Gene Simmons, KISS’s renowned frontman, recently opened up about his mother’s ordeal in a Nazi concentration camp and the impact it had on his perspective of America. Flora Klein, his mother, passed away at 93, but the haunting memories of the Holocaust persisted throughout her life. The sole survivor of her family, Klein’s love for America remained steadfast.
In an interview, Simmons discussed his mother’s experiences, saying,
“I’ve done my research and realized how awful it was. I’ve tried to discuss it with her, but she wouldn’t. She watched her mother enter the gas chambers. Her entire family was wiped out. My mother was the only survivor, and she was 14.”
Despite the horrors she faced, Klein found comfort in America, her new home. Simmons and his mother arrived in the United States when he was only eight. He reminisced about watching TV together, noting that after midnight, the stations would stop broadcasting, leaving only static.
During one such night, they saw a jet soaring across the sky on TV.
“A man with a deep voice was saying something I couldn’t comprehend, and then the jet turned upward and appeared to ascend into the heavens, piercing the clouds,” Simmons recounted. “I remember the man saying, ‘And saw the face of God.’ Then it dissolved into black and white since color TVs didn’t exist back then.”
The sight of the American flag and the sound of the national anthem profoundly affected Simmons’ mother.
“Every time she saw the flag, she would cry. As an eight-year-old, I couldn’t understand why,” he emotionally confessed. “But from her perspective, we were finally safe.”
Simmons sees America as a land of opportunity for all and believes young people should be taught to confidently say, “God bless America.” A well-known patriot, Simmons has garnered attention for his controversial opinions, such as urging immigrants to learn English.
“In America, I was free to think, act, and pursue my dreams,” Simmons declared. “In America, there’s an implicit responsibility to learn English. Lose your accent. I did. Be a legal immigrant. I am. Come to this country, show some humility, make an effort to understand the culture, and assimilate as much as possible.”
Simmons thinks that America’s diverse culture is its defining characteristic and that people should pay homage to America while embracing their roots. He suggests, “Adopt a shared culture for communication, then feel free to speak Swahili, Farsi, or any other language you prefer.”
Simmons acknowledges his opinions might be contentious, but he asserts that they must be expressed in today’s political climate. “You don’t want to offend anyone by saying, ‘Just learn English,'” he stated. But for Simmons, it’s about paying tribute to his mother’s love for America and the opportunities it afforded him as an immigrant.
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Sources: Taphaps, Huffington Post, Ultimateclassicrock
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