December 2020 / Kislev-Tevet 5781

READINGS from Mania Nudel Holocaust Learning Center

Of the David Posnack Jewish Community Center DECEMBER 2020 / KISLEV-TEVET 5781

The month of Kislev is always a special month in the Hebrew calendar. It is one charged with the Divine spirit as we entertain the idea of studying “Chasidus.” Chasidus is trying to capture how each one of our souls touches the Divine on a daily basis. Faith was an important element in survival in the camps during the Holocaust. Primo Levi wrote in his book “Auschwitz” those who could utter the Yiddish word “morgan” stood a chance of survival – morgan-tomorrow! The month of Kislev also brings us the celebration of Channukah. What is amazing about survival in the camp is that even during these most horrific of times, there were those Jews who understood the need to have faith. We have several accounts of prisoners finding different ways of remembering Channukah in the camps by lighting little pieces of cotton wicks even if they lasted for a few minutes, just to remember the glorious victory of the Maccabees, praying that perhaps there will be a Maccabean army that will come and save them from death. In Theresienstadt, in late 1942, someone stole a large block of wood from the Nazis running the camp. Into it, they carved an ornate hanukkiah with nine candle holders and a Star of David. A Hebrew inscription curves over the top: “Who is like you, O Lord, among the celestials?”(Mi Chamocha b’ailim Adonai)

Hanukkah Lamp, made by Arnold Zadikow (German, 1884- 1943) and Leopold Hecht (Czech, 1912-1994) in Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia, 1942. In the permanent collection of the Jewish Museum in New York.

While few other Jews had a physical hanukkiah in the camps, many found ways to kindle a flame and celebrate the holiday. In 1943, amid the horrors of Bergen-Belsen, 11 survivors saved scraps of fat from their food and used loose threads to form makeshift wicks. A carved raw potato served as the candle-holder, while a wooden shoe was repurposed into a children’s dreidel. In her book, Hassidic Tales of the Holocaust, Yaffa Eliach describes how Rabbi Israel Shapiro chanted the blessings to the assembled inmates: “On the third blessing, in which God is thanked for having ‘kept us in life and preserved us and enabled us to reach this time,’ the Rebbe’s voice broke into sobs, for he had already lost his wife, his only daughter, his son-in-law, and his only grandchild.”

All over Europe Jews found ways to celebrate the holiday. After arriving at Westerbork, a transit camp in the Netherlands, in late 1943, the Elchanan family used recycled battery parts to make a menorah out of wood and aluminum foil. Grease and cotton wicks served as candles.

Prepared by Rabbi Dr. Leon Weissberg [email protected] READINGS from Mania Nudel Holocaust Learning Center

Of the David Posnack Jewish Community Center

Holocaust survivor Yechezkel Hershtik, then a boy of about 12, remembers stopping on a bridge as they were transported on foot between the Romanian camps of Sacel and Iliora. They lit candles along the wall of the bridge, said the Hanukkah prayers, and then continued on their way.

In the German Landsberg/Lech displaced persons camp (where I was born-LW), Jews fashioned a Hanukkah lamp out of cartridge scraps and shell casings, and dedicated it to U.S. commander- in-chief General Joseph T. McNarney. On this hanukkiah, a Hebrew inscription is hammered into the brass: “A great miracle happened there,” (nes gadol hayah sham).

Wishing you all a very joyous Channukah celebration – as best as can be expected under the aura of this pandemic. May you find the strength to persevere and light those Channukah candles to commemorate the Maccabean victory as well as the victory of those who survived the camps and have lived on to have children, grandchildren and great children – that is our victory, that there is always “morgan.” *********

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT FROM FAU:

FAU Announces Largest Gift in School’s History $20 Million Transformational Gift to Create Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Studies This gift will house FAU’s Holocaust, Jewish Studies, Human Rights programs under one roof, including the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, which was dedicated in November.

*****Congratulations *****

GENERATIONS OF THE SHOA INTERNATIONAL The GSI newsletter for December 2020 is now available online at http://genshoah.org/newsletter-2020/gsi-newsletter-12-2020.pdf

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World Without Genocide is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 7:00-9:00 pm CT, "Genocides and Crimes Against Humanity: Prosecuting and Preventing Humanity's Worst Crimes." The featured speaker is Michael Bazyler, J.D., Professor of Law, Human Rights, and Holocaust Studies at Chapman University. He will discuss the upcoming Supreme Court case, to be heard in two weeks, concerning restitution of art stolen by Nazis from Jews during the Holocaust. Registration is open to the public and is required by Dec.1 at worldwithoutgenocide.org/crimes

Prepared by Rabbi Dr. Leon Weissberg [email protected] READINGS from Mania Nudel Holocaust Learning Center

Of the David Posnack Jewish Community Center

$10 general public, $5 students and seniors. ‘Clock hours’ for Minnesota teachers, nurses, and social workers. $25 for 2 “Elimination of Bias” CLE credits for Minnesota yers. More information: [email protected] or 952-693-5206.

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3GNY Stories Live: WEDU Wednesdays A Barber From Krakow Featuring Guest Speaker Anna Scheumann Gallegos Wednesday, December 9, 2020 | 8:00 pm ET | Virtual Event on Zoom

Join us to hear from Anna Scheumann Gallegos, who will tell her grandfather Max's story. Max Hilfstein was born in Kraków, Poland. By the time the war started, his father had died and Max was running the Hilfstein family business, a salon, with his mother. The family was later sent to the Kraków ghetto — where Max tried to subvert Nazism and in the process he saved several lives. In the ghetto he married Erna Kluger, and when the ghetto was liquidated, Max was sent to Płaszów and then to a series of other concentration camps including Auschwitz. REGISTER: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yQd1Fbj3TSGioFpmhk10kQ?mc_c id=0b28b1f8bb&mc_eid=d08c681646 * * * * * * * * Discussion With Slawek Pastuszka Restoring The Memory of Jewish Communities in Poland Sunday, December 6, 2020 | 3:00 pm ET | Virtual Event on Zoom

Slawek Pastuszka, a member of the Third Generation, is one of the few Jews who still lives in his region of Poland. He is a Jewish historian, genealogist, teacher and social activist. Slawek has dedicated his life to restoring the memory of Jewish communities in this part of Poland. He has cleaned and renovated numerous cemeteries, and has also published REGISTER: numerous books about his endeavors. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yQd1Fbj3TSGioFpmhk10kQ?mc_cid=0b 28b1f8bb&mc_eid=d08c681646 * * * * *

Prepared by Rabbi Dr. Leon Weissberg [email protected] READINGS from Mania Nudel Holocaust Learning Center

Of the David Posnack Jewish Community Center

Thank you Donny for finding this photo on Reddit

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Check out NEXT GENERATION, if you are a child or grandchild of a survivor: Our website has been enhanced and modernized. It has a new look and is easy to navigate. Please check it out at www.nextgenerations.org. It contains a snapshot of who we are, our initiatives, our mission and most importantly, what we hope to accomplish. In addition to our website, we have a presence on social media via facebook. Please follow us at www.facebook.com/NEXTGENERATIONS.ORG.

Prepared by Rabbi Dr. Leon Weissberg [email protected]