Holocaust Survivors Remember the Holocaust amid War

Holocaust Survivors Remember the Holocaust amid War

By ICEJ Deputy AID Director Yudit Setz

It has been a tough spring for the residents of our Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors, as they endure constant rocket barrages from Iran and Lebanon. But they have responded valiantly even in this season when they remember the dark time of the Nazi genocide against the Jews.

The Effect of War on Our Residents

We are in a shaky ceasefire right now, but many times over recent weeks, the rocket sirens during this intense war with Iran have brought back memories of our residents’ childhoods during the Holocaust.

“The air-raid sirens always take me back to when I was small,” Chaya shared. “During World War 2, we had sirens whenever planes flew over and dropped their bombs, and our house would shake from the explosions. We were so afraid.”

Now, Chaya has been spending many nights sleeping in our bomb shelter during the war with Iran.

Renate, who had just moved to another apartment that better fits her needs, does not have easy access to the bomb shelter. She manages to go to a place in her apartment that is far from the windows and feels safe there. However, when the ceasefire with Iran began, we still had many rockets from Hezbollah in Lebanon targeting Haifa.

“Suddenly, an overwhelming fear gripped me when the siren went off,” Renate explained. “I tried to walk to my safe place and sat down in my wheelchair. In my mind, I tried to fight that fear and looked for something funny on my phone. It took quite a while before it left me.”

The sound of the air-raid siren is embedded in Renate’s memory from during the Second World War when she was a child and had constant nightmares from the fighting around her.

How do our residents cope? Some try to fill their minds with good things, like humor, and not just news. This helps them to get through the day. Others try to keep their head up and focus on the miracles they have seen during this war.

For instance, an Iranian missile was not intercepted and landed in Haifa. Despite the horrible loss of life in this event, the fact that the warhead did not explode prevented even more loss of life and extensive damage. A miracle! Or someone who had just managed to leave their bed and enter the safe room, when shrapnel fell where they had been asleep, only a few minutes before.

Another factor that supports our residents is their sense of community. Sharing these experiences, enjoying meals together, and participating in various activities significantly strengthens them.

History and the Tanach

The Russian-speaking residents at the Haifa Home have thoroughly enjoyed the bimonthly lectures we offer about the history of Israel. Those who arrived in Israel over the past four years from Ukraine, as well as other Russian-speaking survivors who came to Israel in the 1990s, hardly knew anything about the amazing country they now live in. From these lectures, an idea emerged to add lectures on the biblical history of the Jewish people, as found in the Tanach (Old Testament). Many of our residents grew up in the Soviet Communist era and had zero knowledge about their biblical heritage as a people.

Two members of our Christian staff, Maria and Nancy, our ICEJ art therapist, combined the stories of the Torah (the five books of Moses) with paintings by different artists depicting each story. The Bible lesson before Passover spoke about the story of Joseph and why the people of Israel ended up in Egypt. This allowed our residents to celebrate Pesach this time with much more knowledge of the festival’s historical background.

“All that I learned here is new for me and touched my heart. I certainly want it to continue,” said Boris.

“It was all new for me, too, and I found it very interesting. I really hope we will hear more,” responded Arnold.

*Haifa Home Holocaust Survivors attend a special Remembrance Day ceremony*

Holocaust Memorial Day

While there was a temporary ceasefire with Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon was still firing rockets at northern Israel when we recently marked Yom HaShoah —the nation’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day. It came 81 years since the end of the Holocaust and almost 78 years since the establishment of the State of Israel.

It is a sobering thought that the nations have learned little from history and that the level of antisemitism, especially in the Western world, has continued to surge even more in recent years.

“Did you hear what happened in Munich, Germany, yesterday?” Haya asked me, explaining about an attack on an Israeli restaurant there. “It reminds me of the pogroms that took place years ago.”

The growing antisemitism is something our residents do not understand. Why do they always hate the Jewish people so much?

But not all is bad.

“I am so encouraged by Christians who don’t forget us and take time to write to us and even come to visit and work among us,” said Chaya. “That is real love, not hate. I am telling everyone I talk to about what you are doing for us.”

The days surrounding Holocaust Memorial Day are always very difficult emotionally for our residents. Those Survivors who are still able sense a deep need to share their personal Holocaust stories, and various residents are invited to all kinds of forums to tell their own story.

Israeli TV crews also came to interview them ahead of Yom HaShoah, but with their advancing of age, it gets more and more difficult to recount all the details.

“I want to tell it, and I do it,” Haya said, “but the memories are becoming so alive that it takes me days to recover.”

“This year, it is the last time I will do it,”Rachel said, full of emotion. “It is too hard for me”.

She spoke in two in different locations this year, including at an army base.

On April 14, the Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Haifa Home was a small in-house event, due to the ongoing security situation. Besides our residents, the only attendees were some dignitaries from the Israeli government in the Haifa area, and some representatives from different foreign embassies.

*Haifa Home residents attend a Hebrew language class*

Passover in the Shadow of War

In addition to joining the residents for our traditional Passover Seder meal at the Haifa Home, our Christian team also distributed many Pesach food parcels to Holocaust Survivors in the Haifa region before the holiday began. This included visiting quite a few of them personally in their homes.

When we walked in, Iris, an 88-year-old Holocaust Survivor, was lying in her bed in the sitting room. When she found out who we were, her face was filled with joy. She fell a few months ago and hurt her knee so badly that she spends most of her time in bed. Of her four children, only one is in touch with her. So she was quite thrilled with our lovely time together.

It was hard for her to let us go, and she begged us to visit again soon. When we arrived back at the car, we received the alert of incoming missiles from Iran, and we quickly made our way back to Iris and her caregiver to wait in a safe place.

“What a blessing that you are here again!” exclaimed Iris. “Now I can enjoy you a bit longer…”

At another home, Yaacov was already waiting for us. We usually visit him on every holiday and stay in touch throughout the year. Apart from his son, who tries to come a few times a week, no one else visits him. He is increasingly aware of his forgetfulness, which deeply troubles him.

Loneliness and deteriorating health are weighing heavily on many of these Holocaust survivors who still live at home. Our visit brought a ray of light and warmth to those who live alone.