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Altmann was the same age during the Holocaust as many of the students she spoke to. Throughout World War II, she endured through Auschwitz as well as the Essen and Gelsenkirchen labor camps. In 1945, she was forced on the death march to Bergen-Belsen, the same camp where Ann Frank died.
"Anyone who survived the camp of Bergen-Belsen will live forever," is a saying Altman recalled during her talk.
Altmann told students her story of pain, terror, and finally triumph through education and service. “Learn all you can,” Altmann said during the talk. “Education is the one thing no one can take from you.”
Altmann speaks seven languages, a skill she believes contributed to her survival during the Holocaust. She recalls translating what people said during her time in the concentration camps.
As soon as Altmann was released, she chose to continue her education. She also found empowerment through service to her community.
“Learn everything you can, be good to other people, and give back,” she said to students.
As students listened, some asked questions such as “Where did you go after you were freed?” and “Did you have an inspiration to keep going?”
Altmann told students that she appreciates everything and does not carry hate.
“You children are our future,” Altmann said during her talk. “Whatever you can do, please do. Write letters. If you see an injustice on the street, don’t just say this doesn’t concern me. Make a better country. Make a better world.”
CFES student Jahdavid Jones, on behalf of the Cloonan family, presented Altmann with a plant to represent ongoing life and gratitude for her visit.
“We love you as a person and we love your story, and our hearts are always with you,” said Jones. “We should hold her words about education and about accepting others with us every moment of every day.”
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