Holocaust survivor tells his story for first time
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers DARK MEMORIES- Holocaust survivor Charles Pierce sits next to his wife, Libby, and shows the tattoo he received in a Nazi concentration camp to students at Apollo High School in Simi Valley last week. The Camarillo man visited the school with his wife, son and daughter to talk to students about his real life experience as a prisoner during World War II.

Charles Pierce survived the "black month of my life" in August 1942.

That was when Nazis liquidated the ghetto in Pierce's hometown of Kielce, Poland, and began shuttling the city's Jews to their deaths in concentration camps.

For most of his life, Pierce, now 87 years old, kept private his horror stories of Auschwitz, Dachau and Waldheim. Four years ago, he finally opened up, sharing the darkest moments of his life, the vivid details of the Holocaust.

Last Thursday, the Camarillo resident spoke to about 100 students and teachers at Apollo High School in Simi Valley. His son Mark read notes his father had dictated to Libby, his wife of 53 years. As Mark read aloud, Pierce, Libby and their daughters, Shelly Scranton and Emily Waltjen, listened. Scranton fought off tears while Libby Pierce clutched her husband's hand.

Students and teachers alike were moved by Pierce's story. They stood up to get a better look at the "B1719" tattooed on his left forearm and sat in silence as he told of mothers, after refusing to abandon their children, getting shot dead along with their babies.

But even though his school visit recalled a life filled with sorrow and suffering, there were moments that revealed Pierce's perseverance and his sense of humor.

Libby told the story of how they met- on a blind date Dec. 13, 1953. Pierce asked her to marry him that New Year's Eve.

"It was a beautiful party in Brooklyn. And she got me drunk," Pierce said, as the students laughed.

Dominique Isabeau, 18, gave Pierce a hug before leaving for her next class.

"It was very touching, very sad," said Isabeau, a senior. "I'm glad he's still here. I think he's a strong man who's still witty and smart."

Senior Richard Gonzalez, 17, sat and listened to Pierce's story twice. Gonzalez could see the anguish on Pierce's face as his son spoke of his survival.

"After the first time, I wanted to stay and see his emotions," Gonzalez said, "how he can actually fight through his emotions and talk about it and be here. . . . There's something to learn from all those memories."

Jerry Neri, an economics and history teacher, had one word when asked to describe Pierce's account.

"Powerful," Neri said. "Powerful. It was an incredible gift. It's so rare nowadays, that sharing of spirit that bridges generations. That's what made it powerful. The kids understood on an emotional level what was taking place in his life. . . . What he taught was beyond the Holocaust. A lot of kids here suffer in their lives, and this gentleman gave them hope."

Pierce had to cancel a previously scheduled speaking engagement at the school in December because he had fallen ill.

Principal Tracy Rohlfing was thankful he was able to finally speak to her students.

"It was a very moving story," Rohlfing said. "The message for the kids is how hatred can be painful, and it's important that we practice tolerance."

Every student at the school is required to take a nineweek orientation course that stresses acceptance of others and how to deal with conflict. Apollo students also had visited the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles until this year, when budget cuts prevented the trip.

Pierce, who's lived in Camarillo for 14 years, had four brothers, but only two, Abraham and Seweryn, survived the war. The three survivors all had different last names, however. Abraham Price resides in Naples, Fla. Seweryn Piasecki died four weeks ago at 97 in Baltimore. Pierce changed his last name from Piasecki when he became an American citizen.

Even though Pierce had nightmares of dogs and men with rifles chasing him for years, the Holocaust survivor has lived a meaningful, productive life. More than words, his life is the message.

"We've spent a wonderful life together," Libby Pierce said. "How he survived, I don't know. He's a wonderful, wonderful man. I've been very blessed. . . . His story should be told. There are people to this day that say it never happened."