44 JUNE 2017 ARCAD A NEWS with the Germans,” said Knoblauch. “They have you in their grasp and now they say, ‘The war is still on; you need to go fight the Germans.’” After being trained, Knoblauch and his friends realized that their objective was to target a nationalist group that wanted a free Poland. No prisoners were to be taken. “We survived all of this garbage and now we are going to kill people who tried to be free like we wanted to be free?” Knoblauch recalls him and his friends saying to one another. “We can’t do that.” So, the small group walked down to the river to wash one day, and they kept walking. When Knoblauch returned to Krakow, he was advised to leave, because authorities were looking for him. But then he learned his mother had returned home. When he saw her, he barely recognized her – her body a frail and sickly shell of what she once was. “My mom was beyond recognition,” Knoblauch said. “She said, ‘Where is your father?’ and I said, ‘We’ll talk about it later. We can’t stay here; we have to go. I will tell you everything on the way.’” Knoblauch and his mother took up fictitious names and lived in a town occupied by Poles. They worked briefly in a Jewish-owned grocery store while Ruzia got her strength back. After additional attempts at leaving, Knoblauch ultimately ended up in a displaced person’s camp in Feldafing, Germany, and received a sponsorship to enter Canada. He arrived on June 11, 1949 after a seven-day ocean voyage. His brother, sister and mother would all end up safely in Canada. He met his wife Lila, an American, after first seeing her in a photograph, and the couple married in Toronto in 1951. They started a family and moved to the U.S. in 1953. Knoblauch retired in Phoenix in 1995 and at the encouragement of his family, he began writing about his experience in the Holocaust. His first classroom presentation was in the mid-1990s when his granddaughter asked him to come to her classroom. Patti Mastropolo, who teaches 8 th grade language arts at Greenway Middle School has known Knoblauch for four years and calls him a “great spirit.” “It’s very emotional when he presents to my kids,” she said. “They love Oskar. After hearing his story and how he speaks about tolerance…and how he has handled all of these situations, it makes them think before they act.” She added, “They gain an inner strength from his story.” When students tell Knoblauch about bullies, he reminds them to be upstanders. When they tell him that they are different and struggle to make friends, he reminds them of coming to Canada unable to speak a word of English. When they tell him about their friends turning on him, he reminds them of the friends he lost when they joined the Hitler youth, and how there will always be more friends. And when they tell him they want to give up, he reminds them to keep going. “You have to persevere,” he says. “This is not the end of your life.” He’ll never forget the teen girl who was ready to give up on her life until hearing him speak, or another student who knew she was headed down the wrong path and was finally convinced to turn her life around. “When I stepped foot out to freedom on January 18, 1945, I kicked hate out of my vocabulary and I replaced it with tolerance, respect and love,” said Knoblauch. “Never forget that life is beautiful, and it was given to you.” To learn more about Oskar Knoblauch, visit voiceoftolerance.com Healing hate Continued from page 42 Today, Oskar Knoblauch shares a message of tolerance, respect and love. nothingbundtcakes.com Expires 7/31/17. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. $5 off $30 before tax. Valid only at the bakery listed. Valid only for baked goods; not valid for retail items. No cash value. Coupon may not be reproduced, transferred or sold. Internet distribution strictly prohibited. Must be claimed in bakery during normal business hours. Not valid with any other offer. purchase of $30 or more Phoenix-Central N. 42nd Pl. & E. Indian School Rd. 4290 E. Indian School Ste. 101 Phoenix, AZ 85018 (602) 954-4041 17-SS-0060-05151_Dads_5x6.indd 1 5/16/17 12:33 PM

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