1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,920 Speaker 1: Everybody's Bill Courtney with Shop Talk. Welcome in the shop, 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 1: high out, Hey Bill, what's going on? 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 2: Another playoff game this Friday? 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, we won again and uh or we're one of 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: eight teams and our division still playing football in the state. 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: And this Friday we play a team and oh gosh, 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: it's five hours east of here, kind of southeast of Nashville, 8 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: almost almost in Alabama. We got to go all the 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: way over there and play them. And they're really, really good. 10 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: But our kids are working on a practice, so hopefully 11 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:40,520 Speaker 1: next time we record, I can give you an update 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: that's positive. 13 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 2: It's exciting you regardless. 14 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: It is exciting. I mean it's it's exciting. I think 15 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: we're eleven wins and one loss and you know, playing hard. 16 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 3: Actually I saw that when I looked up the score, 17 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 3: there was some newspaper article title that said, like Manassas 18 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 3: on a are you on like a ten game winning 19 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 3: street or whatever it. 20 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: Is manas or yeah, yeah ten or eleven game winning 21 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: sor something like that. 22 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 3: Actually drove by Middle of College the other day and 23 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 3: I smiled. You know, here's a sobering reality of all 24 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 3: the very best teams and every state playing football, every 25 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,839 Speaker 3: single one of them will lose their last game except one, 26 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 3: you know, And so it's a hell of a quest 27 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 3: to be the one team that doesn't lose the last 28 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,639 Speaker 3: game of their seniors years. 29 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, as Turkie Bobby says, if you're not first or last. 30 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: That's it all right. So Shop Talk number seventy nine, 31 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 1: everybody from Army member Anita Marinn. She sent a message 32 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: and said, hey, have you read The Happiest Man on Earth? 33 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: By Eddie Jacku? And I think it's Jacku. Originally his 34 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: name was like Jackiba Ritz and he shortened it to Jacku. 35 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: He's a Holocaust survivor. She says, I thought I would 36 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: suggest this after listening to today's shop Talk on Victor 37 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: Frankle's Man's Searching for meaning. It's amazing, Please don't miss it. 38 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,519 Speaker 1: Anita was also an Army member who actually recommended the 39 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: Heritage Home story. So Anita, thanks so much for being 40 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: involved and engaged and giving us so many great ideas. 41 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: And we invite all of you to please give us 42 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: ideas for shop Talk and Army normal folks and Anita 43 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 1: and today's shop Talk is proof positive that we will 44 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: absolutely listen to what you're saying and bring it up. 45 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: So Alex went and found an article about Eddie's life 46 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: and his book, The Happiest Man on Earth that we'll 47 00:02:40,320 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: read right after these brief messages from our general sponsors. Everybody, 48 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:05,799 Speaker 1: welcome back shop. That was a long shop bell right there. 49 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: That was good, Okay, good shop talking number seventy nine. 50 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: Here we go. A guy named Eddie Jacku, who was 51 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: a Holocault survivor, wrote a book called The Happiest Man, 52 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: and Alex found an article about Eddie's life in his book, 53 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: and the article comes from a Jewish publication called I'm 54 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: sorry ash Ash. 55 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know either of it. 56 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: I don't know. I should call my buddy Scott Stone. 57 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: He would know exactly what that word is, the etymology 58 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: of it, how to pronounce it, what it means. But 59 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna call it ash. And it's appropriately titled 60 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: The Happiest Man on Earth. Eddie Jacku survived Auschwitz and 61 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: became a beloved humanitarian, preaching love and forgiveness in his 62 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: adopted country of Australia. Toward the end of his one 63 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: hundred and one year lifespan, he delivered a TEDx talk, 64 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: The Happiest Man on Earth that has received two million 65 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: views on YouTube. So after you finish this, you have 66 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: something to go do, go look it up. And he 67 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: did all that. After spending seven years as a prisoner 68 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: in four different concentration camps, escaping twice, sneaking back in once, 69 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: and surviving a forced march that killed fifteen thousand prisoners, 70 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: Eddie showed us that hope can never fade away. He 71 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: was born Abraham Solomon Jack Kubowitz in leiitsbig Germany, family 72 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: of four, on April fourth, nineteen twenty. He had a 73 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,239 Speaker 1: happy childhood, growing up with his parents' little sister, Joanna 74 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: and Lulu in Lulu the family doction. Gosh, Sorry, his 75 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: sister was not named. His sister was Joanna. His dog 76 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: was named Lulu. There we go. His playmates called him Abbey, 77 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: which became Addie and then Eddie. His engineering school education 78 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: would serve him well during his lifetime, but it started 79 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: off badly as he and other Jewish boys were kicked 80 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: out of school and the Nazis rose to power. Every 81 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: time I read more about all of this stuff, every 82 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 1: time I hear somebody's story, I get sickened by the 83 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: whole thing. His father orchestrated a new identity for him, 84 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,359 Speaker 1: So thirteen year old Eddie became Walter Schleef to hide 85 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: his Jewish heritage and continue his study of mechanical engineering 86 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: in Tutelagen, which was far south of Lesbig away from home, 87 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: he stayed at an orphanage. After classes, he graduated and 88 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: earned an internship at a prestigious engineering union. Eddie or Walter, 89 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: decided to risk a visit home and took a nine 90 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: hour train ride to see his parents and celebrate their 91 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: twentieth wedding anniversary. He called it the biggest mistake of 92 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: my young life. He didn't know his family had fled 93 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: from the rising wave anti Semitic violence. Only their dog 94 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: Lulu remained. He went to bed at five am on 95 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,600 Speaker 1: November ninth, nineteen thirty eight, the daughter's house was smashed 96 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: in by ten Nazi soldiers. They beat him unmercifully, carved 97 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: a schwashtika into his arm, and bayoneted Lulu to death. 98 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: Eddie was taken outside and saw his neighborhood ablaze. He 99 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: was forced to watch his family's two hundred year old 100 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 1: house burn to the ground. Kristen Lot The Night of 101 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: Broken Glass Crystal knocked. Thank you say it again, Crystal knocked, 102 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: Crystal knock. Yeah, you're too already not to know that, Bill, 103 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: I don't know. It's not that it's your tired southern 104 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: tongue can't pronounce that kind of stuff. But anyway, it's 105 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: spelled k r I s t A l l n 106 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: a c ht Crystal knock. The night of broken Glass 107 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: had begun, Eddie wrote in his biography that night atrocities 108 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: were being committed by civilized Germans over list big all 109 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: over the country. Nearly every Jewish home and business in 110 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: my city was vandalized, burned, or destroyed, as were our 111 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: synagogues and our people. When the mob was done destroying property, 112 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: they rounded up Jewish people, many of them young children, 113 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: and threw them in the river that I used to 114 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: skate on as a child. The ice was thin in 115 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: the water, freezing. Men and women I'd grown up with 116 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: stood on the river banks, spitting and jeering. As people 117 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: struggled Shoot them, they cried, shoot the Jewish dogs. He 118 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: was loaded onto a truck and taken to Bushwald and 119 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: eventually put on a trained Ashwitz. Is it Buchenwald, Yes, Bukenwald, 120 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: And eventually put on a trained Ashwitz. Over the next 121 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: seven dark years, he would serve time in four different 122 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: concentration camps. Can you imagine growing up in a community 123 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: and having gone to school and everything else with a 124 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: bunch of people you think you're civilized friends, and then 125 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: they're burning you and bayonetting your dog and throwing you 126 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: in an icy river. I mean, it's just. 127 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 2: It is scary to think a lot of us are 128 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 2: capable of that. 129 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: It is it's scary to think what racism and deep 130 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: political division can drive, what evil it can drive humans 131 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: to Okay, he was loaded on a truck and taken 132 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: to Buchwald and eventually put on a train to Ashwitz. 133 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: Over the next seven dark years, he served time in 134 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: four concentration camps. In Ashwitz, the number one seven to two, three, 135 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 1: three eight was tattooed on his arm. He learned that 136 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: his parents had been victims of the Oschwitz gas chambers 137 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,959 Speaker 1: and crematoriums, and he slept naked and a narrow row 138 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: of ten men. When it was eight degrees below zero fahrenheit. 139 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 1: He marched for an hour and a half to work, 140 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 1: sometimes clearing debris from a bombed out ammunition depot or 141 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: jackhammering coal on a twelve hour show. When his captors 142 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: learned of his mechanical engineering background, he was made a 143 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: foreman at the ig Farborne Chemical Factory and was responsible 144 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: for regulating air pressure to two inner machines. One of 145 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: the company's chief products was a poison gas used in 146 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: the Nazi gas chambers. One of the machine operators who 147 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: ran into was his sister. They realized they couldn't speak 148 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: or acknowledged each other in front of their captors. They 149 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: passed each other in silence every day. He escaped once 150 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: by hiding in a food drum and rolling off a 151 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 1: delivery truck, still dressed in his prison pajamas, who was 152 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: freezing cold, and stopped at a cabin for help. He 153 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: was met by a Polish farmer and his rifle. The 154 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: first five bullets missed him, but the six hit his 155 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: left calf. He had to sneak back into Ashwood's, where 156 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: an old French doctor used an ivory letter opener and 157 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,959 Speaker 1: his fingers to dig and squeeze out the bullet. They 158 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 1: timed the surgery to coincide with the bell was ringing 159 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,720 Speaker 1: at a nearby Catholic church to muffle his screams of pain, 160 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: and what did he think of the man who shot him? 161 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: Do I hate that man? No, I do not hate anyone. 162 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: He was just weak and probably as scared as I was. 163 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,079 Speaker 1: He let his fear overtake his morals. And I know 164 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: that for every cruel person in the world, there's a 165 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: kind one. By early nineteen forty five, the Russian troops 166 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: were advancing and the Nazi war effort was weakening. Auschwitz 167 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: was evacuated and the Germans destroyed their gas chambers and 168 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,680 Speaker 1: crematoriums and forced the Auschwitz prisoners on a march into 169 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: deeper German occupied territory. Sixty thousand prisoners started this death march, 170 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: and fifteen thousand parish During the march. The surviving prisoners 171 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: boarded a train to Buchenwald and Eddie was assigned to 172 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 1: a machine shop to make gears. By now, the Allied 173 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,199 Speaker 1: effort was making solid advances against the Nazis, and Russian 174 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: artillery and British bombing runs were heard daily. The prisoners 175 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 1: were marched away from the advancing Russians to the east, 176 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: only to get closer to the advancing American army to 177 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: the west. Nazi soldiers began deserting their post. He escaped 178 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: by crawling into a drainage ditch, then hid in caves, 179 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: eating snails and slugs. Near death, he was crawling down 180 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: a highway and was met by an American tank. He 181 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:28,679 Speaker 1: weighed sixty two pounds. He wrote in his biography, those 182 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:32,320 Speaker 1: beautiful American soldiers. I'll never forget. They put me in 183 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: a blanket, and I woke up one week later in 184 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: a German hospital. At first I thought I was cuckoo crazy, 185 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: because yesterday I had been in a cave, and now 186 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: I was in a bed with white sheets and cushions 187 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: and nurses all around. Six weeks later, he was discharged 188 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: and walked over the border into Belgium. He vowed never 189 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: to return to Germany again. And Belgium he spent time 190 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: at a Jewish welfare society, where Jewish refugees and soldiers 191 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: of the Allied armies would meet for meals and fellowship. 192 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: He found work as a precision engineer and soon was 193 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: a factory foreman, supervising twenty machinists. A local newspaper ran 194 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,679 Speaker 1: a story of photos of Holocaust survivors, and his sister 195 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: Joanna saw it. They were reunited and lived together in 196 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: Brussels until she moved to Australia. On April twenty, nineteen 197 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: forty six, he married Flow Mullow, a Greek Separtic Jew 198 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: raised in Belgium. It would be a seventy five year marriage. 199 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: They met at the town hall of Brussels while she 200 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: administered food stamps to them. A year later, their son, 201 00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 1: Michael was born. Want a miracle to be alive and 202 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: to hold my beautiful baby, my beautiful wife. If you 203 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:42,199 Speaker 1: had told me when I was being tortured and starved 204 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: by the concentration camps that soon I would be so lucky, 205 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: I would have never believed you. The greatest thing you 206 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: ever do is beloved by another person. Each year, Flora 207 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: and I celebrate our wedding anniversary on twenty April Hitler's birthday. 208 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: We are still here there. In my mind, this is 209 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,560 Speaker 1: really the best revenge and is the only range I'm 210 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,680 Speaker 1: interested in to be the happiest man on earth. In 211 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty, the young family moved to Australia to join 212 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 1: his sister, and he took a job at a medical 213 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: instrument factory in Sydney. Soon he was in the automative 214 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:23,080 Speaker 1: repair business and opened his own service station. Next, he 215 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: and Flora opened a real estate office, reclaimed his original 216 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: name and called the business E Jacku real Estate. Eddie 217 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: and Flora worked there until their nineties. Slowly, Eddie began 218 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: to speak about his years of brutal imprisonment. In nineteen 219 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: seventy two, he joined a group of twenty Holocaust survivors 220 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 1: Great Meeting Place. Ten years later, the Australian Association of 221 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:50,319 Speaker 1: Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants was founded. Eddie was instrumental 222 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: in the founding of Sydney's Jewish Museum in nineteen ninety two. 223 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: He volunteered there for the past three decades, taking school 224 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:03,480 Speaker 1: groups on tours of the museum's Holocausts exhibitions, bringing the grainy, faded, 225 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 1: black and white images to life for thousands of young 226 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: students and urging them to never forget. Eddie would recall 227 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: his own experiences and then point to a leather belt, 228 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: his only personal item that survived the camps. I May 229 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, he delivered a TEDx talk in front of 230 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: five thousand people. His talk, The Happiest Man on Earth, 231 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: has been viewed by two million people. Here are some 232 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,200 Speaker 1: of the key takeaways from his talk. I do not 233 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: hate anyone. Hate is a disease which may destroy our enemy, 234 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: but also destroyed you and the process. I made the 235 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: promise when my son was born that from the day 236 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: until the end of my life, I promise to be 237 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:54,400 Speaker 1: a happy, smile, be polite, helpful and kind. Today I 238 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: teach and share happiness with everyone I meet. Happiness does 239 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: not fall from the sky your hands. If you're healthy 240 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: and happy, you're a millionaire. Happiness also brings good health 241 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 1: to the body and mind, and I attribute my ninety 242 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: nine years of health mostly to the positive and happy attitude. 243 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: One flowers my garden. One good friend is my world. 244 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: Young people today forget to stop. They're constantly running and 245 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: don't know where they're running to. You should take time 246 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: to be happy and enjoy life. There's a time to 247 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: laugh and there's a time to cry. I see good 248 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: things in life. Invite a friend or family member for 249 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: mil go for a walk. Tomorrow will come, but first 250 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: enjoy today. His twenty twenty biographical memoir The Happiest Man 251 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: on Earth, was an international bestseller. Edijaqu died in Sydney 252 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: on twelve October twenty twenty one, at the age of 253 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: one hundred and one his life floor died in Sydney 254 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: on six July twenty twenty two at the age of 255 00:15:55,200 --> 00:16:04,239 Speaker 1: ninety eight. That is the story of Edijaku. Wow, just stop, 256 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: don't get overtaken by all of what's going on in 257 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 1: your life, and enjoy a sunset, enjoy a walk, and 258 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: revel in the love of another human being, and enjoy 259 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,640 Speaker 1: a meal with a friend, and understand that alone can 260 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: make you the happiest person on earth. What a story. 261 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 2: Thank you, Anita. A hell of a story. 262 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 1: A hell of a story. I don't know if I 263 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: have much to add except read the book, watch the 264 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: dead talk and be inspired to choose to be happy. 265 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 1: Because I think when we're surrounded by all the casts 266 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: that we feel like we're surrounded with in our lives, 267 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: we just kind of recoil into this unhappy disposition of 268 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:56,240 Speaker 1: the rat race. And the truth is if a guy 269 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: who is put through all of this can choose to 270 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: find happiness and a friend and the love of another 271 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: person and a walk in the sunset, the truth is, 272 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: even in the depths of all the chaos in our lives, 273 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 1: we can make the choice, the simple choice to say 274 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: I'm gonna wake up today and be happy and attack 275 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 1: the day. And this guy Eddie, I think illustrates that beautifully. 276 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,159 Speaker 3: Yeah, the only thing I think that stress is I 277 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 3: really love his line. The greatest thing you will ever 278 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 3: do is be loved by another person. 279 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: The greatest thing you will ever do is be loved 280 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: by another person. It's fantastic. 281 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 3: Obviously, you have to love well to be loved by 282 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,880 Speaker 3: another person, so there's sure there's some action on your part. 283 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: But it's good stuff, it really is. And you know, 284 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,639 Speaker 1: if you're going to serve and you'll be part of 285 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: army and normal folks, you kind of need to love 286 00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: humanity a little bit and care. But I mean, I'm 287 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 1: living proof that that love of humanity and care for 288 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,439 Speaker 1: people who maybe not be as blessed as you, the 289 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 1: love you get back from it is infinitely greater, and 290 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:19,639 Speaker 1: that does create a lot of happiness. And Teddy's point, 291 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,359 Speaker 1: there's nothing like the love of another person which you 292 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:26,000 Speaker 1: can get from service in all kinds of ways. So 293 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: pretty crazy stuff. Okay, that's shop talking number seventy nine. 294 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed it. I hope it helps you think. 295 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 1: I hope it helps you choose to make today a 296 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: great day. If you have ideas from shop Talk, please 297 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 1: send them to us. You can reach me anytime a 298 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: build it normal folks dot us. If you like this episode, 299 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 1: please rate, review it, share it friends, share it on social, 300 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,880 Speaker 1: join the army at normal folks dot us. Do any 301 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: and all of these things that can help us grow 302 00:18:55,800 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: our show and thusly our reach and thusly are act. 303 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: That is shop Talk number seventy nine. Thanks for being 304 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,640 Speaker 1: with us. I'll see you next week.