Friday, April 12, 2013

April 12th - Dr. Adelaide Hautval

Queen of Spades - Dr. Adelaide Hautval



With Conrad Veidt, Dr. Adelaide Hautval is the only other righteous gentile on this list (unless you count Brian Wilson.) An accomplished psychiatrist and a Protestant, Dr. Hautval was arrested in Nazi-occupied France for attempting to cross the demarcation line. Appalled by the conditions of her fellow prisoners, Hautval protested so loudly that she was slapped with a badge that read "Friend of the Jews" and sent off to Brikeneau and then Auschwitz. 
Using her medical training, she dedicated herself to the safety of her fellow prisoners, and kept many from succumbing to the preventable diseases and infections bred in those deplorable conditions. She was singled out by Dr. Mengele for her skills, but refused to participate in his experiments once she realized their true nature. 
She gained her freedom when Auschwitz was liberated, and dedicated herself to persecuting the torturers of her fellow inmates. Dr. Hautval's testimony was instrumental in bringing the so-called doctors to swift justice. Pretty much a total badass.

-


"Friend of The Jews"


It's the color of urine
And they pinned it on with a hand so heavy
That the skin broke above my breast
Bleeding through

The star points dried brown
The same color as this place
A shit brown
That gets under your fingernails
And gets matted in the hair of little girls
Ground into the wrinkles of the elderly women
Crying in languages I can't understand
Crying for their sons
Or for water
So I give them water
Boiled water and black bread dark enough
That we won't see the flecks of dirt and excrement

The ladies help me start furtive fires
So naked we can warm our clothes
Hot enough for all the fleas to burn
And in those moments
I'm careful not to singe my badge because
I'm proud of what it says








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