A Survivor's Story - "Dreaming of Shabbat meals and other holidays to forget their starvation."

Lillian Berliner was deported with her family from Hungary in 1944. She and her mother survived Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, liberated by the British troops on April 15, 1945. In Auschwitz, they were starving, and to alleviate their numerous hunger pangs, they invented frequent "dream meals," planning their menus carefully for hours and in great detail. Their favorite dishes and desserts took priority and were frequently repeated. The table settings, the color of dishes, tablecloths, napkins, flowers for each occasion and the seating arrangements were also discussed. This may sound delusional, but during those meal planning sessions, they were briefly transported to a normal world, a world that was so far from their miserable reality. They imagined tasting the dishes they prepared and their hunger pangs disappeared during the hours of planning. They could hardly wait for the next planning session.  Unfortunately, when they were in Bergen-Belsen, they were too sick and weak to even "dream."

How lucky we are to have Shabbat to elevate us each week. Wishing you a wonderful Shabbat experience with family and friends. May we all be blessed this Shabbat with the sense of having grown in goodness and with compassion.  

B'Shalom, Sherrie

It is always difficult to comprehend the number "6 million," and the following may give you a sense of that number in terms you can relate to:
 
  • Approximately 6.5 million Jews currently live in Israel.
  • Approximately 6.8 million Jews currently live in the U.S.
  • If we dedicated one moment of silence for each of the six million Jewish victims - the silence would last 11 years, 5 months.
  • A list of the victim's names would contain 24,000 pages. These pages, placed in books and piled one on top of the other, would be 8 ft. high.
  • A major football stadium would have to be filled and emptied 75 times.
  • The Torah is read from beginning to end, during one full year; if every single word represented each Jewish victim in the Holocaust - it would take 75 years to read.





 

EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION - THE PEOPLE
 
VICTIMS
  • In 1933, approximately 9 million Jews lived in 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Germany during the war. By 1945, two out of every three European Jews had been killed.
  • 500,000 Gypsies, 250,000 mentally/physically challenged, 3 million Soviet prisoners, 3 million Poles, political dissidents, dissenting clergy, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, African-German children (offspring of German mothers and African soldiers.) 
CHILDREN
  • All childhood was lost; they were in constant hiding; some children assumed Christian identities.
  • Children smuggled food into the ghettos to feed families; medical experiments were performed on the children in camps; children were forced into extreme slave labor; they were malnourished and diseased.
  • The very young were sent to gas chambers upon arrival to camps.
  • 1938 Kindertransport - ten thousand children (ages 3-17) were sent to Britain (without parents) for sanctuary; the transportation was paid by UK residents, not the government; 20% of the children reunited with families later.
BYSTANDERS
  • The Holocaust happened because individuals chose to act or not to act.
  • The experience of all Jews was not the same.
  • Bystanders were ordinary people who played it safe - complied with laws, avoided terrorist activities, were fearful of the consequences if they tried to help.
  • The Pope remained silent; 1,000 Roman Jews from the Eternal City were deported to Auschwitz.
  • Indifference to what was happening to the Jews was worldwide.
COLLABORATORS & PERPETRATORS
  • Who: the Nazi Party, bankers, professors, military officials, doctors, journalists, engineers, judges, authors, lawyers, salesman, train station officials and drivers, police, and civil servants; and the Hitler Youth.
  • They believed in the ideology of racial cleansing; they profited financially; "just following orders" was their defense.
  • Adolf Eichmann was responsible for the Final Solution; Joseph Goebbels controlled the media, book burning and Kristallnacht; Herman Goring was responsible for the secret police and the first concentration camps; Reinhard Heydrich controlled the Polish ghettos, the Einsatzgruppen, and the Wannsee Conference; Heinrich Himmler headed the SS, Gestapo, and camps; the notorious Joseph Mengele was the physician at Auschwitz, performed medical experiments, selection of victims for work or death; Jurgen Stroop and his troops destroyed the Warsaw Ghetto.
  • France cooperated when 90,000 Jews were deported to death camps; nighttime roundups of 40,000 Jews existed in Belgium; Holland took a stand, but, only 10,000 of 150,000 Jews survived; Serbian Jews were murdered (Yugoslavia and Croatia); Jews in Greece were deported to Auschwitz; Romania collaborated with the Nazis (425,000 Jews); Switzerland allowed Jews to enter, then turned them over to the Gestapo.
RESCUERS
  • Less than ½ of 1% of the total population of non-Jews under Nazi occupation helped to rescue Jews. It was a great risk to individuals and families, if caught.
  • The individuals who risked their lives to help were peasants, nannies, aristocrats, clergy, bakers, doctors, social workers, storekeepers, school children, police officers, diplomats, grandmothers.
  • Denmark saved most of their Jews (7,500); Norwegians defied Nazis and smuggled 1,000 Jews to Sweden; Bulgaria opposed Nazi roundups.
  • "Righteous Gentiles" - over 13,000 men and women are known to have saved Jews; thousands more are known to have helped, but they have gone unrecognized.

 






THE STORY OF IRENA SENDLER     
During WWII, Irena Sendler got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. Being German, she knew what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews. Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried, used a burlap sack for the larger kids, and hid them in the back of her truck. She also had a dog that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the noises from the hidden kids in the back of her truck. She managed to smuggle out and save 2,500 kids and infants. She was eventually caught and the Nazis broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived to reunite the families. Most had been gassed. Those kids that she helped were placed into foster family homes or adopted. In 2009, Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. Al Gore won --- for his film on Global Warming. 

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ISRAEL
  • Israel is smaller than New Jersey, which is 8,729 square miles; Israel is 8,019 square miles.
  • Israel can fit into the state of California 19 times.
  • Israel has had a continuous Jewish presence for over 3,000 years
  • 53% of women are in the workforce, similar to the U.S
  • Israel has the second-highest per capita rate of university degrees, following Canada.
For more amazing facts about Israel, watch this short video on Israeli inventions:

ISRAEL
 
The People
Am Yisrael עם ישראל
Israel as a global community
The people of Israel are scattered throughout the world. After years of exile in the Diaspora, the birth of a Jewish state has fostered the growth of a community in our ancient homeland. The connection between all Jews of the world is essential to our future.
 
The History
Moreshet Yisrael מורשת ישראל
Jewish heritage and tradition
Israel's history is measured by eras of development, destruction, persecution, liberation, all of which have shaped and been shaped by ancestry, religion, and culture. The myriad of communities scattered throughout the world over nearly 5,000 years gives evidence of a rich heritage and a spectrum of traditions that embody the life and identity of the Jewish People.
 
The Land
Eretz Yisrael ארץ ישראל
Israel as a geographic, environmental entity
The history of the Jewish People is intricately linked with the Land of Israel. This ancient relationship affirms the Jewish right to a national home on the soil of our ancestors. Accordingly, we inherit a responsibility to protect this land and its resources to ensure a continued existence for generations to come.
 
The State
Medinat Yisrael מדינת ישראל
Celebrating Israel's multicultural and intellectual character
The establishment of the State of Israel marked a drastic change in the existence of the Jewish People. This monumental event in 1948 was preceded by centuries of longing and prayer from the four corners of the globe who sought a return to our ancient homeland where we could finally live free, liberated from the persecutions and destruction wrought upon us by the world. Those who witnessed the birth of a sovereign Jewish state were awed by what seemed to be a miracle. The generation after remained dedicated to what was becoming a strong defense for Jews who had never before been able to defend themselves against their many enemies. Today's generation is conflicted as to the meaning and purpose behind the existence of a Jewish democratic political entity.



May we all be blessed this Shabbat and always, with peace, good health and happiness.

B'Shalom, 

Sherrie  Stalarow, Director
BBYO March of the Living



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