF COURSE, THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.

BUT MY MOM TOLD ME, AND I LIKE TO QUOTE HER TODAY THAT, EVERYTHING CAN BE TAKEN AWAY FROM A HUMAN BEING EXCEPT WHAT THEY PUT IN THEIR MIND, AND THAT REALLY KEPT ME GOING.

THIS IS TEMPORARY AND I'M GOING TO MAKE IT NO MATTER WHAT.

SO, I DID A LOT OF CRYING AND I THINK THAT WAS USEFUL FOR ME TO LOOK AT LIFE FROM INSIDE OUT.

>> ON THE VERY FIRST DAY YOU WERE AT THE DEATH CAMP OF AUSCHWITZ, YOUR PARENTS ARE KILLED.

THERE IS SOMETHING VERY POIGNANT THAT HAPPENED, WHICH IS THEY COME TO YOU AND YOU ARE WITH YOUR SISTER AND THEY POINT TO YOUR MOTHER AND SAY, IS THAT YOUR MOTHER OR YOUR SISTER?

TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED THEN.

>> YOU WERE IN LINE AND YOU AND YOUR SISTER WERE TOGETHER WITH YOUR MOTHER IN BETWEEN YOU.

AND YOU SAW THIS MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT.

>> YES, THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT WAS DR. MANGA AND HE POINTED, YOU EITHER GO TO THE LEFT OR YOU GO TO THE RIGHT.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS MY MOTHER AND SO POINTED TO THE LEFT AND MY SISTER AND I TO THE RIGHT AND I FOLLOWED MY MOM AND HE GRABBED ME, I WILL NEVER FORGET THOSE EYES, HE SAID YOU WILL SEE YOUR MOTHER REALLY SOON.

SHE IS JUST GOING TO TAKE A SHOWER.

>> AND THEY WERE DOING THAT BECAUSE THEY WERE KILLING THE OLDER PEOPLE, AND BY HAVING REFERRED TO THE WOMAN AS YOUR MOTHER, THEY REALIZED SHE WAS OLDER.

DID THAT MAKE YOU FEEL GUILT OVER THE YEARS OR SURVIVOR'S REMORSE?

>> TREMENDOUS GUILT.

BUT OF COURSE YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST.

IT DID HAPPEN AND I REMEMBER MY SISTER, I ASKED WHEN WILL I SEE MY MOTHER?

THE GUARD SAID, SHE IS BURNING THERE, POINTING AT THE CHIMNEY.

AND SO, THAT'S HOW I ENTERED AUSCHWITZ AND IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF MAY, 1944.

>> IN YOUR BEAUTIFUL BOOK, THE CHOICE, YOU TALK ABOUT DANCING FOR DR. JOSEPH MINGHELLA.

TELL ME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HE COMES IN AND WHEN YOU SEE HIM.

TELL ME THE STORY ABOUT DANCING FOR DR. JOSEPH MINGHELLA.

>> HE WELCOMED US VERY WARMLY AND WANTED TO KNOW WHO IS TALENTED, BECAUSE HE WOULD LIKE TO BE ENTERTAINED.

AND SO FRIENDS THAT I KNEW, BECAUSE I DANCE FOR THE COMMUNITY WHERE I LIVE.

THEY PUT ME IN FRONT OF HIM AND VERY FRIENDLY HE SAID, DANCE FOR ME, DANCE FOR ME.

I BEGAN TO SAY TO MYSELF, YOU BETTER BE GOOD.

I DID A SPLIT RIGHT AWAY.

I DID A VERY GOOD ONE.

I CAN THROW MY FEET IN THE FRONT AND FROM THE BACK AS WELL.

I WISH I COULD HAVE A PICTURE FOR YOU, MAYBE SOMEWHERE THEY WERE FILMING.

>> YOU DANCED TO TCHAIKOVSKY AND THAT HE GAVE YOU BITS OF BREAD.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT.

>> I WAS FRIGHTENED TO DEATH.

I WAS SO ANXIOUS TO PLEASE, SO I WOULD NOT BE SENT TO THE GAS CHAMBER.

IT WAS A VERY CHALLENGING AND DIFFICULT UNPREPARED EVENT.

>> WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE CAMP?

YOU AND YOUR SISTER, TO KEEP YOURSELF ALIVE, TO KEEP GOING?

>> WE HAD TO UNDRESS THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LYING DEAD.

WE ALWAYS TOOK CARE OF THE TEETH OF EVERYONE.

IT WAS VERY SCARY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW WAS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT MINUTE.

WE DID NOT KNOW WHERE WE WERE GOING TO END UP, BUT STAYING ALIVE WAS THE GOAL.

WE HAVE A LOT OF HUMOR, SARCASM THAT WE USED.

CYNICISM AND ALL THAT, JUST TO BE SURE THAT THIS IS TEMPORARY AND WE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT.

HOPE WAS NEVER GIVEN UP.

AND TODAY I HAVE THREE CHILDREN, FIVE GRANDCHILDREN, AND SEVERAL GREAT GRANDSONS, AND THAT IS MY REVENGE TO HITLER.

>> IN MAY OF 1945, THE ALLIES COME IN TO LIBERATE THE PEOPLE OF THE CAMP I THINK IT WAS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIER WHO HELPED SAVE YOU AND YOU WERE UNDERNEATH A PILE OF CORPSES.

>> I FELT SOMEONE'S HAND AND I LOOKED UP AND I SAW TEARS IN HIS EYES.

YES, I LOOKED UP AND IT WAS A MAN OF COLOR.

I WISH I COULD SEE HIM NOW.

HE MUST BE IN HIS LATE 90s FOR SURE.

>> YOU DISCOVERED ON YOUR OWN ABOUT YOUR MOTHER'S HISTORY IN THE DEATH CAMPS.

TELL ME HOW YOU DISCOVERED IT, WHAT YOU FELT, AND THEN WHAT YOU SAID TO HER.

>> WHEN I WAS ABOUT 12, AT THAT POINT I WAS READING GROWN-UP BOOKS.

I STARTED TO LOOK BEHIND SOME OF THE BOOKS IN ONE OF THE BOOKCASES AND I FOUND THIS BIG BOOK AND I TOOK IT OUT AND IT HAD THE MOST DISGUSTING HORRIBLE PICTURES I HAD EVER SEEN.

THEY WERE SO FRIGHTENING.

I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MY MOTHER BEING IN AUSCHWITZ, BUT I KNEW MY MOTHER HAD A DEEP SADNESS IN HER, AND THERE WAS SOMETHING IN HER EYES THAT WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE SAD.

SHE WAS THE WARMEST.

ALL MY FRIENDS LOVED HER.

SHE WAS A WARM WONDERFUL MOTHER BUT I COULD JUST SEE THAT.

WHEN I SAW THESE PICTURES, IT WAS HORRIFIC.

I WENT STRAIGHT TO MY FATHER AND SAID, DADDY, WHAT IS THIS BOOK AND WAS MOM THERE?

AND HE SAT ME DOWN AND HE SAID, THIS WAS AUSCHWITZ AND YES YOUR MOTHER WAS THERE.

AND I OF COURSE WAS AMAZED, IN A WAY NOT AS SURPRISED AS YOU MIGHT THINK, BUT ALSO SHOCKED.

AND THEN MY MOTHER FOUND OUT THAT MY FATHER HAD TOLD ME AND SHE WAS FURIOUS.

>> WAIT, WHY WERE YOU FURIOUS, DR. EDIE?

>> BECAUSE I KEPT IT A SECRET BECAUSE I WANTED TO ASSIMILATE AND I DIDN'T WANT ANYBODY TO LABEL ME A CERTAIN WAY OR FEEL SORRY FOR ME THAT I WAS IN AUSCHWITZ.

PRETENDING AN IMAGE OF ME THAT WASN'T MY TRUE SELF.

>> FOR MANY YEARS AFTER YOU COME TO THE UNITED STATES, YOU DIDN'T TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT IT.

YOU KEPT IT A SECRET AND YOU BECAME A PSYCHOLOGIST AND WERE HELPING VIETNAM VETERANS DEAL WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS.

TELL ME HOW YOU THEN DECIDED TO DEAL WITH YOUR OWN PTSD.

>> BECAUSE I WAS HONEST WITH MYSELF THAT I CREATED A PERSON, A HISTORY THAT WAS NOT THE TRUTH , AND I BEGAN TO USE MY PAST, ACTUALLY, TO LET PEOPLE KNOW SO THAT THEY CAN REMEMBER AND REVISIT A PLACE WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN AND RELIVE AND REVISE YOUR LIFE.

>> YOU HAD TO GO BACK TO AUSCHWITZ.

YOU WENT AS AN ADULT, BACK TO AUSCHWITZ.

IS THAT WHY?

>> YES.

TO ME, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO GO TO A PLACE AND TOUCH THAT PLACE THAT I WAS SURE THAT THIS WAS TEMPORARY.

TODAY I DO RECOMMEND DEFINITELY TO EVERYONE TO REVISIT WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN, RELIVE THAT EXPERIENCE, BUT DON'T SET UP HOUSE THERE.

>> MARIANNE, YOU BECAME A PSYCHOLOGIST , GOT HER DOCTORATE AND THEN YOUR MOTHER ALSO DID THAT AFTERWARD.

TELL ME HOW YOU PROCESSED AND WATCHED HER CHANGE AFTER THE VISIT TO AUSCHWITZ.

>> SHE WENT BACK TO THE AREA WHERE SHE HAD BEEN LIVING AND SHE SAW A MAN IN A UNIFORM AND SHE STARTED TO PANIC.

THE OLD FEAR CAME BACK AND SHE STARTED TO GET VERY PANICKY AND THEN SHE SUDDENLY REMEMBERED THAT SHE HAD A PURSE AND IN THE PURSE WAS AN AMERICAN PASSPORT.

SHE COULD LEAVE AUSCHWITZ.

THIS MAN WORKED THERE AND HE COULDN'T.

MY FATHER, WHO WAS WITH HER WHEN SHE WALKED OUT SAID THAT SHE HOPPED, SKIPPED, JUMPED, DID CARTWHEELS AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS IS THAT HER FACE CHANGE.

HER EYES DIDN'T HAVE THAT FEAR IN THEM ANYMORE AND IT WAS A PROFOUND, REALLY.

AND THEN HER ABILITY TO HELP PEOPLE, SHE GOT HER PHD IN HER 50s.

ANYBODY WHO IS WATCHING THIS, WHATEVER DREAM YOU HAVE, LOOK AT MY MOTHER.

WHAT SHE HAS ACCOMPLISHED.

YOU CAN AND SHE DID AND SHE HAS.

SO, I'M SO PROUD OF HER.

SHE HAS HAD A PHENOMENAL CHANGE BECAUSE SHE LET HERSELF ACCEPTED.

>> DR. EDIE, WHY DID YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK SO BADLY?

>> I WAS READY AND RELYING ON THE STORY BEING TOLD HOW GOOD PEOPLE DO SUCH TERRIBLE, VERY BAD THINGS.

I THINK THAT WAS MY DUTY TO MY PARENTS SO THEY DID NOT DIE IN VAIN.

>> WHAT YOU CALL THEM GOOD PEOPLE?

>> BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE ARE BORN WITH SIN.

I THINK WE ARE BORN AND WE LEARN , WE LEARN TO HATE.

>> HOW DID YOUR LESSONS, OF SURVIVING AUSCHWITZ, SURVIVING THE DEATH OF YOUR MOTHER, SURVIVING ALL THIS, GIVE YOU LESSONS THAT WE CAN LEARN TODAY?

>> IT'S YOUR ATTITUDE.

IT'S THE KEYWORD.

THE WAY YOU LOOK AT EVERYTHING AS AN OPPORTUNITY AND AUSCHWITZ WAS A CLASSROOM AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR AN OPPORTUNITY,