Last week, Penn State Hillel welcomed Mark Schonwetter, a Holocaust survivor, to speak. Accompanying him was his daughter, Ann S. Arnold, who wrote a book called, Together: A Journey for Survival, describing his experiences.

I have heard one other Holocaust survivor speak before, but the fascinating thing is that everyone has a completely different story and experience.

The event began with Ann giving some background on Mark and she also described some of their interactions with students at other schools they had visited. She was an incredible speaker who really captured the audience’s attention. There were laughs and there were tears, so basically my emotions were all over the place.

People often assume that someone who has suffered through something as horrible as the Holocaust would be bitter and angry that these were the cards that they were dealt. However, this man was nothing like that. He spoke about his experience in hiding with his mother and sister and how he barely had any food. He even told the story of finding out that his father had been killed. Although this seems like plenty of reason to be angry, he wasn’t. Someone in the audience asked him if he hated everyone who was a Nazi, and he said no. He said no because they were just doing what they had to do to protect themselves and their families. Like what??

Another audience member asked him how he was so optimistic despite what he had gone through and you know what he said? He asked the guy if he had ever been on vacation before. He said, “do you remember how happy you were on vacation? Smiling at everyone and loving life? Why shouldn’t every day be like vacation?”

Everyone in the audience just kind of gasped and looked around. I had so much admiration and respect for this man. He put it so simply; if life isn’t making you happy then what are you doing? Why wouldn’t you want to spend every minute so happy that it feels like you are on vacation? Why waste your short time on this Earth hating something or someone and being angry? It’s just not worth it.

Mark Schonwetter is a hero. Not because he performed some grand act of bravery (although surviving the Holocaust does require quite a bit of bravery), but because of his message that he relays onto every single person he speaks to. He tells his story so that this horrible time will never be forgotten, and along the way he inspires people to always choose happiness above any other negative emotion. And that is why he is a hero.