This is not so terrible in itself and I must say that my parents tried to answer every one of my questions very patiently, until... I began even badgering strangers, and they generally can't stand "children's endless questions." I must admit that this can be very tiresome, but I console myself with the idea that there is a saying that "you must ask in order to know," which couldn't be completely true, otherwise I'd be a professor by now.

When I grew older, I realized that it is not possible to ask every kind of question to everyone and that there are many "whys" that cannot be answered. It then followed from that that I tried to help myself by starting to think out these questions on my own. So I came to the important discovery that questions which one mustn't ask can be solved by oneself. Therefore, the little word "why" taught me not only to ask but to think.

Now as to the second part of the word "why." How would it be if everyone who did anything asked himself first, "Why?" I think they would then become more honest and much, much better people. For the best way to become honest and good is to keep examining oneself without stopping. I can imagine that the last thing people like to do is is to confess to themselves their faults and their bad side (which everybody has).

This is the case with children as well as grownups-in that respect I don't see any difference. Most people think parents should try to educate their children and see to it themselves that their characters develop was well as possible. This is certainly untrue. Children ought to educate themselves from their earliest youth and must try to show real character by themselves. Many will think this is crazy, but is isn't.

Even a very small child is a little personality and has a conscience and should be brought up by being treated in this way, so that it will feel that its own conscience is punishing it in the harshest way possible. When children reach the age of fourteen or fifteen, every punishment is ridiculous. Such a child knows very well that no one, not ever its own parents, can get anywhere with punishments and spankings. By arguing reasonably and by showing the child the mistakes it is making, one would get much better results than by strong punishments.

But here, I don't want to sound pedantic, but only to say that in the life of every child and every man, the little word "why" plays a big part, and rightly so. The saying,"You must ask in order to know," is true insofar as it leads to thinking about things, and by thinking nobody can ever get worse but will only get better.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Simon Wiesenthal Center

The Holocaust History Project Homepage