Dr. Jacob Eisenbach
Joe Alexander
At 92 years old, Dr. Eisenbach just retired from dentistry. Photographing him in his office, where he practiced for 41 years, he immediately shared with me his technique for calming himself. He said: “If I face a stressful situation, I stop and think for a moment about my experience under the Nazis. It doesn’t begin to compare”.
Kuba, as his friends called him when he was a youth, lost his mother before the war broke out. His sister who fled their hometown of Lodz to a Soviet occupied village in Poland, was killed during the Nazi invasion. He lost his younger brother and father in Auschwitz. Despite all of these losses, Dr. Eisenbach would go on to say that his strength would come from remembering his parents’ words, telling him “to never lose hope for a better tomorrow.”
Joe is 100 years old, yet doesn’t look a day over 80. Born in 1922 in Kowal, Poland, life was good for Joe and his family until the Nazis invaded his hometown in 1939. He stated that their wonderful warm, home cooked meals were quickly replaced with potato-peel soup. Shortly thereafter, German troops took over the town and the family along with many thousands of other Jews were transported to the Warsaw Ghetto.
Fortunately, I suppose, Joe’s father managed to bribe some guards to let Joseph and two of his siblings escape. Sadly though, this would be the last time Joe would see the rest of his family.
From there, he would go on to survive twelve work and death camps including Auschwitz-Birkenau. In Auschwitz he received his tattoo with the numbers 142584, which are forever engraved on his arm and in his memory. Joe told me, the day he received it, was the day he lost his personal identity. He was dehumanized. This he says, is the price of hate.
Yetta Kane Irene Perbal
Yetta’s survival of the Holocaust was full of miracles. She had a wonderful childhood in a home that had “lots of food and lots of love”. Yetta’s observant Jewish family had a working farm and her father Zelik ran a dry goods store. Sadly this all came to an abrupt end when he would learn during a trip to Vilnus, Lithuania, that the Nazis were headed their way.
Upon hearing this, Yetta’s family fled the town with nothing but the clothes on their back. They would survive in the woods for nearly two years, barely staying ahead of the Nazi onslaught, while somehow managing to stay clear of the German Shepherds trying to pick up their trail. The weather could be freezing at times, and the food was incredibly scarce
Eventually Yetta’s family made their way to Siberia, a trek equal to walking from California to Cleveland. Only by way of miracles did they survive.
Irene is from Amsterdam and her family hid many Jews in their home during WWII. While not Jewish, she lived in a neighborhood with many Jews, and her father in particular was appalled at how the Jews were being treated once the Nazi war machine invaded Holland. While all the Dutch were facing many changes in their lives due to the occupation, they could see the Jews had it much worse.
Irene recalls her father being a brave man committed to standing up for others, and at the risk of death, the Perbal family started hiding Jews in a secret location in their home. One day in 1944 when Irene’s father was out working, three Dutch men came who were collaborating with the Nazis and found two Jews hiding upstairs. They wanted to know where Irene’s father was, and were told he was at work. Cleverly, the men asked who the family Doctor was. Knowing this information, they proceeded to call Mr. Perbal at work and told him it was Dr. Dubois calling and that the oldest of the two babies (his first son) was dying. Consequently, Mr. Perbal returned home immediately and tragically was taken along with the two Jews to the Gestapo headquarters down the street. This would be the last time the Perbal family saw him.
Eva Schneider
Lou Fogelman
Eva believes in miracles, and the fact she is with us today certainly is a testimony that they do exist. Almost 80 years ago, Eva, age 11 at the time, and her mother, were arrested and taken by cattle car to Auschwitz. Both were well aware of the fate that most likely awaited them. After a day of riding on the train, crammed tightly amongst other Jewish prisoners with no bathrooms, no food and only the horrors which lay in front of them, Eva alongside her mom would get off the train at the Concentration Camp and be sent straight to get their hair shaven and arms tattooed. Eva now lost her humanity and became number A27078. (This number she would have removed after the war, although a scar still remains on her arm.) From there they had to remove their clothes and march straight to what most certainly was immediate death in the gas chambers. Fortunately, due to a recent bombing of the Crematoria, their lives were spared and only water came out of the showers.
Louis Corper Fogelman was born in Hilversum, Holland on June 21, 1941, despite the fact that his parents vowed not to have children due to the horrible conditions which existed for Jews in Holland at the time. Shortly after Lou’s birth, the family had to move to Amsterdam and live in a small apartment in the Jewish Ghetto, all being required to wear a yellow star in order to be easily identified as being Jewish.
In August of 1942, his parents decided they would try and get out of the country and make their way to Switzerland. Tragically, the guide they had hired turned them in to the Gestapo.
Children such as Louis were taken across the street to a day care center until the time came for the Jews to be shipped to the camps. This would be the last time Lou would ever see his parents. Tragically, Lou’s parents were murdered a short time later in Auschwitz. Despite everything he has been through, Lou believes intensely in having Faith and trust, being compassionate and never giving up.
Leah Bernstein
Sarah B. Schweitz
Leah Bernstein, an only child, was born in Barlad, Romania four years before the Nazis invaded her country. She had a wonderful childhood, until the world turned dark for her family and many millions of others as the German war machine moved across Europe.
Following the invasion in 1940, times immediately became difficult and like many others, Leah had to wear a cloth Star of David on her outer clothes every time she would go outside. Her father Haim, was taken to a concentration camp in 1941 and was forced to break stones in the freezing cold. The family did not know whether they would ever see him again. Food was difficult to obtain, whereby a week’s worth of food had to last them a month. Leah lived in one room with family members, going from location to location in order to avoid capture. Leah and her mother finally had to flee to the forests where they relied on the Partisans to keep them from being captured and sent by trains to the death camps.
Despite sharing with me the many challenges she faced throughout the war, Leah managed to keep a positive attitude throughout. She was most definitely “scared, but happy to be alive”.
Sarah B. Schweitz was born in Trikala, Greece in 1940. When the Italians invaded Greece, her father was drafted into the army and sent to the Albanian Front. After a year the German Air Force came to Trikala and destroyed almost every building except the Temple and some very nice homes that they intended for their use. Sarah’s childhood home was located next to the Temple, and it was spared.
On March 24, 1944 at 4:00 am the Germans went to the Jewish Quarter in Trikala and captured everyone except those few who escaped. Sarah’s family escaped because of the kindness of a Righteous Gentile, George Kalogerometrou. Because of the courage and generosity of George and the Greek farmers, Sarah’s family remained in hiding in the high mountains of Greece until the end of the war in 1945.
Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Sarah’s family lost fifty beloved members.
Harry Davids
Hidden Infant During the Holocaust
“I am alive because others risked their lives to keep me alive”
Harry was born in Amsterdam in 1942. Both of his parents had left Germany in the 1930’s to what ended up being Nazi occupied Holland.
Surmising that their new child would not survive the Nazi onslaught, Harry’s parents turned him over to the Dutch resistance. As fate would have it, Harry was taken in by a very religious Calvinist Protestant family who felt Jews were the enemy. Fortunately their faith also taught that you should “love your enemy”, so based on their strict adherence to their Faith, they took in Harry and made him part of their family. Certainly it was very dangerous to hide Jews, with the cost being death if one were caught.
Today, Harry is blessed with a wonderful life thanks to those who risked their life to save his. He speaks out fervently about four groups of people in life; perpetrators, victims, bystanders and up-standers. Without the upstanders, many thousands of those who survived the war would not have. One of Harry’ s missions in life is to make upstanders instead of bystanders. He says too many people remain idle in horrific situations and we have to learn from history.
Ludmila had a wonderful childhood, full of love and attention. Unfortunately she lost her father when she was 14.
Ludmila, as well as her husband were part of Oskar Schindler’s “list”. Interestingly enough, Ludmila and her husband Leopold initially refused the chance to work in Shindler’s factory, thinking there may be a better way to escape the Nazi torture.
Ultimately Schindler put Ludmila and Leopold on his “list” of those to be transferred to his plant. Mila says about Schindler, “He was our hero, our savior”.
The movie, Schindler’s List, came as a result of Mila’s husband Leopold relating their story to author Thomas Keneally. Ultimately the story of the Pages and about 1200 others brings light to the courage of a man, Oskar Schindler in the midst of unspeakable evil. Ludmila says: “ It is so much easier to love than to hate”. It is my hope that more people in this world will take note of this.
Ludmila Page
Mila Gokhman
Dr. Henry Nahoum, US Army Veteran, WWII
Mila was born in Kyiv, the capitol of Ukraine, in 1934. When WW II began, Mila and her family had to leave her hometown and flee to the Ural Mountains in order to survive the onslaught of Nazi terror. After the war, she returned to her home, only to find the city completely demolished. During our discussion, Mila vividly recalled her memory of the bombing that began the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on her 7th birthday on June 22, 1941. Three months later, almost 34,000 Jews were massacred in Kyiv’s Babi Yar ravine. Thankfully her family survived. Fast forward to today and tragically we find the same destruction being inflicted on many Ukrainian cities. Mila spoke of the horrible pain she feels currently as the episodes from her past replay in her life once again. Thankfully, she has her art to uplift her. With flowers and beautiful symphonies inspiring Mila’s work, she always finds the inspiration to pull through the difficult challenges she faces.
Henry Nahoum was born in New York in 1919. His parents had come to the states, just 3 years prior from Salonika, Greece. Henry entered dental school at Columbia University in 1940.
In 1942, he applied for a commission in the Medical Administrative Corps Reserve, which kept him from being drafted. When Henry graduated from Dental School he immediately became a 1st lieutenant. Dispatched to England in 1944, Henry was thrust into the replacement depots, waiting for an assignment. In January 1945 in the midst of the devastating Allied losses incurred during the Battle of the Bulge, Henry was called upon to replace one of the six dental officers who were casualties or taken prisoner during the battle, and was assigned to the 109th Regiment of the 28th Infantry division.
Henry and his soldiers were amongst the 1st to cross the Rhine River, chasing Germans. They approached a Nazi prison camp as the German guards abandoned the camp and ran away. Henry gives credit to the entire effort of the Allied soldiers, both in Europe and back at home in the States for liberating the camps.
Desiree Engel
Born in Zagreb, Croatia on April 18, 1921, Desiree found herself and her husband in Belgrade, Serbia as the Nazis attacked with a horrific bombardment followed a couple of days later by German soldiers marching in to capture the city, wearing immaculate uniforms and shiny black boots. While losing a great many family members, including her father and grandparents, Desiree survived the war and found herself headed to the US on a Coal tanker which was already in mothballs.
“I am 100 years old and 6 months” Desiree stated, almost like a small child proud of their age, and rightfully so. Active like someone much younger than her, Desiree lives a life full of activities, which include playing Scrabble, teaching, exercising and participating in local and national spelling bees. I asked Desiree to what she attributed her longevity and her response was “I don’t have time to die. G-d will have a difficult time finding me, because I am always somewhere else.”
Rachel (Kops) Van Beynen
Rachel (Kops) Van Beynen, was born in Amsterdam in 1926. Rachel was the first person in the family to be taken by the German SS at age 16. She ultimately survived 10 concentration camps including a death march from Auschwitz, when the Germans knew they were losing the war. After the war, Rachel learned that her mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents and 53 other family members had been exterminated.
Harry Lester
Father of Clifford Lester, Harry was a frequent participator in our Yom HaShoah events. He sadly passed away last year.
Born on Aug. 26, 1926 in Berlin, Germany. At the young age of 7, after entering the German governmental school system, he was singled out early as being a Jew, and experienced frequent encounters with anti-Semitism. Besides being seated separately from his other classmates by his Nazi school teacher who proudly wore a swastika on her lapel, he was often harassed and beaten on his way home from school.
At the age of 12, Harry witnessed the horrible tragedy of Kristallnacht from the window of his home. His Synagogue, the famous Rykestrasse Schul was set on fire, and only kept from burning down due to the fact it was in a German neighborhood, and the local authorities ordered the fire be put out. A year after this event, on the day he was supposed to become a Bar Mitzvah, Harry, along with his family discovered that a SS cavalry unit had occupied the Synagogue and horse manure had been spread over much of the area. Needless to say, the event sadly had to be postponed.
Shortly after this horrible occasion, Harry was able to leave Germany to the United States with his mother. Unfortunately, he had to leave his father behind, because he had a Polish visa and the quota for these had been used up. Thanks to nothing short of a miracle, Harry and his mother were reunited with his dad just about one and ½ years later in 1941, at a time when it had become terribly difficult for a Jew to leave Germany.
Note: A movie entitled “We Choose to Live”, produced by B & B Productions has been released this year. It is a moving, historical, award winning documentary about World War II and the stories of Ursula Lowenbach Foster and Harry Lester, Clifford’s parents. Please scan QR code under Ursula’s photo to view film.
