Honoring WWII Vets - Labor Day 2010 - Letter from Mary Jean Eisenhower

Esther Schiff, a Jewish Survivor of the Holocaust, had the honor of personally thanking four World War II Vets under a stary sky on the Mississippi River. The event was Festival of Praise in Davenport, Iowa where Christian artists Mercy Me drew a crowd of over 5,000 people.

Before the band started, Esther brought the crowd to their feet for a standing ovation. She stood before the crowd as I read her testimony of facing day to day threats of being discovered Jewish in Nazi Germany during the war. A Polish girl, Esther was taken as farm slave labor into Germany and passed herself off as a Christian to preserve her life.

Her own words:

"I thought the war would last forever but my liberation was heralded by the sudden appearance of "all those nice looking American soldiers". With the end of the war, I was able to stop pretending so I dropped my assumed name and became myself again. I was contacted by my American relatives who brought me to the United States in late 1946. I was in the United States only eight months before I married one of those handsome soldiers, Saul Schiff, who had just been discharged from the U.S. Army. We came to the Quad Cities when Saul's work as an engineer brought him to the Rock Island Arsenal."

Christian Artist Dennis Wilson sang his song HERO TO ME while Esther lovingly gave hero medals to each of the local prison camp liberators and eyewitnesses to the Holocaust. Dennis's friend Mary Jean Eisenhower (granddaughter to Dwight D. Eisenhower) wrote a letter to those involved in the ceremony:

"Dear Survivors, Protectors and Witnesses,

You are all my heroes, you are magnanimous.

When my grandfather toured the liberated death camps, he was so appalled and shocked that he called the press, the local people who said they didn't know what was going on, and made them come and see what had been happening. My father, who was his aid during the war, took pictures, as many as possible because my grandfather found it so unbelievable.

One thing I knew firsthand about Eisenhower was he couldn't stand injustice and he couldn't stand to see people suffer. It was this passion that drove him during the academics of the war, and the one that compelled him to visit the camps.

His farewell speech to the Nation on January 17, 1961 included this last paragraph (this lesser known part of the speech says it all):

"We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live tgether in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love."

Tonight I would like to express my own heartfelt gratitude to all of you. Not only for what you have done to save the world, to squash the evil of tyranny, but also for the example you taught the next generations; that of bravery, decency, respect and love. Thank you for being the answer to my grandfather's impassionted prayer.

Sincerely,

Mary Jean Eisenhower
President and CEO
People to People International
(Granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower)

It was a night to remember! Esther was so excited when it was all over because she had publically thanked "the boys". Her own husband, Saul Schiff, was a Jewish American Soldier and eyewitness to the Holocaust. He shared with me what it was like to see the atrocities of the Jewish people being a Jewish soldier. He is an eyewitness to the horrors of Dachau.

Thousands of people stood in awe as she gave each soldier his medal ... a few minutes later Mercy Me's hit song "I Can Only Imagine" filled the park. I can only imagine the reunion in heaven for the brave men of WWII. They faced so much fear and so much horror - all for us. Freedom isn't free.

Blessings,
Deb

Dr. Ralph Troll

Dr. Troll is on my mind this morning ... he is a survivor who was told by teachers in Germany he wasn't worthy of an education because his mother was Jewish. The truth is ... Dr. Troll was brilliant and after the war, became a College Professor who touched thousands of lives. Here is his story ...

In 1938, when Ralph was six years old, his family moved from Darmstadt, Germany to a small, isolated farm in the countryside about ten miles from the Rhine River. They were hoping to escape the Nazi persecution sweeping the country threatening Ralph’s mother who was Jewish. Because of this, Ralph was officially designated a Halbjude (literally, a “half Jew”) and was not allowed to continue his schooling beyond the elementary level. The Nazi party believed a Jewish child was not worthy of an education. They had taken over the schools changing the German student’s school day to resemble basic training including marching lessons, etc.

His father was a chemist and continued his work although the lab had been bombed. Ralph, his parents and his baby sister often spent nights in the cellar of the farmhouse or days in nearby foxholes to escape Allied bombing raids. His father built cots so they could be a bit more comfortable in their new cellar “bedroom”. Their home sat on five acres and they grew asparagus and potatoes so they did not starve as many people did during this time period. They also raised chickens, rabbits and goats so they were well fed. There they had no running water or electricity – they had a kerosene lamp and a pump to get their water. There were nice German neighbors in the country who risked their lives to protect Jews who were running and hiding. Ralph’s family was cheering for the Allies knowing they could stop Hitler’s madness.
Although there was a constant fear of attack or betrayal, he and his parents worked hard to keep food on the table and to help others when the need arose. In February, 1945, however, the Gestapo suddenly appeared in the middle of the night and took his mother away to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. She was forced to travel for five days on a cattle car to reach her destination – a forced labor camp (thankfully not a death camp). His mother was surrounded by sickness (typhus) and had a very meager food supply while working as a slave at this camp. Three months after she was taken, Ralph’s father received a letter in the mail which was a receipt for his mother. She was treated no better than an animal – all because of her Jewish faith.

Ralph was now twelve years old and he was fearful yet hopeful his family would survive and be reunited. His sister was being cared for by a family in a nearby town because his father felt she would be safer. Months later, after World War II ended, the Russians liberated the concentration camp, allowing his mother to return to their family. They were determined to leave Europe and come to the United States so they made their way to a Displaced Persons camp where they took care of the necessary paperwork. They were on board the ship called SS Ernie Pile and Ralph saw the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor on January 16, 1947. His family then made their way from New York to Illinois.

He resumed his schooling in Chicago, Illinois unable to speak English but determined to get his education. After serving in the United States Army during the Korean War, Ralph earned a Ph.D., and is professor emeritus of biology at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Today, Ralph and his wife, Loretta, have three children, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Ralph was the keynote speaker for the 2009 Yom Hashoah, a Holocaust Remembrance ceremony at Temple Emanuel in Davenport, Iowa. Yom Hashoah translated means “Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust”. As part of the annual observance, memorial candles are lit for the six million Jews – and millions of others – who were murdered by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II.

His message to students today is “don’t every let anyone tell you you’re not worthy of an education”. He knows education is one thing nobody can ever take away from you.

Amazing Story from Assisi Italy

My family with Nicola (far right)

My husband Don and I hosted an exchange student from Italy, Nicola Dalla Torre, for one semester this school year. While he was with us, he heard many stories of World War 2 but the one that touched his heart the most was the Monks of Assisi saving hundreds of Jews. He went home in January and researched it finding a survivor in Rome (quite a distance from his home). By telephone and mailing back and forth (she doesn't have email), he has come up with her story in a short bio form. He has written a children's book and it's currently being illustrated by a young artist in Bettendorf, Iowa. Here is the amazing story:

Graziella Viterbi was born on 1926, May 19th in Padova, a city in the north-eastern part of Italy. She lived happily in a villa with her mother and father. She studied with a private teacher during the elementary school years. She took courses of eurhythmics and foreign languages. At the age of six, she began to learn about Jewish culture and respect for the Jewish festivals. A woman named Ada Levi, then wife of the Padova’s Rabbi, was her teacher. During these early years, Graziella had many friends - both Jewish and Christian.
In 1933, when Graziella was seven, her little sister, Miriam, was born. Through the ratification of some national laws, the racial discrimination of Jews began in Italy in 1938. At that time Graziella was twelve and spending her holidays with her parents in Lido di Venezia, a famous Italian tourist destination.
The newspapers reported that every Jew, whether student or teacher, was no longer welcome at the state schools. Graziella’s reaction to the bylaw was really different to the one of her friends and relatives. She thought: “They don’t want me? Well, so I don’t belong any more to the group and I’m happy as it is”. Miriam though was 5 years old, and felt thoroughly the racial laws: she didn’t have many friends and she suffered from loneliness. Also Graziella’s father, teacher at Padova’s university, endured the removal from the school.
A year later Lucia and Clara Levi, two Jewish sisters who were former teachers, decided to host in their house all the students that had been expelled from the school “Tito Livio” in Padova, from 8th to 12th grade. Afterwards a villa in Pontecorvo was bought and a real Jewish school was organized, with Augusto Levi as Principal. Religion classes were taught here as well.
The persecutions started soon: more and more often there were intimidating phone calls, and Jews walking alone at night were attacked and beaten. Some started talking about going away. Some were able to go abroad: this, for example, was decided by Graziella’s father’s family, who took refuge in the United States of America.
During summer 1943, Graziella’s family had to decide where to go on vacation. The choices were few because a list of the places where the Jews weren’t allowed to go to was published. The family chose Porretta, in province of Bologna. The vacation was serene, until the arrival of the German troops on 1943, September 8th. Most of the residents in this hotel were Jewish so to avoid problems the owner decided to move them to a nursing home in the mountains. It was their hope they wouldn’t be found and while they were moving, there was talk of the possibility of going south, to Assisi. The city was considered a safe destination because it was far from the main road junctions and a fantastic podestà (Italian ancient name for “mayor”) governed the city.
Telling the German police that they were from the South of Italy and that they were heading back home, the Viterbis obtained a car to reach Assisi. In Arezzo, halfway to their destination, the car broke down, but they successfully get to Assisi without making the police suspicious. When they arrived, they looked for accommodation, but all the hotels had been confiscated by the Nazis. They heard about an underground movement led by a bishop, Placido Nicolini. It seems that with the help of Aldo Brunacci and the Franciscan monk Rufino Nicacci it would hide Jews in the religious buildings of the city. Furthermore, with the help of the Brizzi brothers, they were able to supply Jews with false documents. Once they talked with the bishop, the Viterbis had their new identity cards printed out and their last name changed into “Varelli”.
Every single night Graziella told her sister the story she had invented about their provenience: they were from Lecce, in the south of Italy. The anxiety about knowing perfectly the story grew when Graziella found in Assisi a person from Lecce for real that talked to her: she had to speak with a perfect local accent and to know mnemonically the streets of the city. Fortunately, she had learned the location of the main buildings thanks to a map found during their stay.
One day, while arresting a couple of Jews that were suspected of having done something wrong, the Gestapo found a tiny defect in the seal on their identity cards. The bishop immediately decided to change all the identity cards already handed out. The last names were changed again. “Varelli” became “Vitelli”. The choice of the last name was fundamental. The first letters had to be the same of the real last name, so that if a Jew had been asked to sign a document, they would have had the time to correct themselves if they had started signing their real name.
Il podestà Fortini fu anch’egli di grande aiuto per la famiglia Viterbi. Propose di nascondere nel proprio giardino alcuni loro effetti personali, cosicché anche se sotto investigazione, non vi era prova del loro essere ebrei. Quando poi gli fu chiesto di relazionare sulla città che reggeva, negò la presenza di ebrei all’interno del territorio comunale.
The podestà Fortini was also helpful for the Viterbis. He proposed to bury some of their personal effects in his garden, so that even if under investigation, there was no proof of their being Jewish. Then, when he was asked about the city he governed by the Germans, he denied the presence of Jews hidden in the city
The Nazi colonel Müller was assigned to control Assisi. He may have known about the underground organization but turned a blind eye to the situation. He was part of the German army, but he didn’t share the politic ideology. There was a Nazi plan scheduled to attack Assisi, but Müller obstruct the German troops from destroying the city. As soon as he went back to Germany, he faced trouble because of the obstruction. He went back many times to Assisi, where the mayor and the citizens decided to grant him honorary citizenship. When he died two years later many olive tree branches, the Christian symbol of chastity and peace, were sent to sprig his grave.
Following the repeal of the racial laws, Graziella’s father obtained a job as a teacher at Perugia’s University. The Viterbis stayed in Assisi for seven years. Graziella moved to Rome, where she specialized in Law / Criminology. Also, she studied Social Assistance at the Psychology faculty of the same college. She became editor of a newspaper in association with an humanitarian Israeli organization and she doubled also as social worker for Joint, an American organization for the assistance of the Jew refugees from East Europe.
Now she lives in Rome alone. She’s widower. She has two sons and four grandchildren, two girls and two boys. She’s been trying to talk carefully about her Holocaust experience with the eldest. This granddaughter was really impressed by what happened to her grandma, but hasn’t expressed a personal reflection yet.

Amazing Story from France

I spent time in Minneapolis last week meeting Holocaust educators along with dear friends; includng my Jewish friend Esther Thompson from Paris. While there I learned about this amazing story from France:

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a Protestant village in Haute-Loire in southern France. During World War II, it became a haven for Jews fleeing from the Nazis and their French collaborators. The Chambonais hid Jews in their homes, sometimes for as long as four years, provided them with forged I.D. and ration cards, and helped them over the border to safety in Switzerland. With their history of persecution as a religious minority in Catholic France, empathy for Jews as the people of the Old Testament, and the powerful leadership and example of their pastor and his wife, Andre and Magda Trocme, the people of Chambon acted on their conviction that it was their duty to help their "neighbors" in need. The Chambonais rejected any labeling of their behavior as heroic. They said: "Things had to be done and we happened to be there to do them. It was the most natural thing in the world to help these people." After the round- up and deportation of Jews in Paris in July 1942, Pastor Trocme had delivered a sermon to his parishioners, "The Christian Church should drop to its knees and beg pardon of God for its present incapacity and cowardice." The American Friends (Quakers) and other Protestant organizations and Catholic clergy provided assistance to Chambon to set up homes for children whose parents had been deported. The head of one of these homes was Daniel Trocme, the young cousin of Pastor Trocme. In June 1943 he and "his" children were arrested and deported to the East. Daniel Trocme died in Majdanek. The Trocmes have been recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations; a tree was planted in honor of Andre and Magda Trocme and another in honor of Daniel Trocme. A small garden and plaque were dedicated to the people of Chambon

Committed Young People

I drove home from Minneapolis last night (LATE) in the rain thinking about the meetings I had while in the Twin Cities. I met with leaders in both the Christian community and Jewish community. It was a wonderful time of meeting new friends and reconnecting with old friends.

I found a wonderful teacher who is willing to work with students over the summer to write three children's books. They will write about two local Jewish survivors and one French teacher who was the daughter of a Pastor who helped the Jews. This pastor was a Righteous Gentile for risking his life (and his family's life) to do the right thing.

I can't wait to see the work they complete with this project. I'm so excited to think about the students in Minnesota who will benefit from their labor of love to do this storytelling project.

While in the Twin Cities, I spent time with a lovely Jewish friend from Paris France. Her mother was raised in London fearfully surviving the constant bombing raids of WWII. Her mother always felt connected to the Jews in other parts of Europe who were less fortunate. My friend Esther is amazed at these students who want to be part of this project. It is my hope we can find a young author in Paris or London to tell her mother's story.

I feel like her mother is a survivor of another sort - one who went in her 80s to visit a camp and pay her respects. It was a blinding snowstorm and cell phones wouldn't work in the weather. Esther told me how frightening and uncomfortable she found it to be. We both found it ironic.

Then today, another student stepped forward at a meeting I was at in East Moline - she will tell the story of a young Gypsy boy who lost his entire family at Auschwitz. By a miralce, he was a survivor.

I thank God for these young authors. Their committment touches my heart.

Time Slipping By ...

I promised myself I would be a good blogger and at least update once a week. I slipped! Sorry.

It's been a very interesting and fulfilling time so I should have been documenting it. First - I took my YES exchange students - students from the Middle East who are here on a scholarship - to Chicago last week. We went through the Shedd Acquairium and saw the sights downtown before making our way to Skokie to spend the night. After some amazing deep dish pizza, we retired so we could get up early and go to the Holocaust Museum.

We were a small group - one student from Oman, one from Pakistan, one from Zanzibar, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Yemen and Jordan. We went into the museum and met a friend of mine - Aaron Elster - who is a survivor. Aaron took time to meet the kids and then told him the story of being a hidden child in Poland. He suffered at the hands of the Nazis and then his mother sent him to a friendly Christian women who begrudgingly let him sleep in her attic. He was there for over two years! He got a little bit of food and water each day to survive - it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. He was covered with filth and with lice - I cannot imagine!

They listened with open hearts and open minds. Four of group had already committed to writing a children's book about Holocaust stories from Alabania where Muslim families hid Jews. They had heard some stories but it's completely different when you hear one from a survivor themselves. It becomes very real.

Aaron suggested we sit in on a school tour who was going to hear from a survivor by the name of Barbara Steiner. She spoke about growing up in Warsaw, being in the Warsaw ghetto (and part of the resistance) and then spending the rest of the war in a concentration camp. The students - again - were spellbound by her talk.

The rest of the museum was very interesting too, but there is nothing like hearing from a survivor.

We ended the trip with a treat - I introduced them to the Cheesecake Factory! Needless to say, everyone loved it! What's not to love?

Amazing Journey

What a week - it's gone by fast and furious. Yesterday (Thursday) I got everything together and I sent a copy of a photograph of the young Jewish boy named Paul to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Sara is their person who researches these types of request and she has all the information I know about Paul. Say a prayer for her and for Roy - that the doors would open for him to meet with Paul again and find his peace.

On Tuesday I went to Rock Island HS where I met with a group of kids from the Special Education Department. They will be writing and illustrating the first set of Civil Rights stories for me. They will write about two local people who were proactive in the Civil Rights movement and famous people like Rosa Parks, Emmitt Till, General Benjamin David (Commander of the famous Tuskegee Airmen), etc.

The students are amazed at these stories and they are becoming "real" to them. That is my hearts desire - for them and their young readers to have this experience where it becomes real to their hearts and minds. Many fought for their rights to be educated and get a good job - now use the gifts and talents God has given you and go for it!

My new best friend is Bernice Jones who is one of the most real and transparent people I know. She went from the MOP TO THE TOP (which will be the name of her book, by the way). Her story follows (I know this is too long for a BLOG but it's too good not to tell too!

Blessings from Debbow
Bernice Jones

Bernice was born in Princeton, Illinois near the Lovejoy Underground Railroad. When she was young, her family moved to Joliet, Illinois. Her mother was an alcohol and left her father (a World War I veteran) who had abusive tendencies. Bernice decided at age sixteen to run away to stay with her Grandmother in East Moline, Illinois. Bernice’s mother was in East Moline also and they were able to build a relationship. Bernice fell in love and married but soon afterward her husband found out news he was adopted and went crazy. She wasn’t going to live with abuse so she picked up and moved back to Joliet where she became the city’s first female cab driver.
When she returned to the Quad Cities, she married again – this time to a good husband - and the couple was blessed with two sons. Sadly, her husband passed away and Bernice’s dreams were shattered once again. As a widow of a veteran of World War II she had first rights to jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal. Early in her career, Bernice worked as a janitor at the Arsenal. She asked permission and was able to take old Army Regulation books home to read at night.
She was not satisfied doing this type of work but knew it would take action on her part to change it. She worked hard to earn her GED or high school equivalency. This education and her hard work allowed her to climb the ladder of success and becoming the Equal Opportunity Officer at the Rock Island Arsenal.
In her own words Bernice shares: I went to a lady and asked about taking a Bible study and she cried. She was thirty-seven years old, has seven children and she said “I cannot read”. Oh she had her diploma but she still couldn’t read. This should not be happening in the 21st century. I am now tutoring this young lady and you cannot imagine how she has grown to realize she can formulate words and sentences. But that’s where we need to be… where the need is. We need to come out of our comfort zones. Come out of our comfort zones, look around. Many people are like, I call them can sitters. They get all they can, can all they get and sit on the can. They don’t do nothing for nobody. And it is time out, time out for can sitters. They need to get up, stand up, lead out, even if nobody else will follow. You need to take the initiative. If you see the need, then you need to take the initiative to do something. Cause if you wait on somebody else, somebody’s going to try to discourage you. “Oh girl you know, you don’t have no degree. You don’t have no degree. You didn’t go to college, you can’t do this.” So be it. My GED is the Grace of God, Enthusiasm and Divine Direction.
My GED has taken me to this day working in race relations all over this country. I felt I had an inferiority complex until I realized that the highest ranking white male in this country cannot get the education I got. As a black female born up in a racist, sexist society, I have an education that they can’t even touch. They can’t touch it. And they are most inadequate in a multi-cultural society in dealing with the problems that we face every day. They don’t know where we came from and they cannot relate to it. But when we cross fertilize and we give them the information which brought us over.
And another thing we’ve done, we’ve departed from our first love. We know it was only by faith that we’ve come this far, but so many of us will not even put our feet inside a church. And that is where much of our strength came from. As black people our leadership was our pastors in our churches. Dr. Martin Luther King was a pastor. They had our interests at heart. I don’t think it is too much different today except they’ve become somewhat parochial. “If you don’t belong to my church …”
We are notorious for building barriers. We got to start building bridges, folks. We’ve got to bring somebody along with us. You know it is lonesome at the top … Bang!
I’ve been asked what this label under my name tag means: “From the Mop to the Top”. That means I started as a janitor, I ended up being the Equal Opportunity Officer with my GED. That is what that means. I’ll quit by saying this. It’s a parable, it’s a story and I’m going to leave it for you to ponder. “There was a migratory bird that stayed in the Midwest too long. The snow and the sleet and the rain had burdened him down with ice. He fell into a pasture and when he fell, he was sitting there almost at the point of death. A horse came by and dumped on the bird. He began to ruffle his feathers, you know, he got warm. And it felt so good he began to sing. Along came the barn yard cat and ate the bird. Now the moral of the story is … the one that put you in the mess may not be your enemy and the one that takes you out may not be your friend.”
Bernice claims to have graduated from Knocks College – meaning the school of hard knocks. She knows the only thing that kept her out of college was she quit school. But she was determined not to stop at that point and succeeded with her GED. Today she admonishes all young people to stay in school. It’s not the total answer but it’s the key that opens the door to the future.

Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.