We humans are driven by many basic instincts. It's commonly accepted that we need food, clothing, shelter and water to survive. Some would argue that there are other needs, important needs that make us more fully human. These would be things such as the need to be loved, the need to belong, the need to fulfill our personal potential, and more. Under extreme conditions such as the Holocaust, it seems logical that one might be driven toward one's most basic instincts. In a circumstance such as that, what would be revealed as the most basic instinct that would drive us to survive?

Judy Cohen, a Hungarian who survived Auschwitz, spoke to high school students at the Holocaust Education Symposium 2000 in Victoria, BC, Canada. She was five years old when the Nazis marched into Poland. Her world changed forever soon thereafter. Activate the video clip below to see what Judy believes is our most basic instinct. The instinct that helped her to survive.

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Ms. Cohen presents a very different perspective on how she survived the Holocaust.

Lesson Three presents a video clip of David Erhlich, another Auschwitz survivor, with a different perspective on how he survived.

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