Toby Levy spent two years hiding during the Holocaust. During that time from 1941 to 1945, Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party in Germany. The group killed about 6 million Jews. As a Jewish girl in Poland, Toby had to live in a barn with her family to avoid being caught.
News-O-Matic readers had many questions about this. Here are the rest of Levy’s answers:
Mercy: What were your first feelings when you were old enough to understand what Hitler was doing.
Levy: I never understood. I still don’t understand. I don’t understand the purpose of it. You talk hatred, hatred, hatred. I don’t understand. I don’t understand the mind. I don’t understand the people. But in order for me to survive the whole
, I have to live without hatred. This is what my father said. “If we make it, we can’t hate. We can only try to correct it, to understand it, and to teach.”
Kenlee: How did you stay warm during the winter?
Levy: The barn was open. We brought along our beddings. And we had a lot of hay. I probably could not have taken it today. It must have been 50 degrees (F) or 30 degrees (F), but it didn’t matter.
Isha: Why didn’t your grandfather hide with you and your family?
Levy: Very good question. Because he was older. And he said, “I’d rather die before I see my children killed.” Very simple. I probably would do the same. I’d rather die before I see my kids be killed.
William: When did you come to America?
Levy: I was in Austria. In 1949, everybody opened the doors. Canada, Australia. So we decided to go to the United States. My father always goes the opposite direction. Everyone came to New York. He says, “I’m not following to New York. I want to go to the South.” He knew what he wanted.
The Jewish agency had a boat. It was an army boat. It filled with that all went to the South. We were two weeks on the ocean. I remember the trip coming down the Mississippi. Well, let me tell you, I was so excited. Finally, we coming to a place we can make roots and make a life. So, I came to New Orleans — 1949.
Russ: Do you have any life lessons for children who might be feeling frustrated indoors because of COVID?
Levy: What’s important is to say to yourself, “I’m still lucky.” It helps an awful lot when you think positive. You have no idea how much it helps when you say, “This is
.” I just got my vaccination Sunday. I didn’t go to a party. But I was celebrating. I see an end.
We were two years in hiding. The second year, when the Russians stopped the Germans in St. Petersburg, I’ll never forget that day when [Stephanie] came. Not only did she leave the food, but she stayed to talk to us. She says, “I see a light at the end of the tunnel.” There was an end.
This [is the] same thing. I am locked in my house 11 months. But thank God, you can think it is going to end. You’re right. But it’s not that bad, trust me. You don’t know what bad means.
Owen: What do the words “never again” mean to you?
Levy: Nothing to me. Sorry. It’s only words. I’m terribly disappointed. I’m not only disappointed; I’m scared. Not for me, 'cause I’m old — for my kids. I don’t like what I hear, and I don’t like what I see. The same hatred, the same words. How can I sleep at night? I can’t.
But I’m keeping quiet and hoping. I’m hoping. The Jews alone cannot handle that. The non-Jews have to be part of not wanting denial.
Sasha: What can children do to ensure that “never again” holds true?
Levy: When I speak to the children, I say to them, “Please go to your parents. Ask them, ‘What did they remember? How do they feel about Jews? What does anti-Semitism mean to them?’”
I’m just about the youngest of the survivors. So when we die, there’s no . That’s it. And the deniers will come out big time because they’re denying now, so why not later? Every place has to stop preaching, “Hate the Jews.” Everybody has to stop.
Russ: So, Toby, do you have a final wish for Holocaust Remembrance Day 2021?
Levy: People should become wiser a little bit, picking on what they say and do. People like you should say, “We have to act every day.”
Anyway, what can I tell them? Never to lose hope. Positive, only positive. That’s going to get you where you want to go, and not to hate. I don’t hate. So I can smile.
Updated January 27, 2021, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
