the HOLOCAUST

To say it never happened is an outright absurdity to Mike Jacobs — firsthand memories of the Holocaust still linger in his mind.

The Dallas man remembers singing in choir as a 14-year-old boy in 1939 Poland, only to be removed by Nazi soldiers and later confined to ghettos and concentration camps for five years — a time he focused only on hope and survival.

Jacobs, who was named Mendel Jakubowicz at birth, also remembers the close-knit Jewish family he once had — a family killed by Nazi rule. His parents, two brothers and two sisters were killed in the Treblinka death camp, he said, and another brother was killed while fighting for the partisans.

The horrific acts of those years were etched firmly in the survivor’s mind as death loomed at every corner. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum states that about 6 million Jews were killed under the Nazi regime.

“I saw so many atrocities,” Jacobs, now 83, said. “Children being thrown from windows, so many children shot and killed — it was unbelievable.

“The soldiers would say, ‘It’s easier to kill a Jewish baby than a fly on the wall.’ ”

Jacobs survived the infamous death camp, Auschwitz, the Birkenau camp in Poland and Mathausen-Gusen II in Austria, sabotaging German equipment undetected.

And he has the scars to prove it.

Jacobs stills bears marks from a bullwhip to the face and his tattooed identification number, B4990 — is a testament to his endurance for freedom.

“I always thought they can torture my body, but they can never torture my spirit,” he said. “I never gave up hope and belief — I was always positive I would survive.”

On May 5, 1945, American soldiers liberated the 19-year-old man — who only weighed 70 pounds — and tossed him a Hershey chocolate bar from their tank.

Jacobs said that as he left Mathausen-Gusen II, he didn’t hesitate to share his experience of overcoming tragedy — and he still tells it. More than 18,000 people each year hear the survivor talk about his visit back to the death barracks that once imprisoned him unjustly.

“Now I can smile — I can walk in and out anytime I want to. I’m free now,” he said. “We must remember how beautiful it is to be free.”

Jacobs, who immigrated to the United States in 1951, tells his Holocaust story every day — reminding audiences of hatred’s destruction and faith’s power. He also founded the Dallas Holocaust Memorial Center for Holocaust Studies, which is now called the Dallas Holocaust Museum.

“Hate breeds hate — that’s Hitler. I’m not bitter either. I’m over here to share my experiences and how I’ve survived,” he said. “God looked over me during that time.”

Jacobs will speak March 15 at the American Airpower Heritage Museum at the Commemorative Air Force near the Midland International Airport.

Paul Feit said he thinks the lesson is a timeless one worth hearing.

The 48-year-old Odessan said he didn’t learn about the Holocaust until he was a teenager because his parents didn’t talk much about it. Many of his father’s relatives were killed and his mother’s parents, who had immigrated to the United States, were stricken by the loss of friends and family.

“The holidays, to her parents, were times of mourning — remembering everyone who wasn’t there,” he said. “My father’s family was wiped out entirely.”

Despite the myths and some people’s denial, Feit said the Holocaust darkened his view of human nature. Pointing to nations like Cambodia, Rowanda and Yugoslavia, he said mass murder seems to be a fact of diplomatic life today, with little regard for human life.

“I feel it’s important that everyone remembers the Holocaust,” he said. “It’s a lesson of what can happen, that people need to remember — this is a whole society that went wrong.

“The notion that a stable country could do something like this is frightening — I’m not so much concerned for myself, but that the younger generations know,” he said.

Jacobs is continually working to make that possible.

With plenty of photos, a pair of child’s shoes and a bar of soap made from human fat, Jacobs said his presentation on March 15 will emphasize the importance of freedom and the danger of hatred and apathy.

“Those people were convinced that they were doing the right thing by following Hitler,” he said. “It can happen again if we’re silent and complacent.”

ON THE NET:

>> Mike Jacobs, Holocaust Survivor: www.mikejacobsholocaustsurvivor.com/

WANT TO GO?

>> Auschwitz survivor Mike Jacobs will speak at ‘Holocaust Survivor,’ part of the Remembrance of War Seminar Series, at 2 p.m. March 29 at the American Airpower Heritage Museum of the Commemorative , 9600 Wright Drive near the Midland International Airport.

>> Admission is $10 for non-members, $5 for museum members and children younger than 12 are free.

>> Call 563-1000, ext. 2260.