Holocaust survivor speaks about World War II at Penn Hillel

A Holocaust survivor spoke to the Penn community at Penn Hillel on November 12.

Harry Pila, author of “The Journey of a Secret Child,” shared a first-hand story about his childhood during World War II. More than 85 community members attended the event, hosted by college student and Hillel Vice President of Engagement Ethan Farber.

Pila was born in Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1941. He described how, when he was six weeks old, his parents hid him with their close non-Jewish friends, Gerard and Germaine Decraene. Gerard was a double agent who collected information from the Nazis on behalf of the British.

“(Gerard) had a transmitter under the coal cell because in those days in Europe coal was used for cooking and eating. Pila said that he would transfer information to England at night and host the Nazi officers at home with me.

The Decraens disguised Pila as a Christian girl for several years to hide her from Nazis who would enter their home.

“They put me in a dress and for the next few years I became a girl,” Pila explained. “I became Jeannette instead of my original name, Jean Pierre.”

Pila also remembered when the Nazis arrested her parents and aunt and sent them to the Auschwitz concentration camp. While his father was killed in Auschwitz towards the end of the war, his mother and aunt survived and returned to Belgium. Pila initially rejected her biological mother when she returned, believing the Decraenes to be her real parents.

Unlike many other Holocaust survivors, Pila said he had a “generally happy childhood.” After the war, he attended school in Belgium until moving to Fort Worth, Texas, with his mother and stepfather in 1954. He is an active member of the Metrowest, NJ Holocaust Council.

During the Q&A session, Pila said he sees similarities between people denying the Holocaust and Hamas’ denial of the October 7 attacks on Israel.

“I think young people are being brainwashed, not only in our country but also in other countries, because there are professors in schools who deny the Holocaust,” he said. “I don’t think politics or anything like it should be brought up in lessons unless it’s a lesson about genocide. Professors should stick to the subject they are supposed to teach rather than expressing their personal opinions.”

In 2022, Pila debuted the book “The Journey of a Hidden Child”, which he wrote with Holocaust researcher Robin Black. Copies of the book were also offered for sale at the event.

“I actually wrote the manuscript so that my grandchildren, and later their children, would have information about their families and what happened in the Holocaust,” Pila said. “But with all this antisemitism going on, I decided to publish the book because there are so many deniers these days who say it doesn’t happen.”

The event ended with a standing ovation for Pila.

In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Pila talked about the importance of young people learning about the Holocaust and Israel’s role in the Israel-Hamas war.

“I think it’s very important for young people to know about the Holocaust, to know what’s going on in Israel today, and not to believe a lot of things that are primarily in far-left publications,” Pila said. he said.

He emphasized the importance of young people learning about the Holocaust “so that it doesn’t happen again to any group.”

“This should not happen to anyone, Jewish or not,” Pila said.

Farber thanked those who came to the event.

“This standing ovation brought tears to my eyes. It’s really special to be able to share what happened to my family with the rest of the Penn Hillel community,” Farber said. “I also had some of my non-Jewish friends take the initiative to come and learn about the Holocaust, which means the world. It shows that there is support and strength.”