27 Ene The experience of a Holocaust survivor. Review: Without Truce. Hillo Ostfeld

Jhonaski Rivera Rondón

Among the cruel events of the twentieth century, World War II is a chapter in the history of humanity that left an indelible scar in many of those who lived in their own flesh the terrible scenario of such a war, among the direct witnesses who suffered the yoke of the rationality excluding Nazi ideology, there are few who share our present to witness the consequences of the latent evil that underlies the human being, one of those few witnesses is Hillo Ostfeld , whose experiences is shared in his autobiographical book Without Truce . Before denial thesis of the Holocaust, the present work, in a simple and fluid language, manages to show the fallacy of such propaganda, where the author shows us his journey through the infernal circles that left an indelible impression on Mr. Hillo , in addition to his progressive and dynamic transit in later years after the end of World War II.

Without Truce, a joint work with the Jungian psychologist Trudy Osfeld of Bendayán narrates the existential walk of Mr. Hillo Ostfeld , the life of an individual loaded with ups and downs, loaded with brief, although wise aphorism of a person who has experienced feverish changes. If you are in a subhuman condition you embark on your journey for survival, until you cross the seas and find a land that allowed you to «restore faith in the human being»

Composed of seventeen chapters and an epilogue,Without Truce, Sin Tregua gives us a tour of the origin of Mr. Hillo , where we can see how the asars of life led to the union of Leon Ackerman and Bertha Ostfeld , a union that gave life to our narrator, making him constituent member of a family of six people, whose Descent to Hell came to tear apart the bonds that life had formed and developed in Czernowitz , first his brother Simon, then his parents and then the remaining relationship that had remained with his sisters Anny and Sidy – besides the friends left behind. But we will see that thanks to contingent causalities they allowed to weld again the ties that were once cut.

After such a terrible experience, Hillo Ostfeld shows the ascending path to freedom, where he will lead him to live under the Soviet regime and, it is within this context that he will seek his independence. In this search he found his life partner, Klara . Formalized the relationship between Hillo and Klara we will continue to see the search for a better future in the “Land of Grace”, Israel, we will observe how difficult it is to build a nation, although it will be the aspirations of our narrator that will lead him to deposit his faith in Venezuela. Leaving in Israel a political position that provides some comfort, sacrifices such achievements to «make the Americas.» Reaching Venezuela was not an easy path to navigate, but on solid ground the possibilities are not made to wait at the sharp business acumen showing Hillo Ostfeld . This is how we see another stage of the narrator’s life and the beginning of the constant and forced trajinar to build the foundations of the growing family that the author is having.

Consolidated stability and tranquility, Hillo Ostfeld continues to show us his important participation in the economic dynamics of the country that hosted it, without underestimating the political sphere. The most relevant thing that the author expresses to us is that by staying true to his principles, he constantly shows us his active help to the Jewish community in Venezuela, more than rewarding the support he had received from that community in his moments of greatest need. The other side of life is reflected, before the growing success, we find invaluable disappointments and losses, but within the adversities the author was able to highlight the teachings that left him such experiences.

During the reading of the eighteen chapters where Hillo Ostfeld opens the window of his life, we can approach a historical reality that many times appears to us distanced by the frivolity of scientific discourse, this work apart from approaching a historical reality, will fill with enriching experiences of a dynamic life that he had to endure and witness events that marked a century. Within the narrative we subtly see the presence of Trudy Ostfeld de Bendayán , in the reference he makes to the internal path we all make at some point, the autobiographical history expresses the Principium individuationis – process worked by Jung – by Hillo Ostfeld , the work presented to us will reveal those things in life that we despise for the distractions that are presented to us on a day-to-day basis.