Melbourne survivor’s message to Whoopi

MELBOURNE Holocaust survivor Annetta Able had a message for TV and movie Whoopi Goldberg this week.

The 98-year-old, who with her late twin sister Stephanie Heller, was experimented on by Dr Josef Mengele recorded a video after The View host insisted the Holocaust “was not about race”.

Goldberg, who subsequently apologised for the offence she caused, was suspended from presenting the show for two weeks “for her wrong and hurtful comments … to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments”.

In the video Annetta, who celebrated her birthday this week, said, “It was about race. It was about my race and that of my sister and parents and all who can’t speak today.

“Today, I am the oldest surviving twin of the murderous Dr Mengele. I shudder to call him doctor.  My sister and I were part of his experiments and no one  can claim this did not happen. We lived to tell of the horrors we went through.

“My sister would say more and better, and I’m sure she would be proud of me for speaking out today. It is not easy for me to do this. She was stronger than me. I always cry when I think of our family and their terrible end.

“Whoopi Goldberg and all others, be careful with the words you choose and use. Be careful with the effect they have … The Holocaust was about the Nazis policy to rid the world of the Jews in the cruelest possible way. The Jewish race.

“It is popular to forgive our tormentor. I cannot forgive and I cannot forget. I ask for you too, do not forget.”

Commending Annetta’s “courage and eloquence in calling out Whoopi Goldberg’s stupid, obscene and offensive Holocaust distortion,” the Anti-Defamation Commission’s Dvir Abramovich said, “The Holocaust was all about race. Hitler called the Germans a ‘Master race’, and six million Jews were targeted and singled out for destruction because the Nazis’ genocidal campaign was about ridding the world of this ‘inferior’, ‘subhuman’ race.”

He added, “This troubling episode speaks volumes to the increasing ignorance about the Holocaust, especially amongst millennials. It is my hope that this sorry episode triggers an honest conversation about antisemitism, the issues facing the Jewish community and the critical need for increased teaching and learning about this historical period.”