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Bearing Witness at the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

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Train tracks leading into Auschwitz – prisoners were transported in cattle cars

Elie Wiesel stated “To hear a witness is to be a witness.”  I am a witness. On January 27th 2020, I traveled to Auschwitz for the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with 105 Auschwitz Survivors from around the world and 50 world leaders to commemorate the victims and honor the Survivors.

The memorial service took place on the grounds of the death camp where

1.1 million, mostly Jews, were murdered. We sat under a large heated tent that straddled the train tracks that had dragged prisoners into Birkenau, often to their death in the gas chambers. As Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, stated “I am here, simply, as a Jew. And, like all Jews everywhere, this place, this terrible place called Auschwitz has sadly become an inseparable part of us. Auschwitz is like a scar from a terrible trauma.  It never goes away and the pain never stops.”

Walking into the camp I quietly reflected on my grandparents stories of survival. I took in the remains of the barracks, including the barrack where my grandfather spent his youth being tortured against his will. The weather was cold but I was well bundled and couldn’t help but think about my grandfather who was forced to spend his time in Auschwitz without a warm jacket or hat or gloves.

I listened to each Survivor as they shared intimate details about their own personal stories, details that humanized the unfathomable atrocities of Auschwitz. Details that I will shout out to the world and share with future generations so they know the Holocaust happened to men and women and children with personalities and stories, like all of us, not to abstract numbers.

The Survivors all related stories about how upon their arrival at Auschwitz over 75 years ago, they were stripped of their dignity, forced to strip down to nothing in front of all, have their heads shaved, their possessions stolen and arms permanently tattooed with a number.  94- year-old Auschwitz Survivor Batsheva Dagan spoke about her arrival and subsequent assignment of being forced to sort belongings of those sent to the gas chambers.  She cried to the crowd,  “Where was everybody? Where was the world who could see that, hear that and yet did nothing to save all those thousands?”

Turning A Blind Eye on the Jewish Refugee Crisis

In his speech Lauder explained “And when European Jews begged the world for a safe harbor, someplace to go, the entire world turned its back on them. Even my own country–the beacon of freedom–turned out its light on the Jewish people when they needed it most. The US organized a conference in Evian, France in July of 1938 to discuss the Jewish refugee crisis. There were a lot of lovely speeches but the US did not let any additional Jewish refugees in and every other country in attendance followed their lead. There were 32 countries and none of them, except for the tiny Dominican Republic wanted any more Jews.  Hitler saw this. Four months later came Kristallnacht. And again, there was no world reaction. Hitler tested the world. And at every step he saw the truth–the world did not care. That’s when he knew he could build this factory of death. Evian led to Auschwitz. Kristallnacht led to Auschwitz.  World anti-Semitism led to Auschwitz.”

Survivor Josef Kreitenberg commented “I don’t know how I survived but I just kept on believing because that’s all you could do.”

Survivors are Dwindling

As the years pass and the eye witnesses who can say “I was in Auschwitz” dwindle in numbers, these Survivors made it their duty to return to ensure the world does not forget! Polish President Andrzej Duda vocalized “We have with us the last living Survivors, the last among those who saw the Holocaust with their own eyes. The magnitude of the crime perpetrated in this place is terrifying, but we must not look away from it and we must never forget it.”

For some of the Survivors it was their first trip back since that day 75 years ago when they were finally free from their terror. However, for most it will be their last. But to all the Survivors who returned the memories of what occurred inside the infamous gate bearing the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (translation: work sets you free) are no less haunting today. Survivors continue to have nightmares as their memories are still fresh. However, Survivors feel the need to share these painful memories with future generations so the world will never forget, especially today when we witness the ominous growth of anti-Semitic attacks and hatred around the world.

The author with Survivor Angela (Angi) Orosz Richt. Angi was born in Auschwitz on December 21 one month prior to the camp’s liberation.

No Graves to Visit

Some of the Survivors returned to Auschwitz to memorialize their family members murdered there. These Survivors whose family members went up in flames in the gas chambers and crematorium do not have a grave to visit.  To them, Auschwitz is a cemetery. Survivor Tova Friedman said “My going back is my telling them, I remember you.”

Survivor Ben Lesser explained: “People would love to forget the hard truths and that’s why we need to keep coming back here to refresh our memories and keep the world from acquiring amnesia. Unfortunately, we can’t live forever. What happens after we are gone, I don’t know.”

  93-year-old Survivor Marian Turski declared “Auschwitz did not fall from the skies.” He urged the next generation to be vigilant.  “Do not be indifferent when you hear lies, historical lies. Do not be indifferent when you see the past is stretched to fit the current political needs. Do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against.”

Survivor Marian Turski

The 11th Commandment

He explained that the 11th commandment should be “Thou shall not be indifferent.”  He warned that if you “don’t heed the 11th commandment you cannot be surprised when you see (another) Auschwitz fall from the sky.” He explained that if people are indifferent when incremental steps of discrimination are implemented, then another Holocaust could happen. Turksi reminded the room that what allowed the Holocaust to happen was not just the evil of the Nazi’s but also the indifference of the world.

Lauder emphasized “We will never eradicate Anti-Semitism. It’s a deadly virus that has been with us for over 2,000 years. But we cannot look the other way and pretend it isn’t happening. That’s what people did throughout the 1930’s and that is what led to Auschwitz.”

The Nazis tried to dehumanize and obliterate all Jews of Europe. But the 75th Commemoration attended by over 200 survivors proved that Nazi’s did not win. These Survivors signify that the Jewish people won. They survived and were resilient. “There is one more part of the Auschwitz story that no one ever talks about.  When the Survivors were liberated from this Nazi nightmare, they never sought revenge.  They lost their mothers and fathers. Sisters and brothers… After everything that happened to them, these Jewish Survivors just walked out of these gates and went on to build new lives, raise new families, work hard and create,” said Lauder.

After the long day of memorializing in Auschwitz, we arrived back at the hotel for a late dinner. By 11 p.m., Auschwitz Survivor David Wisnia asked for a microphone and explained that he wrote a song while in Auschwitz–a parody about life in the death camp. On January 27, 2020, 75 years after the liberation, David Wisnia, a man full of life, sang this song proudly from his wheelchair to a room full of witnesses who will NEVER FORGET.

All the Survivors agree that they do not want their past to be their grandchildren’s future. The Survivors on this journey did not talk about anger or revenge, but rather their love for their new life and family.   I felt embraced by love on the trip by Survivors who ironically were treated with the worst type of hate, and whose lives were torn apart by hate. Through conversations with the Survivors on my journey and with my grandparents throughout my life, I have learned that the Holocaust is not just a story of hate. It is also a story of resilience, humanity, love and kindness. People who are taught to put others before themselves; people who are taught to love, those people do not hate–rather, they choose life.

Local Residents Help with the Refugee Crisis & Resettlement Needs

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY REFLING

Four years ago, a photo of a Syrian boy’s lifeless body washed up along the Turkish shore went viral and enlightened so many to the plight refugees succumb just to have freedom, peace and safety.

The three-year-old boy, who was one of 12 Syrians who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea attempting to reach the Greek Island of Kos, encapsulated the determination and desperation refugees experience trying to escape the horror and danger they were born into.

That photo served as a catalyst for several residents and organizations throughout Westchester County to work together to support refugees overseas and aid in integrating and assimilating them as they sought refuge in the United States.

Armonk resident Jackie Tarascio said she was shocked by the image and felt an urgency to help refugees in anyway.

“When I saw it, I just felt like I had to do something. It was an awful image of these refugees seeking freedom,” Tarascio said. “It’s easy to go to dinner with your friends and have a day-to-day life, and then you become aware of what’s going on and you feel guilty for spending $5 on coffee, having a home, wearing a jacket or travelling through a border. These people can’t even cross a border to get to safety.”

Wanting to help those in need, Tarascio searched through social media for groups devoted to connecting refugees and volunteers, eventually joining several private groups on Facebook that serve both local families and those overseas. It’s a networking team that has been built up over the years and you learn the people you can trust, she said.

Tarascio noted many instances where her volunteerism assisted someone resettle locally, find a job, or acquire a doctor to perform an essential surgery overseas, adding that each individual and family is grateful to receive support. But while Tarascio is fortunate to help so many, she said it’s a highly emotional circumstance where some cases simply can’t be solved.

“Sometimes you need to come to terms with a family being unable to get out of their situation,” Tarascio said. “It’s a burden you expect, and it’s a weight on your shoulders and an awareness of what is happening. It took me seeing a news report to want to know more but if I can help get someone a stroller it’s heartwarming.”

Chappaqua resident Mary Refling, who started the Westchester Refugee Task Force in 2015, said she became aware of the violence in Syria after seeing the graphic photo in church one day. After learning there wasn’t a resettlement agency in Westchester, she said it was time to step up to the plate and help those seeking asylum.

“Most of the people in our group feel this real strong connection to this sense of civic responsibility that we are here and the privileges we enjoy as American citizens are due in part to our grandparents and our parents,” Refling said, noting how difficult it is for people to leave their life, and sometimes families behind, to emigrate to the United States with almost nothing. “We just feel like someone did this for us so it’s our turn to make it possible for the new generation of immigrants.”

Kathie O’Callaghan, president and founder of Hearts & Homes For Refugees (HHFR), felt similar discouragement after she launched her non-profit grassroots humanitarian group in 2015. O’Callaghan collaborated with several civic groups and faith-based coalitions to create the Westchester Refugee Initiative to broaden the scope of work they could do to resettle refugees. In the last two years, she said her organization has resettled 12 cases, or 100 individuals.

Jackie Tarascio

While O’Callaghan and Refling are proud of the work they are doing, both noted that the Trump Administration has made every effort to prevent refugees from seeking asylum in the United States. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of State, the number of new refugees in New York decreased from a high of 5,026 in 2016 to 1,281 in 2018.

With the number of refugees decreasing, O’Callaghan said her organization is focused on supporting recently resettled immigrants, citing that many of them have particular needs and run into obstacles as they integrate into the community. “The US has always been the country people look up to, and we’re not going to model the current behavior that this country has shown,” O’Callaghan said. “We’re not going to save the world by resettling refugees but it’s important that we make sure that we do our part. We’re not going to disappear.”

 

Untold Stories from the Border: Local Couple Helps Migrant Families in McAllen, Texas

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Chappaqua residents Larry and Debbie Rose are not self-proclaimed humanitarians. Their actions, however tell a different story. As news of families in crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border reached a crescendo, the couple reconsidered their summer vacation plans. Instead, they booked tickets to McAllen, Texas, the town that’s gained notoriety for being home to the migrant detention center that has been separating families.

The decision to choose volunteerism was a simple one. Debbie explains, “We’ve had many passionate conversations about this topic and realized that while our children were at sleepaway camp, we have an opportunity. It sounds cliché, but we just wanted to make a difference. We went for it.” They identified the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center, located a few miles from the detention center in McAllen as a place where they could help migrant families. “It was one of the few places accepting volunteers who were not attorneys or fluent in Spanish,” according to Larry.

Families in Crisis

The couple touched down in Texas and got acquainted with the respite center immediately after checking into their hotel. They were astounded by the scene that met them. Debbie recalls their first impressions, “We opened the door and found ourselves in the midst of a large, hot room, reminiscent of the DMV brimming with families. Within only ten minutes, a little boy about four years old took my hand and began rapidly speaking Spanish. I made out the word ‘agua’ and offered him water. In that moment it became real.”

With a tour of the facility, the Roses gained clarity over what they were witnessing. The respite center is pivotal to asylum seekers, providing each individual with a set of clothes including shoes, food, a shower and shelter to sleep as they await their futures. Larry elaborates, “We learned that these families had crossed the border, arrived at the detention center, and gained access to the respite center because they had a sponsor in this country. A volunteer would attempt contact with the sponsor. If contact was made and that sponsor could provide bus fare, that family could leave that afternoon.”

Gathering Provisions

The Roses wasted no time assessing how they could add the most value, mingling and conversing with families and volunteers alike. “They desperately needed sneakers,” reports Debbie, explaining, “Everyone gets a new pair because they have literally walked from their starting point to the border.” Fortuitously, the Roses encountered a volunteer who pointed out the many teenage boys slumped over around the room. It was an eye-opening moment as Debbie says, “It was a situation that never crossed our minds and it was then that we decided to target teenagers in our efforts.”

With this knowledge, Debbie and Larry began the first of four visits to various supermarkets where they purchased items in bulk including toys, sneakers, pants and at least 100 loaves of bread. In the meantime, on Facebook, a grassroots movement was evolving at home. Of the phenomenon Debbie says, “Our goal was to directly help families at the border through our own volunteer efforts and monetary donations. This was not a fundraising effort, but many of our friends who couldn’t join us wanted to get involved. Then, their friends wanted to help and suddenly it was a domino effect. I ultimately posted my Venmo ID and we raised $6,300 in just a few days.”

While providing basic necessities was fulfilling, the Roses were most impacted by the children they met as they handed out the supplies they purchased. Debbie describes one young girl crying on her father’s shoulder, saying, “I simply gave her an Etch A Sketch and she didn’t shed a tear for the rest of her time there. Not only was this wonderful for the child, but it also provided relief for the parents who had just gone through this ordeal.” Similarly, Larry engaged with teenage boys by playing Jenga. He recounts the experience, “It started with one boy, but soon we had a serious Jenga tournament with several teams that lasted hours. During this time, one well-dressed boy reported, in perfect English, that his favorite toy at home was a remote control helicopter. It hit me that while these kids have nothing now, it wasn’t always that way. These are all families who had enough means to get out of their country. For them to have abandoned their lives with only the clothes on their back, things had to have been really bad.”

The American Spirit

In only four days, the Roses were able to reorganize the center’s food storage system, upgrade toys in the playroom and touch the lives of families in dire straits. Debbie says, “With the reputation of this country being unwelcoming, I wanted to be welcoming.” And, they weren’t alone as Larry explains, “Part of the untold story is the American spirit. It was truly a nationwide effort, with people from all over the country pitching in.”

A Journey of Faith and Hope

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Lavdie Maqedonci-Krasniq with her husband Besian Krasniqi
PHOTO BY KELLY LEONARD

Fourteen-year-old Lavdie Maqedonci-Krasniqi and her parents were on the second plane of refugees departing Kosovo for a new life away from war and terror. “We got to JFK at four o’clock in the morning,” Maqedonci-Krasniqi, 32, said in a soft voice, remembering her first glimpse of the United States. “It’s hard to say because I never had to speak it. As a kid, there’s a part of it that you put away. This (talking about it) is a memory lane I haven’t walked.”

Her experiences remained alive within her until her involvement with the Chappaqua Rotary prompted a speaking engagement. “A group of people came to hear my story!” Club president Dave Shields said Maqedonci-Krasniqi “became active, bringing her kids to Community Day, and is now on the board.”

Born in Prishtina, capital of Kosovo, in 1985–Yugoslavia started to break down–Maqedonci-Krasniqi’s early teenage years were fraught with worry. The regime wanted to assimilate as a nation, “and wanted us to lose our identity, language and traditions. From 1990 to 1997, we were oppressed: the economy crashed, and bank accounts were frozen. Universities, schools and hospitals were closed or controlled by Serbian military.”

Those who needed medical assistance were forced to bribe doctors with money or seek help at a private family Albanian doctor. “When I was about 10 or 11, I injured my leg while playing and needed stitches,” she said. “It was getting late, and at that time we were not allowed to be outside our homes after 6 p.m. because of the imposed State of Emergency.”

Unable to take her to a hospital, Maqedonci-Krasniqi’s father brought her to a family/friend doctor, who stitched her leg without anesthesia at his home. “I remember my mom holding me tightly while I was biting on a pillow from the pain,” she said. Albanian families in Kosovo converted their homes to schools; teachers went from house to house with different subject studies. Her grandfather’s house became a daily classroom for 35 Albanian children from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On March 5, 1998, the small town of Prekaz was attacked, an attempt to eliminate Kosovo Liberation Army leader Adem Jashari and his brother Hamëz Jashari.

After that day Kosovo was never the same, the war had fully began, the Serbian military was all over our country,” Maqedonci-Krasniqi said. “By March 18, 1999, we knew NATO was starting to bomb,” she said,” and by April 1, 1999, they forced us out of our homes.”

Nearly one week later on March 24, President Bill Clinton announced U.S. armed forces were joining NATO allies in airstrikes against Serbians. “I owe my life, and my family owes our freedom, to President Clinton,” she said, eyes watering at horrific memories not known to teenagers. “It was about five o’clock in the morning when we reached there, and they asked us to walk in the middle of the train tracks–kids and adults and older people–because if you stepped out of the train tracks there were active mines,” she said.

After hours of walking came to a camp–“a strip of land next to Macedonia”–filled with people from her Kosovo. “You saw people dying, older people and kids with colds, Maqedonci-Krasniqi said, and while UNICEF and the RED CROSS arrived a few days later, “little kids and older people were not handling the cold well, some didn’t even make it.”

Those who were lucky and strong caught the pieces of bread thrown to the estimated 150,000 refugees struggling to survive more than two months at the camp; people not as fortunate waited until the next round.

Maqedonci-Krasniqi’s parents chose the United States because her mother had a sister living in Elmhurst (Queens). She began high school, took ESL classes, and got an afternoon job at Burger King (where) at age 15 to help her parents and send money to Kosovo to rebuild their home.

“It was hard,” she said quietly. “My dad didn’t want to leave our house. He told us, ‘We decided to live in U.S. even after the war ended. Let’s make sure we do not regret it, let’s make sure you finish college and work hard so when you look back, I hope you can say, Dad thank you for deciding to stay.’”

Sixteen years later, the college graduate and mother of two sons (five and seven) is humble and grateful and a successful mortgage officer living in Mt. Kisco. “It is very meaningful, and we are honored that Lavdie is the most recent member of the Chappaqua Rotary Club, and of Rotary International,” Program Director Sandy Bueti said. Maqedonci-Krasniqi presented Horace Greeley High School senior Ellie Loigman with the Student Community Service Award at the Rotary’s Annual Charter Night Celebration and Dinner on March 4.

“We bought our first home, and we still continue to work hard and try to create the best possible life for our children,” she said. “We learned to never lose hope and as long as we have the freedom to follow our dreams, everything else is possible.” Still, Maqedonci-Krasniqi admitted, “there’s a part you don’t think about, yet when May 26 comes, I know I got on a plane to come to this country.”

“I am a refugee, and I am an immigrant,” she emphasized. “The only thing given to me was the freedom to come to this country. My grandmother used to say, ‘Hard work and a good heart.’ Lavdie is also a Muslim, another reason she felt compelled to share her story. “Don’t look at people a certain way,” she advised. “You may think you know them, and you don’t.”