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For Martha

This column is jointly written with Michal Zur, program director of MetroWest Israel.

 

A few weeks ago, the Rishon LeZion municipality conducted a city-wide ceremony to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day. The Israeli tradition and formal practice is to commemorate the Holocaust horrors and bravery in the spring, highlighting the Warsaw Ghetto rebellion which, not by coincidence, falls right before Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut (the Israeli Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and Independence Day, respectively). However, the United Nation recently decided that the formal international commemoration would henceforth be held on January 27, the date that Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, was liberated. Since then we have been trying to use this new opportunity to promote some additional and badly needed Holocaust education in Israel.

 

The assignment of arranging the ceremony and determining its content was put on the solid shoulders of Rishon LeZion’s youth leadership groups, the Diller Teen Fellows and the Young Diplomats. Since the Diller teens are part of our larger MetroWest family, we were invited to attend the ceremony and to give greetings. Michal Zur was scheduled to represent us.

 

Martha Rich
Martha Rich

A couple of days before, while on a family vacation, I heard the terrible news that Martha Rich had died. I knew she was unwell for several years and yet it was very sad. Martha and George Rich were living examples of survivors who chose to live, to lead, and to carry on the torch of "never again." Through mutual friends I heard about their personal amazing stories of survival and admired them ever since. Together they were involved with many MetroWest, national, and international programs.

 

Perhaps the most meaningful one was Martha's connection to the "Paper Clips Project." A group of middle-school students from Tennessee collected and presented millions of paper clips to demonstrate and commemorate the Holocaust victims. The project gained international attention and a documentary film was created. Martha visited Whitwell, Tenn., several times, brought others with her, bonded with the students, became friends with the teachers, brought the story and the film to New Jersey, and was awarded for her inspirational work.

 

Two days before the ceremony for the International Holocaust Day in Rishon LeZion, I was back from vacation, cleaning my desk, and going over my accumulated mail. While writing a condolence letter to George, I cursorily looked at the invitation from the Rishon LeZion municipality. Suddenly, I discovered the most amazing, symbolic thing: They were going to screen the Paper Clips documentary at the event. I ran into Michal’s office and said, perhaps shouted: "This was meant to be. You probably don’t know who Martha was, but you have to speak about her at the ceremony. You simply have to. For Martha."

 

I’ll let Michal take it from here.

 

Indeed, Amir told me about Martha but I didn’t understand what the big deal was. However, since I hadn’t yet prepared a speech for the ceremony, I told him that I would explore it more and ask the organizers if they could add Martha’s story to the program. Remarkably, what started as a professional assignment became a very personal and emotional experience for me. Here is what I learned about Martha Rich and shared with the audience.

 

Martha was a young teenager when the war started. When the Hungarian Jews were asked to pack one suitcase, she insisted on bringing a party dress with her, in a mix of the naïveté, youth, and optimism that is so identified with teenagers. She was being sent to Auschwitz, where, as you can imagine, there was not much use for a party dress. Miraculously she survived Auschwitz and was sent to a forced work camp. At the end of the war, Martha found her way to the U.S., met George, and together they started a family, a business, a new life.

 

After retiring, Martha dedicated much of her time and efforts to Holocaust commemoration and education. She connected to the Paper Clip Project and developed a strong personal relationship to the Tennessee school and its principal. She was invited to speak at the opening ceremony of the Children’s Holocaust Memorial. She arrived in Tennessee with a small group of people from MetroWest that included Barbara Wind, director of the Holocaust Council.

 

Barbara told me the following story: While waiting for her turn to speak at the ceremony, Martha was asked to wait in an authentic cattle car from Germany, a central item of the exhibition. Cattle cars were used during World War II to transfer Jews to the death camps. Martha found herself sitting once again in a cattle car some 50 years after the Holocaust, a highly difficult situation for her.

 

But Martha, with her optimism and strength, did not let this challenge get the best of her. She approached the audience and her message was clear and powerful. She told the teachers and students how she didn’t let the Nazis break her spirit and how inspired she was by teen initiatives such as the Paper Clip Project. She said that we are not allowed to stay oblivious to racism, discrimination, and anti-Semitism. Each one of us has the duty, responsibility, and ability to react and voice opinions. There were a number of standing ovations from the crowd.

 

Diller Teen Fellows and coordinator at the Paper Clip Project movie screening, in Rishon Letzion.
Diller Teen Fellows and coordinator at the Paper Clip Project movie screening, in Rishon Letzion.  From left to right: Tamar Bernfeld, Nisan Amir, Keren Dicastro and Noga Gur.
Amir was right. I never met Martha but I felt connected to her. What started as almost a technical, professional task of writing a short speech for the event became a personal and powerful journey for me. Two days of historical research, online and by phone, introduced me to a very special lady. On the night of the event, we saw a beautiful and thoughtful exhibition prepared by the teens. There was speeches, the movie screening, and a fascinating dialogue with the crowd. Finally it was my turn to speak. I told the audience that I would like to share Martha’s story with them because she advocated the same messages as they did. I explained that I found her story to be relevant and inspiring to all of us when speaking about Holocaust commemoration and teen leadership in Israel and around the world. I ended by saying that if Martha had been there, I think she would have been proud of them for continuing her legacy. Then I told them that she had passed away just a few days earlier.

 

Martha’s story elicited a very strong and emotional reaction from the crowd. Many people approached me and asked if I had known her for a long time; some even thought we were relatives. I guess they heard it in my voice; Martha’s story had become so personal for me. The strongest reactions were from our own Diller Teen Fellows who said that they wished to continue promoting these messages and keep Martha’s legacy alive when they visit New Jersey in April. I trust our youth and community will find the way to do so. For Martha.

 

Drishat Shalom,

 

Amir and Michal

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