Remembering the Holocaust
by Beth Levin
In March, 22 women heard a firsthand account of the Holocaust from Gina Lanceter, a Holocaust survivor and co-chair of the Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest, who shared her remarkable experiences of hiding in Eastern Poland after being thrown from a train headed for the Majdanek concentration camp.
Most of these women were recent graduates of the Arthur Borinsky Young Leadership Program (Borinsky), an eight-week series where women learn about all aspects of Federation. They gathered at the Aidekman campus in Whippany to see this year’s exhibit, “From Memory to History: Women of the Holocaust.”
Presented annually by the Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest, each year’s exhibit depicts the family stories of numerous Holocaust survivors who live in our community. The panels include descriptive text, documents from pre- and post-war periods, and photographs of survivors and family members from childhood through their senior years.
Robin Sysler, Women’s Philanthropy Education Vice President, was the docent for the tour. Robin became active in the Holocaust Council ten years ago after learning more about the exhibit and the important work the Council does to educate young people about the Holocaust. Robin’s work with Women’s Philanthropy includes advising the Borinsky program. It was a natural next step for her to invite the women to see the exhibit, especially since the exhibit highlighted the women of the Holocaust and told numerous stories of courage and the impact that women had during this time.
The women left that day feeling more educated and inspired. The exhibit made a significant impression on Alyssa Greenberg, who said, “The most disturbing thing I took away from the exhibit was hearing how the Nazis systematically degraded the Jewish people. Prior to visiting the exhibit, I found it difficult to conceptualize the depth of distress members of my family had endured during this period. Hearing the stories of survivors such as Gina and viewing the exhibit helped provide me with a deeper insight into the Holocaust and what our people suffered during this period.”
The group also learned about the important role women played during the Holocaust. Joanie Schwartz, who co-chairs the Borinsky series, said, “I learned that art therapy originated during the war with a woman who filled her suitcases with art supplies as she was sent to live in the [Theresienstadt] ghetto. She knew children would need an outlet for their feelings.” The Nazis established the ghetto in Theresienstadt (Terezin), a garrison town in Northwestern Czechoslovakia, in 1941. Although in practice the ghetto, run by the SS, served as a transit camp for Jews en route to extermination camps, it was also presented as a “model Jewish settlement” for propaganda purposes.
Chana Solomon was greatly moved by one of the stories that Robin Sysler shared because it illustrated how one woman, who risked her own life, could save so many others. Robin showed a photo of Dr. Gisela Perl, an obstetrician/gynecologist. During the Holocaust, Dr. Perl had been asked to assist Dr. Mengele in identifying the pregnant women, only to discover the atrocious experiments he was performing. Dr. Perl risked her life by finding the women who were pregnant before Dr. Mengele could approach them and performing abortions in the camp (with no proper medical tools), ultimately saving the women from torture.
Robin also shared with the group her goals for educating the many schoolchildren who come to see the exhibit. She explained, “I always talk to students about the role of the bystander in the history of the Holocaust. Those who said nothing and watched their neighbors suffer. I also talk about the righteous and just how difficult a role that was during this horrific period. I don’t judge but try to help students of all ages understand the ‘choiceless choices’ of the Holocaust.”
Chana Solomon explained how Robin brought this concept to life. “Robin showed us a photo of a young boy and his sister. The boy lived because he was sent away from his family to safety. He was taken to a train station and told to say goodbye to his mother and family forever. Robin told us to close our eyes and imagine we were standing on that train platform and it was our own child we had to say goodbye to. I have tears just typing these words. It was such a powerful way of getting us to feel what those people had to experience.”
Although the exhibit “From Memory to History: Women of the Holocaust” closed at the beginning of May, we hope you will visit next year when a new exhibit opens in January. School groups are welcome free of charge, by reservation. Even if you have seen a Holocaust Council’s exhibit before, you are guaranteed to learn something new. Most importantly, we must NEVER FORGET. For more information about the Holocaust Council, visit the website at www.jfedgmw.org/holocaust.