I'd like to talk about what is the way out of that prison?

I can only tell you what I lived.

Anything I tell you, I lived it.

First of all, my parents wanted a son after two girls, and I came along.

So I came into a very talented family.

My sister Magda played the piano.

My sister Clara played the violin.

Do you wanna tell that story?

Tell me about hope.

Ah, well, that's my favorite, wonderful four-letter beautiful word.

How do you find hope in hopelessness? I usually talk about Hans Selye who got the Nobel Prize in a stress study, and he says anything stressful that come to us, we either fight or flee.

But in Auschwitz, it didn't work, because if you touch the guards, you were shot right away.

If you tried to flee and touch the barbed wires, you were electrocuted.

So you have to learn how to cope and find hope in that hopelessness.

And I remember that with God's help, I was able to turn hatred into pity.

And why do people immediately think that's narcissism? I feel like people don't understand the word narcissism, and people are like, "If you like yourself, you're a narcissist." [laughs]

... what would those three lessons be?

I probably would tell them that I will never forget what happened.

I don't know what means to overcome.

I don't think I...

I don't know exactly what that means, but I came to terms with it.

Why do people get that confused?

Yeah.

Well, I had two paraplegics, both coming from Vietnam.

Mm-hmm.

They're both scared, but they don't really sit down, which is, uh, which I do really to make them really see what's really going on.

But down the line, if they don't do that, they will miss passion and life, for sure.

I don't know what else right now to think of.

Passion, joy.

What would you have said to him? If you could have met him, what would you have said to him?

I would probably tell him, "I have no idea what I would have done if I would have been in your shoes.

You must have felt very powerful sending my mother to the gas chamber," because he asked me, "Is this your sister or is this your mother?" I still wanna cry even now, that stupidly I said, "It's my mother," because I could not forgive myself, that if I would have said, "My sister," she wouldn't have gone to the gas chamber.

What was the trigger?

I was on the advisory committee for the Navy and as a psychologist, and so when I arrived, I didn't have anything to do.

And for about six years, I would pass a Holocaust museum, but I never went inside because I keep saying to myself, "I already been there, done that," and, but this time I decided to go.

So on the fourth floor, we saw the GIs, the 71st Infantry, and that was very important for me to see, because one of them was holding my hand, and I looked up and all I saw was a big leap.

So I am interviewed by Oprah, and she got up quickly and she said, "He was Black."

What makes you happy, Idica?

Oh, these moments are very happy for me to meet other people or colleagues.

I like noises, and I love good conversation.

Edi, how on Earth did you build such resilience to be able to face evil, let go of the hate, and finally forgive yourself?

There was a time when I shook my fist to God.

You know, I don't think, uh, uh, the forgiveness came without rage.

I didn't get over it.

I'm not getting over it, but I, I don't live there.

I know that and if I could have really said something, I, I would have.

But I said to myself, I, you know, "Why didn't I was able to bring my mother here?" Uh, because everybody after 40 had to stand in this line, and everybody with a family to this line, and if we would have let m- our mother go alone, she would have gotten through.

That idea of parenting themselves, did you learn that because you lost your parents at Auschwitz?

Edie, how on earth did you build such resilience to be able to face evil, let go of the hate, and finally forgive yourself? There

was a time when I shook my fist to God.

You know, I don't think the forgiveness came without rage.

I didn't get over it.

I'm not getting over it.

But I don't live there.

I know that if I could have really said something, I...

The idea of parenting themselves, did you learn that because you lost your parents at Auschwitz?