Marianne Schwarz at GRU Get Together 25 October 2020

To view the recording click HERE

We were honoured when Marianne Schwarz, long time member of B’nai B’rith, and 2020 Menorah Award recipient, agreed to talk about her life at the Gesher-Rabin Unit Sunday Get-together last week.

Marianne Schwarz, who throughout her 98 years, by good fortune and a remarkably positive attitude has shown extraordinary resilience. Her determination to maintain her independence has always been her driving force.  Her horrific experiences in the holocaust, which broke the will of many others, and her acquiring Covid-19, at a very great age only served to strengthen her. Whenever, she faced a major obstacle, such as her tragic experiences in the war or the loss of her husband and partner for 46 years, Joschy, led to her adapting to a new life and making the most of it. Whereas she never forgot the past, such as being a speaker in “Courage to Care”, and memorising long stanzas of poetry from her childhood, it didn’t prevent her from looking forward to the future.  How else can you explain her multiple activities, which she does several times a week, such as table-tennis, bridge, crosswords, sudoku, scrabble, reading books and newspapers. When she realised the benefits of modern technology, she embraced them. Few people can lay claim to learning how to use an iPad and an iPhone from the age of 97.
These days Inspiration has become an overused word, but how else can you describe the effect she has had on her many admirers.