Ernest Fruehauf, Holocaust survivor, came to speak to Mr. Tom Clark’s, Social Studies, class about his experience in Germany during the Holocaust. Deni Grgic (11) found Fruehauf on the Lake Central website while checking his grades.

“We just finished talking about WWII and Mr. Clark thought it would be cool to have a speaker, and I thought it would be cool to have a Holocaust survivor,” Grgic said.

Fruehauf was born in Bavaria on March 24, 1929. This was four years before Hitler became chancellor in Germany. Fruehauf’s family owned a confectionary shop in a small town of 14,000. The cafe was destroyed by the Nazis in 1938, and his father was sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp. His father returned on Dec. 22.

Fruehauf’s father knew that if they did not get out of Germany they would die. They only had one suitcase each to pack all their belongings. It was not until Aug.,1941 that his family boarded the 92 degree ship and headed to America. His family was one of the fortunate ones to escape.

Despite his experience Fruehauf holds no grudges towards the Nazis.

“[Fruehauf] had no hate towards the Nazis. He was pretty calm about it, and he felt like the only reason that they did what they did was because they were driven by hate, and he said that that causes us to do irrational things,” Grgic said.