The song was perfect, and we got
the green light for immigration to the U.S.A. "Don't worry any more,
children, no more wandering for you."
She explained to us that we were
going to be sent to a childrens camp called Aglasterhausen near
Heidelberg. They had schools and we would be able to learn English and
all about the U.S.A. and all of its attributes.
November 1946
We received a letter from the U.N.R.A.
office to appear the next day at the bus station in order to take us to
the orphanage in Aglasterhausen. Frau Pfaffle was very sad and disturbed
when she found out about our departure. She thought that since we got
our Kennkarte (identification and resident papers), we were planning
on staying for good. Little did she know that we hated the soil we walked
on and couldn't wait to leave that damned place. We enjoyed the stay with
Frau Pfaffle; she meant well and sometimes we felt sorry for her.
The day we left for the bus station,
Frau Pfaffle insisted on going with us to the bus station. When we arrived
at the bus station the U.N.R.A.representative were there waiting for us,
and about 10 more orphans were there with her, also going to Aglasterhausen.
We said goodbye to Frau Pfaffle, she cried, and begged us to write. Please,
if you don't like it there, please, just come right back. We left all
our food supplies, plus some games that we have accumulated; we had no
use for them at the place we are going.
We arrived in Aglasterhausen with
the rest of the children in about two hours travelling time. It was situated
in a small town Neunkirchen, 100 km from Heidelberg. The place we were
in had been used as a home for retarded children. In 1937 all these children
were put to sleep by injections, as was the custom in the Third Reich
administration.
The camp consisted of about 200 children,
from 12 months to 18 years old. Most of the children were Jewish from
all over Europe: Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Romania, also non-Jews
from Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Estonia, Germany, and Lithuania. The surrounding
areas around the camp were just like in a dreamland. Beautiful, tall birch
trees covered most of our front and back courts. On one side of the home
was a meadow with a small river flowing. The most beautiful birds were
buzzing all over us.
They sang and acted like they were
happy, welcoming us to the new home. When I felt lonely or blue, I found
myself sitting beside the river with a pencil and paper scribbling a poem
or a song. Once I wrote a poem, I really thought that it was something.
I showed the poem to Jack. "Excellent," he said,"why don't
you send it to the New York Jewish newspaper The Morning Journal?
Maybe, you might get some money for it." I was so proud that Jack
gave me the approval. After all, he was the greatest critic this side
of Heidelberg. With difficulty, I found the Journal address and
mailed it Air Mail. A letter came back Air Mail. "Your poem is heart
warming, but since we do not print poems in our daily papers we are sorry
to disappoint you, and hope that you keep on writing, maybe some day you
will succeed. We cannot return your poem. Since it is against our rules,
and regulations. Good Luck." I never wrote another poem, since I
preferred to concentrate on my singing.
Next to the river was a soccer field
where we played soccer daily. I perfected the game of soccer and became
a good player.
Our daily routine consisted of breakfast
at 7.30 then at 9.00 we started school till 1 p.m. Lunch; after lunch
we carried on with our sports activities and some of the older girls did
their assigned chores: helping in the kitchen or caring for the small
children in camp. 6.00 p.m. was supper. We all ate in the large dining
room, and we had a chance to chat with the girls that were interested
in chatting. There were some stuck up girls that were out of reach. One
of them was named Chanka, the girl I married four years later. And we
are celebrating our 46th Happy Anniversary this year. After supper, we
did our homework, read, and relaxed till bedtime. There was definitely
no courtship allowed in camp. Our camp head, Mrs. Green, was a single
American lady in her late 40s. She was a real Mama.
The kids were scared when she entered
the dining room. She always had something up her sleeves. And nobody wanted
to be on her bad side. She would threaten the kids that if they did not
observe the rules, they would stay right there. The U.S.A. was full of
undisciplined children, and they were not in need for more. Yes Ma'am!
We read you, loud and clear. Friday and Saturday nights were the only
exception. There was dancing, both nights. We had our own camp band, and
sometimes they brought in professionals from town. Mrs. Green was in full
control of every move, or touch, on the dance floor.
Our teachers were very strict and
we had to learn everything by heart such as history, geography, and poems.
We learned every subject in English; in the beginning it was very hard,
but within a few weeks we learned very quickly, especially English was
the most rapidly absorbed.
The boys also had chores after school,
the heavy work in the kitchen, and also some cleaning in the courts. We
had a pretty good drama group. Jack was the director, producer, and writer.
We put on a production that Jack and I put together. Story: Czech family,
taken to Auschwitz, father was dying in Buchenwald, played by Jack. The
son was evacuated to London, England, from Germany in 1938, played by
Sam as Captain in the U.S. Army liberating Buchenwald. Finds his father,
very sick and dying. Sam, the son, prays for fathers health, and
sings the camps famous song, "TELL ME WHERE SHALL I GO, THERE
IS NO PLACE I CAN SEE." The play was a success, we were invited by
the U.S. military officers from Heidelberg who were present at our original
presentation. We were taken to Heidelberg by bus. It happened to be Chanukah.
The play was just marvelous, we even sang a few Chanukah songs.
After the show, some officers came over and introduced themselves, as
they enjoyed the show. They also enjoyed the Chanukah songs since
they were also Jewish.
We were treated to a party; we never
experienced Coca Cola before. For the first time in our lives, it tasted
like something from heaven. We wanted more and more till our stomachs
were ready to explode.
There were a lot of outings, to the
country side, and some times we were taken to Heidelberg, swimming in
the river Neckar. Heidelberg was a beautiful city to visit, the boys just
loved to go to the outings because Mrs. Green was not there to watch over
us and we could enjoy talking to the girls freely.
We made new friends within the group,
and some of them are still considered close friends. Like Eugene Schonberger,
whom I see once or twice weekly. Teddy Schwartz belongs to the same lodge
of Bnai brith since its inception. Barbara Weingord is a very good friend
of the family.
January 1947
A number of children had already
left to the U.S.A. in the past six months. We were looking forward for
our turn to appear at the U.S. consulate for a visa to the U.S.A. Being
impatient, we approached Mrs. Green to see if she could tell us when our
turn to visit the consulate would be. Of course, you just did not approach
Mrs. Green so easily. We made an appointment to see her since we had another
play in mind and needed her advice. At the same time, we asked about our
visit to the U.S. Consul. Very soon, was her reply. Jack and I were happy
now.
March 1947
We were told to get ready to go to
the U.S. consulate. We dressed in our best clothes and we set out for
the final move. Our group consisted of about 20 boys and girls. We were
picked up by a bus that took us to Stuttgart to see the U.S. Consulate.
The route we took was through the most beautiful countryside we had ever
seen. The trip lasted for about four hours and we enjoyed every minute
of it. The most interesting part of the trip was how some of the older
boys had a problem with their beards. Since they reduced their age to
enable them to go to the U.S. as children under 18 years, the beard could
give them away at the consul's inspection office. Therefore, they shaved
their beards, and were constantly asking around: "How does my beard
appear to you?" "Just fine, fine." It was the most entertaining
part of our trip.
Finally, we arrived at the consulate
in Ludwigsburg, in the outskirts of Stuttgart. We were all directed to
a large waiting room. We were taken one by one for a medical check up.
As we were walking towards the medical inspection room, our U.N.R.A lady
was waving to us. Jack and I ran over to greet her. We hugged, after all
she was responsible for our trip, and we were really thankful. We said
goodbye, and she said. "See you in the U.S.A."
We took our medical and then we went
in to see the Consul in person. The question of the Consul: "Why
do you want to go to the U.S.A.?" The answer was plain and simple:
"I want to live in a country where democracy is on top of the order
and freedom is what we seek. The U.S.A. fits our dream," I said.
"Very good young man. Consider yourself a U.S. citizen." Welcome
to the U.S.A. Wow!
We all met again and took protocol
of the Consuls questions and answers. Everybody was happy, we were
all practically U.S. citizens. Within two weeks the good news arrived.
Get ready, we are going to Bremerhaven for a trip to the U.S.A. But, my
luck ran out. I was not on the list to travel to the USA. I ran to Mrs.
Green's office and asked her, "Why am I not on the list? Why?"
And I broke out crying like I hadnt cried for a long time. Mrs.
Green was trying to console me. She was patting me on the back, and saying,
"Don't worry, Szija", that was my official name in that place.
Most of the kids call me Sziku, the name I was called in Munkacs. She
said that she would call the Consul first thing in the morning and ask
him the reason why I was not on the list. Meanwhile, my friend Jack was
packing, getting ready for the long trip. Jack and I were very close (so
I thought) and now it looked like I was losing another brother. Fate would
part us again.
Jack and the rest of the group left
the next day, and I was left holding the bag, all over again. I talked
to Mrs Green daily and she gave me a different answer every day: "They
can't find your file. The Consul is away for the day. Come back tomorrow."
I stopped going to her, and concentrated on my studies. I had mastered
the English language pretty well. I corrected the teacher writing on the
black board. His spelling was wrong. He was no Professor, just an Estonian
school teacher who learned English while in Germany as a D.P. person.
I was liked by him since I played well in soccer and I was the best in
class. We learned mostly about U.S, History, Geography, and Mathematics.
Our tests were very hard. We had to know all 48 states, their capitals,
their size, their raw materials, population, and their most famous commerce.
I studied hard daily, and managed to get honourable marks. The teacher
put me in charge of conducting the tests, while he was also in the room
marking the papers. Some of the students asked for easy questions, and
some did get them, especially the girls.
The first letters from Jack arrived.
He found an uncle, also by the name of Reiss. I never knew he had an uncle
in New York. Perhaps, he was a distant uncle, and Jack adopted him as
his uncle for now. He was looking for an apartment of his own, it seemed
that he was not very happy there. It has been a year since my sister Heddy
and Arthur left for the U. S.A. and I didn't hear a thing from anybody
in the family. No correspondence was possible, since we were supposed
to be all alone, with no family left. Therefore, no mail could be had
by any of us if you wanted to stay in the orphanage. Mrs. Green would
kick you out of the home if she found out that you had family of your
own.
October 1947
The time of decision has come: next
February I would be 18 and all my privileges as an orphan would be diminished.
I would have to leave the orphanage and go on my own. I had a message
that Mrs. Green wanted to see me. By now, I was the senior of the camp:
one and a half years in Aglasterhausen. Since I was the program director,
I thought that she probably wanted to discuss some new programs. I was
wrong. She told me that a new chance had arisen for the Jewish orphans
to immigrate, but this time to Canada.
The Canadian government had finally
agreed to allow 1,000 Jewish children to immigrate, providing that the
Jewish Congress would take the responsibility for the caring of the orphans
for the first two years. Mrs. Green continued, "I thought, Szija,
that since you will be 18 next February your best bet would be to go to
Canada, and maybe you can find a way to go to the U.S. in a few years."
Mrs. Green, I pleaded with her, I
don't even know where Canada is located. All my friends immigrated to
the U.S.A. But, I will think about it, and I will let you know soon. I
walked out of the office and I was dizzy from all these suggestions. I
felt sick. I was all alone again, nobody to ask for advice. I pondered
as to what to do. I felt I was going to be sick. I got into my bunk and
cried my heart out. I couldnt fall asleep. What was I going to do?
In the meantime, I found out the boys that were also refused immigration
to the U.S. were all registering for the trip to Canada. Among the group
that registered for Canada was a very good friend of mine my age. Teddy
Schwartz, he played on our soccer team as an extra. We used to call him
Tartalek. In Hungarian that meant replacement. He was a gem of
a fellow. Since he had already registered, we knew that there was going
to be another transport going to Canada in about two months, he promised
me that he would inform me about the Canadian story in detail, as soon
as he found out about the situation. I was a bit relaxed now, I felt much
better now, and I returned to my studies, tomorrow we were having a lot
of tests.
November 1947
The group left for Canada and I was
waiting anxiously for the information from Teddy that I needed so badly
so I could make my decision. Mrs. Green kept reminding me, "Your
time is running out. Have you made your decision yet?" My replies
did not please Mrs. Green, she kept telling me, "Szija, you missed
your chance."
December 1947
A five page letter finally arrived
from Canada. Teddy outlined all the possibilities that were made available
for the orphans, like schooling and finding homes, some kids were even
adopted. Also enclosed were a number of maps indicating the borders of
Canada and the U.S. Toronto was only 2 hours away by car, he continued.
The Jewish community of Toronto welcomed the children with open arms.
Every child was placed in a Jewish home in a very nice district of town.
Every child received new clothes and shoes.
Every night they were invited to
a different home for dinner. After dinner, the rest of their friends come
to visit and to see the Holocaust children survivors. We were telling
them about our losses and also about life in the concentration camps.
They just sat there stunned, listening to our horror stories, and at the
end they always ask: "How did you manage to come out alive?"
The answer: "Just by a miracle." Every Holocaust survivor that
made it out alive had a story a mile long, and miracles how he or she
was saved. The letter gave me a new picture of Canada and its possibilities.
I immediately went to see Mrs. Green and told her about the letter I just
received from Teddy, and that I wanted to go to Canada if there was another
chance. Mrs. Green smiled and said, "Don't worry, Szija, we have
another group in January going to Canada, and you can be its leader."
I thanked Mrs. Green and walked out from her office crying. Oh, God, how
much more will I have to suffer to have a peaceful existence, like any
other teenager? Well, by now I thought my suffering and pain had made
me tough as a rock, nobody could hurt me anymore. The world was not worth
my tears. But I continued to cry in my sleep, and asking, GOD WHY? Why?
January 1948
About 60 boys and girls were picked
to go to Canada from the orphanage. We were told that we could select
the cities we wanted to settle in. The option cities were Toronto, Montreal,
Winnipeg, and Vancouver. Most of the kids wanted to go to Toronto since
we had the information that most of the kids settling in Toronto were
well looked after. Mrs. Green called me to her office and handed me the
list of the kids, and said to me, "Szija, from now on you are in
charge of the list, and since you are the senior of the group, you will
also be in charge of the complete trip till you land in Toronto."
I accepted the job, and thanked Mrs.
Green for having great faith in me to carry out her order. Since I was
in charge I figured I could rearrange the list to ensure everybody's satisfaction.
A problem arose with the list after it was finished. Some of the kids
changed their minds. Child politics entered the picture. Boys wanted to
go where their favorite girls were going, which required changing the
list again. Since we were all busy packing, the list was not discussed
any more. I promised to look into it when we would be on the train to
Bremerhaven. In the meantime, I have no way to inform my family that I
was leaving for Canada. My sister Heddy was in New York with her husband
Arthur Spitz. Brother Leo and his wife, Ruzsena Rose, as we call her now,
were in Liberec, Czechoslovakia. The other sisters, Shari, Rivczu, and
Florcza, I had not heard from for the past year. It was impossible to
receive any mail in the orphanage. You faced expulsion for having family
alive somewhere. Shari was the only one that I knew was on her way to
Israel with her husband, Hershi Mermelstein, whom she married after I
left Munkacz. She once wrote to me while Jack and I lived in Stuttgart,
saying they were in Linz, Austria, on the way to Israel. I hadn't heard
from her since. At night I dreamt about the first meeting with brother
Leo in Banska Bistricia, Slovakia. How we all talked for hours about the
old home. Mostly about the things that I was not aware of, since Leo was
14 years older than I. He remembered how, in the year 1918, World War
One was over and Leo was 4 years old. He remembered how father and one
of his cousins came riding on two white horses down the road and gave
him the ride of his life. They were still in their uniforms and the whole
village of Packenov was out there to greet them. After all, father was
still mayor of town. Also, the stories about his violin lessons when he
was 10 years old after mother bought him a violin. Feri Baczi, our steady
Gypsy band leader in our dance hall, was teaching him to play. After one
year with Ferri Bacsi, mother found a more sophisticated teacher for Leo
on the violin, but it ended very shortly soon after. One day, while Leo
was playing his violin, the teacher smacked him with a stick over his
fingers because he played a false note. Polda took off in a hurry and
smashed his violin to pieces as soon as he stepped out of the teachers
place. That ended his violin career for good.
In 1927, he had his Bar Mitzwa at
the Zedichover Klazel the same place I had my Bar Mitzva 14 years
later. It was a Saturday affair after the services, his long Dvar Torah
Pshetel was prepared by his Rabbi from the Wisznitzer Klous
Reb Elje Strier. He was destined to become a great Bal Torah
(Pious Learned Man). After his Bar Mitzva, he attended the Yeshiva
in Dunaszerdehely, Slovakia. After he attended the Yeshiva
in Kezhmarok Slovakia.
During the Second World War, while
fighting the Germans near Kezhmarok as a partizan in the Paratrooper 2nd
Division in General Swoboda's Czech Army, an old lady came looking for
some food to the base; she heard that there were some Jewish boys among
the partisans. This was in March 1945, the lady was liberated in Auschwitz
by the Russians and they just got back home, finding no one, no food,
no furniture. All houses were destroyed, just bare walls. He helped the
lady with sacks of food and some straw for the house to sleep on. As it
turned out, the lady was the daughter of his Rabbi from the Kezhmarok
Yeshiva. He also attended the Munkaczer Yeshiva where the
Minchas Eluzer was the Rosh Yeshiva. He was also the Famous Rabbi
of Munkacz. I kept dreaming about these stories and more and re-living
my familys past and their stories.
We were finally on the train heading
for Bremerhaven, the kids on the train were full of life. Everyone was
telling stories, what he or she would do, once we got settled, what schools
they would attend, what kind of clothes they would buy, and on, and on.
They dreamt of things to come.
Thoughts were flashing through our
minds as the train kept going faster and faster, and we looked out the
windows and the sunset was so pretty. Reality was a major worry in our
little heads. Who would support us? What was in our future? In what kind
of home would we land? Would they like me? Would I be able to attend school?
While I was breaking my head with all these questions, the train keeps
klaking away, klak..klak..klak. I fell asleep, and again I dreamt about
Leo and his growing up stories. He finished with the Yeshiva studies
at the age of 16, and was enrolled in business school, which he attended
for 2 years. After his graduation, he took a job at one of the most famous
hotels in town the Czilag (The Star). He worked as a bartender
in the large dining room. The job was very interesting, but they insisted
that he works Saturdays, which was out of the question. After six months,
he became head waiter, but had to quit the job. "No problem,"
said father, "you can take over our tavern and run it like the Czilag."
He was pleased with the offer from
father. It was the first that he trusted him with the job. Second, the
pay was very interesting and appealing. It was a very hard job since our
tavern and dance hall were very popular in town and were very busy. Other
tavern owners were very jealous and tried to create trouble by sending
in special people to upset the peace in our establishment. They created
fights and other disturbing incidents. Our customers were mostly military
men in uniform. One night, two soldiers were creating disturbances, the
bouncer approached them and politely asked them to leave, knowing what
they were up to. They started to resist, and started to throw beer glasses
and ashtrays into the crowd. One ashtray hit father on the side of his
head and he was bleeding badly. As Leo had always the metal club in his
apron, he attacked the troublemaker from the back with two solid blows
to the head. They managed to run out the side door and were chased by
Leo and the two bouncers, removing the tree supports lining the street
supporting the just-planted trees and beat the two disturbers to a pulp.
We never had any trouble after that fiasco.
"Bremerhaven...Bremerhaven!"
yelled the conductor. We were awakened; the train was slowing down; we
saw one of the largest port cities in the world. Train tracks as wide
as your eyes can see. We could also see the ocean, with hundreds of boats
anchored to the port.
Wow, we are sure going some place!
No more camps, no more orphanages. Canada, here we come!
From the train, we were taken by
bus to the transit camp in a place called Diepholz. The camp was very
neglected and we feared that a new camp life was upon us. There was practically
no supervision and everybody was on his own. We were housed on a second
floor dormitory with two large rooms: one for the boys and one for the
girls. Since we were supposed to leave in a day or two, we didn't care
very much about the appearance of our new home. In the morning, we found
out that we were having a handlers strike on our hands. We were
worried, since the food that we had on us was gone and we had to find
new resources for food. We looked around and we found that there was one
soup kitchen in existence. Most of the kids depended now on my orders.
Since I was the man in charge, I went down with some of the older boys
to investigate the soup kitchen below. We were disappointed to see the
primitive ways of handling the food and the type of food they were serving,
mostly pork: pork chops, pork soup, ham, and mashed potatoes. The mashed
potatoes looked like somebody forgot to peel them, and everything smelled
awful. We returned to the kids and reported the situation in the kitchen.
Half of the kids lost their appetite
and the brave ones followed me to the kitchen. When we entered the kitchen,
we discovered most of the people running the kitchen were Polish. Their
faces were not the inviting kind, rather they were sarcastic and welcomed
us by saying, "Zsidky prijechali." (The Jews are
here). We were shocked to find ourselves in such a predicament. But, we
were all hungry and we had to take what they were dishing out.
The next day, none of the kids wanted
to brave the kitchen again. I had to find another way to feed the kids.
I invited David Aptovitzer, one of the senior boys, now head cantor for
the last 40 years in an orthodox Synagogue in Ottawa, capital of Canada.
We both headed for the office of the Joint Organization that was situated
in town.
As we entered, we were invited in
by the Director of the Joint organization. We explained to him that we
were a group of 100 orphans, survivors from the Holocaust, and we had
no food and no bedding. For the last three days we are fasting, fearing
the people running the kitchen. We needed help badly. The Joint Director
assured us that within 4 hours he would have lots of food and blankets
delivered for the children. Dave and I were very thankful and grateful.
We returned to the group and told them that help was on the way. Within
a few hours, two large trucks arrived with lots of food and blankets.
The kids were very happy and ate with a very good appetite.
A new group of children arrived from
a different orphanage in Germany, with a Dr. Klighoffer as their leader.
I was very happy that I had a partner looking after the welfare of the
children, Dr. Klinghoffer was willing to undertake the leadership of all
the children. Since he was a gem of a person, I was very glad to give
up my leadership and work very closely with him for the welfare of the
children.
While waiting for our departure the
children were busy playing all kind of games provided by the Joint Office.
The most popular game were chess and checkers; a lot of the older kids
played rummy or gin.
There was a few love affairs starting
between Regina and Monyek, and between Celina and most of the boys. She
was a very nice, good looking individual, liked by everyone. Small fights
started between some of the group, nothing big, just a few loud words.
It was getting to be a little too much, sitting around inside these rooms,
day in and day out. Everyday we were told about the ongoing strikes; it
should end in a couple of days. Then we were told that the workers rejected
the company offer, which meant another few days or weeks.
We were all getting impatient and
jittery. Why can it not go smoothly for us for a change? The only thing
this place had given us was close friendly feelings to each other. We
became melted into one big family. We felt like brothers and sisters,
which remained with us for a long time. Dr. Klinghoffer was a very great
help. He was the real Pappa, and all the kids with troubles turned to
him and he treated every one like his own. The day of departure finally
arrived. We were told to pack and get ready to board the General Sturgis
military boat for our voyage to Canada.
January 31, 1948
We finally boarded the General
Sturgis vessel and we were stifled by its appearance. It was a hulk,
the bunks were hanging from the ceilings, and the ship appeared to be
all one big room, except that the girls were separated from the men on
a different level. But what the heck, who cares? Nobody knew what a real
boat was supposed to look like anyway. Within minutes we were on the deck
meeting our friends; we were all huddled together since the air was real
brisk and that's one way we knew to keep warm. We really felt close, we
sang and talked about our trip and our future.
Due to the strike we were on the
boat sitting around for a full day without moving an inch. They fed us
on the boat every few hours; we felt well taken care of. The crew on the
boat seemed very friendly, but the general passengers were very hostile
and anti-Semitic. The passengers were Ukrainians, Polish, Estonian and
some Yugoslavs.
We had a lot of chutzpa and
courage: those anti-Semites didn't bother us at all. "Hey! We are
moving!"
"Yippie, Hurray!"
"We are moving! Goodbye Europe!
Farewell! Farewell!"
CANADA HERE WE COME!!!