Glen Ellyn man who survived Holocaust speaks at Carmel

George Levy Mueller of Glen Ellyn didn't share the story about how he and his sister, Ursula, survived the Holocaust until nearly five decades later.

But after that first talk with students in 1994, he has been speaking ever since.

On Wednesday, he told about 150 students gathered in the chapel at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein what he had experienced.

Mueller said he retells his story today in part to combat those who deny the severity of the Holocaust or whether it happened at all.

After Kristallnacht in 1938, Mueller and his sister were sent from Germany to Holland, where they were hidden for years in a convent. In 1943, they were deported and spent time in three concentration camps.

Mueller discussed life in the camps, saying the worst experience was when all but five of 1,300 children where taken from one camp and sent away to gas chambers. He, Ursula and three others were the only ones to survive.

They were liberated by the Russian army while on a death train in April 1945, emigrating to the United States two years later. He changed his name from Levy to Mueller, which was his uncle's last name.

Ursula, who lived in Skokie, died Aug. 22.

During a question-and-answer session at the conclusion of his talk, a student asked Mueller if he had forgiven those responsible for the Holocaust.

"I'm willing to forgive those who want to be forgiven," Mueller said. "I don't go around life hating people."

Carmel social studies teacher James Schuster, who teaches a course on the Holocaust, invited Mueller to speak at the school.

"I can show them video clips and we can talk about what happened, but there is no substitute for having the real thing here," Schuster said.