It doesn't seem possible - time does fly. It was April 2002 when I went to my first Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance. My daughter Cassie asked me to take her to the synogogue to hear a Holocaust survivor speak. It was a school assignment for extra credit and seemed very worthwhile. I was eager to learn as well.
While there I saw we had local Holocaust survivors in the Quad Cities. There were ten or twelve at that point in time. But the three who captured my heart were three Jewish women who shared the same name - Esther!
Queen Esther is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. Now, standing before me, lighting candles in remembrance of the six million Jews who perished, were three strong, beautiful women who survived this horrible time in world history. As I read their short bios in the program, I realized their stories were very different but all miraculous stories of survival.
I attended the Holocaust Remembrance each year and saw "my three Esthers". It came to the point were I couldn't stop myself. I wanted their stories preserved for the next generation. Finally - I approached Allan Ross, Director of the local Jewish Federation. I told him my idea was to introduce the women to classrooms of children asking them to write/illustrate a children's book about her life story. My area teachers agreed to work with them on this task.
The first writing clinic was at Morningstar Academy, a local Christian school. You could have heard a pin drop when Esther Avruch told the children her story. When her voice broke while telling them her loss of a mother, father, sisters, brothers and even an infant nephew, we all cried together. When she finished there was a mad rush as children came from all directions to give her hugs. That day - the Holocaust became real to a group of children.
The books they wrote were incredible and their artwork especially moving to me. I couldn't choose which one should be published so I asked local Jewish businessman Sam Gilman which one he would choose. He was touched by the book written by Molly Meyer.
Next I took Esther Katz into schools and groups to speak. The story book we chose to publish for her was written by a young Jewish girl - Megan Svoboda. Her own family members had suffered at the hands of the Nazis. She was homeschooled at this time and privledged to have visited concentration camps in Europe with her family. Her work was exceptional and I know Esther would have been pleased. Sadly she passed away in July of 2005 while books about her were being written.
But she died knowing this project was at hand and her story would be told! I promised her I would not let her Grandmother, Faye Goldstein, be forgetten. Faye suffocated on the cattle car on the way to Auschwitz. She will be remembered for generations to come as it is told by Megan and her photograph included in Megan's book.
Esther Schiff was eager to have a book written about her but as I scheduled speaking engagements, she began to have nightmares about her time in Nazi Germany. She requested she meet a student one on one so our son, Michael, went to talk to her . He wrote a simple story about her life and our exchange student, Laura Kase from Germany, illustrated the book. It was a powerful experience for this young German girl to help say "Never Again".
In 2006 we printed the books with grant monies and put them in 200 local schools and libraries. The teachers gave me feedback confirming these books about the survivors in our midst made the Holocaust real to the readers.
Meanwhile, Allan Ross suggested more subjects for books - he suggested Christians who risked their lives to give aid to the Jewish people (Righteous Gentiles) and our soldiers who were tasked with liberating concentration camps. Such powerful stories!
Today young authors continue to step up to the task of writing and illustrating these important stories. We will have twenty books in the series called A BOOK BY ME by the end of this school year. Our plan is to take the books into the marketplace through Never Forget Publishing in just a few short months. I am out of my comfort zone but this is too important to not go to the next level.
The vision has spread to other states and other countries through my work with International Student Exchange. I have International authors from Austria, Germany, Italy, Oman, Romania, and Yemen - just to mention a few.
I thank these young people who are using their gifts and talents to document these important stories. I have come to believe it's not just an assignment but an EXPERIENCE that changes their lives. These very important stories will live on and on ... through their work.
As we are about to attend our Quad Cities Holocaust Remembrance this Sunday, I think of our recent loss, Esther Avruch. She passed away just a few weeks ago and my heart is heavy. But knowing her story is being shared gives me great satisfaction.
So, today, dozens of writing clinics later, where it will end I do not know. But this I do know ... it all started with the Quad Cities Three Esthers or "my three Esthers" as I fondly call them.
I thank God for their friendship. They continue to be an inspiration to me as they kept their faith even through unimaginable trials. They held no bitterness in their hearts. They raised their families and looked forward - not back except to say "never again".
May their stories continue to be told on a larger scale to the next generation ...
"for such a time as this".
Sincerely,
Debbow
http://www.abookbyme.com/
http://www.iseheartland.com/
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