Urbach, one of the 100 original members of Schindler's list, spoke endearingly of Oscar Schindler, the Nazi who risked his life to save the lives of Polish Jews by pretending to run a concentration camp while treating inhabitants like normal factory workers.
When Urbach was 15 years old, he was taken from the Krakow-Plaszow concentration camp in Poland to perform labor in Schindler's factory. "There was no German willing to be kind at that time to a Jewish person," Urbach said. "He risked his life ... doing what he did."
According to Urbach, Schindler was able to help many people because he was not a well-known Nazi figure. "In 1942, [the Germans] didn't recognize him as an important person," Urbach said.
Urbach described the day that Schindler's infamous list was read in the Krakow-Plaszow concentration camp. The list was generated by Nazi officials. "I knew getting out of this camp was desirable and I became very anxious," he said. His name appeared on that list and he was transported to a linen and armament factory. "[Schindler] was fairly committed … to save us and at the same time save himself," Urbach explained.
Urbach also spoke about the period directly after the war ended. He recounted the day that a Russian soldier entered Schindler's factory and announced that the war was over. "[The soldier] announced … 'the great Russian army has liberated you. You are free but you are on your own.' In essence we didn't even know where we [were]," said Urbach.
During the following question and answer session, Urbach commented on the agencies and organizations that helped the survivors regain a portion of the possessions they had lost. "We were labeled displaced persons," he said. "There were many organizations … that became active … to help us out."
Urbach lost all of his immediate family members during the Holocaust. Only one death was confirmed: his brother was shot by German soldiers as he attempted to get to his family.
He acknowledged the pain that remains with survivors to this day. "We don't live a totally peaceful life," he said. "We still have dreams of what happened and are frightened all of the time. Especially now ... it brings back bad memories," he said, referring to the anti-Semitism occurring in the world today.
Urbach noted that soon it will become the responsibility of younger generations to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are propelled into the future. "I'm here on borrowed time," he said at the beginning of his talk.
He noted that Stephen Spielberg's Oscar-winning film "Schindler's List" is one of the avenues through which this history will continue to live. "If you saw the movie, as unpleasant at it was, it was actually a lot worse than the movie depicted," he said.
Urbach mentioned a scene in the film in which children were carted away as their mothers chased after them in the streets. "What they didn't show is what happened to those children," Urbach said. According to Urbach, the children were taken to mass graves where they were viciously murdered.
One student asked whether Urbach ever wished that he was not Jewish.
"I never wished that," Urbach responded. "We struggled, we suffered, but at no point in time did that question [come up]. I have never tried to escape my 'Jewishness.'"
"[The Holocaust] has to be something that's conscious in everybody's mind so that when people see signs of impending massive discrimination, they take those signs seriously and counteract them," said Hillel Co-President Jessica Rothschild '06 as she introduced Urbach.
Linden Karas '06 praised the event. "It's so important for Amherst to have a program," she said. "It is our responsibility to learn as much as we can from the people who are living so that we can pass it on to our children. This is a great start."
According to Daniel Tsang '06, Urbach's account provided a personal history rather than the collective one he often associates with the stories of Holocaust survivors. "Having watched 'Schindler's List,' this provided [me with] a different perspective of what actually went on during the Holocaust."