A Celebration Interrupted
I just finished watching the most gripping film about Adolph Eichmann. My Uncle Albert’s birthday fell on Christmas Day. It was customary to celebrate his birthday with great gusto! Friends and family gathered at his home to celebrate the occasion. There was music and dancing, lots of food, and an unending supply of booze. That particular Christmas, we were all at my Uncle’s house celebrating his birthday. I was a teenager, wearing a red dress trimmed with rabbit fur pompoms. Nobody was really celebrating, for the trial of Adolf Eichmann was being broadcast on the radio. Everyone was eagerly listening to the trial, as televisions were not common in those days. If anyone cared to have a conversation, they did so in a hushed voice or left to another room to converse.
One of the guests that night was Mr. Schmidt, a representative of one of the German companies that my father and uncle represented. He had been in Tehran for two to three years and considered himself to be a close friend of my uncle. On that night, he was downing whisky at a phenomenal rate, listening to the radio news about Eichmann. Suddenly, he broke out into unrestrained sobs, shocking everyone present, especially the children witnessing a grown man in distress. It was a stark reminder of the impact of the recent Holocaust on all of us, revealing a side of Mr. Schmidt that no one had anticipated.