ʻI he fakataha mo ʻetau “Ngaahi Hoa ʻi he Tokanga” polokalama ʻoku fakapaʻanga ʻe he UJA-fetulolo ʻo Niu ʻIoke, ʻe fakahoko ʻe he Y ha ngaahi ʻinitaviu mei ha kau hao fakalotofonua ʻe toko ono ke mahino lelei ange ʻa e talanoa ʻo e tokotaha fakafoʻituitui takitaha. ʻE fakaʻaliʻali e ngaahi ʻinitaviu ko ʻení ʻi he Tāpanekale Hepeluú “Aʻusia ha Taimi ʻo e Tau pea Fakalaka Atu Ai: Ngaahi ta ʻo e kau Siu longomoʻui”. ʻE fakaava ʻa e Gallery ʻi he ʻaho Falaite Novema 8.
Fredy Seidel lives in Washington Heights. Through this initiative, he has learned more about the Y and plans to become a member of the Center for Adults Living Well @ the Y.
Fredy Seidel(tā-tongitongi ʻe Peter Bulow: WWW.PETERBULOW.COM)
After Kristallnact, the Seidels realized that it was no longer safe to stay in Germany so they decided to contact a Jewish agency in Breslau to begin preparations to leave. There was a Jewish organization that worked tirelessly to help Jews get out of Germany. The organization’s first priority was helping to get prisoners out of concentration camps, which was a very expensive task because the German government would not let prisoners leave the camps unless they were able to produce a roundtrip ticket out of the country. Fredy’s parents received a telegram at their synagogue on Saturday morning during services from this agency, stating that the agency found money for them to leave Germany and that they should come immediately. The agency had enough money to rescue Fredy’s parents, grandmother, and one of his brothers, Horst. Fredy’s oldest brother Rudi would be sent to Berlin to stay with an interfaith family in the hope that he would receive an affidavit to go to America. However, Rudi would never make it to America; while he was in Berlin, he was picked up from the street and sent to Auschwitz.
ʻI he 1939, the family left Bremerhaven, Germany and arrived in Shanghai a month later. After getting off the boat, the Seidel’s were taken to the ghetto that had been organized by the local Sephardic community. Fredy Seidel was born on May 1, 1941 in Shanghai, China. While in Shanghai, Fredy’s parents attempted to make a living by doing anything that they could to make money. The conditions were poor and made it very difficult to find work. The ghetto of 25,000 people was fed by a community kitchen that was also funded by the local Sephardic community. The ghetto had one synagogue, which had been built by Russian Jews. The synagogue became known as Ohel Moishe and that synagogue is still standing today.
The Jews who lived in Shanghai ghetto were housed in warehouses that were divided into 10 rooms. Each room provided shelter to 28 people. There were no walls; it was just one large room with bunk beds. Fredy’s mom would use a trunk and tablecloth to make a table for their meals. Conditions were not very sanitary. For example, the toilet was about 150 feet away from the room, so the Seidel family would keep pot under their bed in case they had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. In the morning, they would take their pots to the toilet to dispose of the waste. There were two community showers, one for men and one for women; this did not allow for any privacy. Approximately 3000 people died from malnutrition and unsanitary conditions. Fredy recalls that you were not allowed to leave the ghetto without special permission from the police commissioner.
Not all of the refugees in the ghetto were Jewish. Fredy remembers that there were people who came because they had interfaith marriages. When asked about his community, Fredy states, “For me, I felt a very strong sense of Judaism and a very strong belief in G-d.” While living in Shanghai, Fredy recalls learning a lot about Judaism and what it means to have faith. He goes on to explain that a large portion of the refugees came from a town in Germany called Selisia.
The Jewish community in Shanghai was very tightknit and poverty stricken. People tried to make the best of their time there. The Jews created their own newspaper called the Yellow Post. Fredy recalls the Chinese being very helpful and shared what little they had with the Jewish community.
Fredy attended four Jewish schools within five years in Shanghai. He also attended a British school. Fredy recalls having to attend Anglican services while in the British school. There, the students were punished by the teachers with a bamboo stick, which they used to hit the children. This was very different from his experience in the Jewish schools. He described the Jewish schools as very nurturing. Since there were many refugee students left, a small school was created to accommodate them. There were three students to every teacher. This was not very conducive to learning because of the way the teacher’s attention was decided.
While in the ghetto, Fredy’s fathers tried making a living by collecting old razor blades, sharpening them, and trying selling them to the Chinese, but this did not work out. He then tried to become a shoemaker. Additionally, he was the cantor at Ohel Moshe synagogue.
The Red Cross came to Shanghai and distributed questionnaires to the refugees to figure out who was looking for their relatives. A year later, they came back and posted a large bulletin board on a wall with a list of names of the people they had been looking for. This is how Fredy’s father found out that his oldest son had been murdered in Auschwitz. He also found out that his parents and siblings had all been killed. Fredy remembers, “my father collapsed into the arms of my brother. That’s how people found out what happened to members of their family. It wasn’t the most sensitive way to find out.”
ʻE faifai pe pea, the Chinese government told the Jews that they could not stay there any longer. In 1952, the Seidel’s returned back to Germany. They were one of the last thirty families to leave Shanghai. Fredy’s parents would get startup money to rebuild their lives once again in Germany.
When the Seidel’s got back to Germany, it had been divided into East and West Germany. Fredy’s parents were from a German town called Breslau, which had become a part of Poland, and was considered to be a part of West Germany so the restitution that was promised upon their return to Germany did not apply to them. This was financially devastating to the Seidel’s. This made the Seidel’s resort to smuggling good between East and West Germany in order to help them survive. The Seidel’s moved into a small apartment and Fredy’s father became a cantor again. On February 2, the Seidel’s received their visa to come to America. On February 22, Fredy’s mother was admitted to the intensive care unit where she would stay until September and would come out in a wheelchair. Fredy’s bar mitzvah was going to be in May. He was supposed to be the first boy with two Jewish parents to be bar mitzvahed in post-war Berlin. Many rabbis came from all over to be there for this occasion. The night before his bar mitzvah, Fredy and his father decided that they did not want to have the bar mitzvah without his mother being present and healthy again. He ended up waiting until after she was discharged from the hospital to have his bar mitzvah.
The Seidel’s were stuck in Germany for 7 years. In 1959, the Seidel’s made their way to America. The family decided to go to San Francisco to visit one of Fredy’s brothers before settling down in New York. What was supposed to be a two week trip turned into a yearlong stay. While in San Francisco, Fredy worked as a busboy and then a stock boy to try and help his family financially. After his family decided to move to New York, Fredy worked in Gimble’s selling stamps. He had dreams of attending Columbia University and after working at Gimble’s for a short while, his dreams were realized. Fredy enrolled at Columbia University at 20 taʻu. Although he would be drafted into the army while at Columbia, because of the tropical illnesses he contracted as a child in Shanghai he was not accepted into the army. In his last job, Fredy worked as a paralegal at a law firm for 20 ngaahi taʻu.
Naʻe fakahoko ʻa e ʻinitaviu ko ʻeni ʻe Halley Goldberg ʻo e ngaahi hoa ʻo Y ʻi he polokalama tokanga pea ʻoku kau ia ki he YM&YWHA ʻo Uasingatoni feituʻu mo e papa. ʻOku ʻikai ngofua ke fakaʻaongaʻi ʻa e naunau ko ʻeni taʻe ʻi ai ha tohi fakangofua mei he Y mo e interviewee. ʻIlo lahi ange fekauʻaki mo e ngaahi hoa ʻi he polokalama tokanga ʻi heni: http://ywashhts.org/partners-caring-0
Tāpanekale Hepeluú Armin mo Estelle kapakau koula Galleryʻi he hoa hikisia moʻa e YM&YWHA ʻo Uasingatoni feituʻu mo e papafakaafeʻi koe ki heʻetauNovema/Tisema, 2013 Fakaʻaliʻali“Aʻusia ha Taimi ʻo e Tau pea Fakalaka Atu Ai: Ngaahi ta ʻo e kau Siu longomoʻui” mo e ʻū taá mo e tā-tongitongí ʻe he: YAEL PENI-SAIONE, PITA BULOW mo ROJ RODRIGUEZ. ʻI he fakataha mo ha tokoni makehe ʻi he manatuʻo e75Taʻu th ʻo Kristallnacht-ko e po ʻo e sioʻata kuo maumauMaʻu ʻo e ngaahi tokoni mo e tokotaha ta valivali, Falaite, Nōvema, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Ko ha fakamatala mei he Y : ” Kuo laui taʻu ʻa e hoko ʻa e feituʻu Uasingatoni/papa ko Y, pea hokohoko atu ai pe, ko ha hūfangaʻanga maʻanautolu ʻoku kumi hūfangaʻangá, fakaʻapaʻapaʻí mo e mahinó. ʻOku tokolahi ha niʻihi ʻoku nau hū mai ʻi hotau ngaahi matapaá ʻo kau ʻi heʻetau ngaahi polokalamá kuo nau moʻui ʻi ha ngaahi ʻahiʻahi mo ha ngaahi faingataʻa ʻoku ʻikai ke tau lava ʻo fakakaukau atu ki ai. Ki ha niʻihi, ko hai ʻe kau ʻi he fakaʻaliʻali ko ʻení, Ko e taha ʻo e ngaahi meʻa fakalilifu pehee kuo ʻiloa ia ʻe he mamani ko e "kau Siu" – ʻa e fakapoongi pau ʻo e kau Siu ʻe toko 6 million ʻo ʻIulope.
ʻOku tau manatuʻi ʻi he Y ʻa e kuohili, fakalāngilangiʻi ʻa kinautolu naʻe moʻui mo pekia lolotonga e taimi ko iá, pea maluʻi ʻa e moʻoní ki he ngaahi toʻu tangata ʻo e kahaʻú. Koeʻuhí ko kitautolu mo ʻetau fānaú, kuo pau ke tau tukuʻau mai ʻa e ngaahi talanoa ʻo kinautolu kuo nau foua ʻa e ngaahi kovi ʻo e taú. ʻOku ʻi ai ha ngaahi lēsoni ke ako ki he kahaʻú. ʻOku fakamatala ʻa e ngaahi ʻinitaviu ʻe Halley Goldberg, ko ha supavaisa ʻo e polokalama "Hoa ngāue ʻi he Tokanga". Naʻe malava ʻa e polokalama mahuʻinga ko ʻeni ʻo fakafou ʻi ha foaki ʻofa mei he UJA-fetulolo ʻo Niu ʻIoke, fokotuʻutuʻu ke fakaleleiʻi e ngaahi va fetuʻutaki mo e ngaahi fale lotu ʻi Uasingatoni feituʻu mo e papa. “
ʻOku ʻi heʻetau fakaʻaliʻali ʻaati ha ngaahi ta mo ha ngaahi ʻinitaviu ʻo e kau Siu, ʻAna Eisner, Siale mo Lilli Friedman, Mataʻitofe Rosenzveig, Fredy Seidel mo Ruth Wertheimer, ʻa kinautolu kotoa ko e kau memipa ʻo e Tapanekale Hepeluu, ko ha fakatahaʻanga Siu naʻe hola ai ha kau Siu Siamane tokolahi mei he kau Nasi pea monuʻia feʻunga ke haʻu ki ʻAmelika, kau ʻi he konga kimui ʻo e 1930. ʻIkai ngata ai, te tau fakaʻapaʻapaʻi foki ʻa e tokotaha kumi moʻui ʻa e kau Siu Gizelle Schwartz Bulow- faʻe ʻa ʻemau tangata ta valivali ko Pita Bulow mo WWII tokotaha kumi moʻui Yan Neznanskiy – Tamai ʻa e ʻofisa pule ʻo e polokalama ʻa Y, Vikatolia Neznansky.
Ko ha Ouau Makehe ʻi he Sāpaté, mo e kau leá, ʻi he fakamanatu ʻo e taʻu 75 ʻo Kristallnacht (Ko e Po ʻo e Sioʻata Maumau) muʻomuʻa ʻi hono fakaava ʻo e fakaʻaliʻali koula Gallery/Y:Kamata leva ʻa e ngaahi tokoni ʻi he 7:30 pm. ʻOku fakaafeʻi ʻa e tokotaha kotoa pē ke kau mai.
Ki he ngaahi houa ʻoku ava ai pe ki ha fakamatala lahi ange kataki ʻo telefoni ki he fale lotu ʻi he212-568-8304 pe vakaihttp:://www.hebrewtabernacle.orgFakamatala ʻa e tokotaha ta valivali: Yael Peni-Saionewww.yaelbenzion.comNaʻe faʻeleʻi ʻa Yael Peni-Saione ʻi Miniʻapolosi, MN pea ohi hake ʻi ʻIsileli. Kuo ne ʻosi mei he Senita fakavahaʻapuleʻanga ʻo e polokalama ako fakalukufua ʻa e faitaa. ʻOku maʻu ʻe Peni-Saione ʻa e ngaahi foaki mo e ngaahi pale kehekehe, kimui ni mai mei he fakavaʻe Puffin pea mei NoMAA, pea kuo fakaʻaliʻali ʻene ngaue ʻi he ʻIunaiteti Siteiti pea ʻi ʻIulope. Kuo ne pulusi ha monographs ʻe ua ʻo ʻene ngaue. ʻOku ne nofo ʻi Uasingatoni feituʻu mo hono husepaniti, mo ʻena ongo tamaiki tangata mahanga.
Fakamatala ʻa e tokotaha ta valivali: Pita Bulow: www.peterbulow.com
Ko ʻeku faʻee ʻi heʻene kei siʻi, Naʻe toitoi lolotonga e kau Siu. ʻI he fakalau atu ʻa e ngaahi taʻu, meʻa naʻá ne aʻ, pe ko e meʻa ne u fakakaukau ki ai ko e meʻa naʻa ne aʻusia, kuo ne maʻu ha ivi takiekina lahi kiate au. ʻOku hasino ʻa e ivi takiekina ko ʻeni ʻi heʻeku moʻui fakatautaha pea ʻi heʻeku moʻui fakaʻati. Naʻe fāʻeleʻi au ʻi ʻInitia, nofo kei siʻi ʻi Pealini pea hiki ki he US mo ʻeku ongomatuʻa ʻi hono taʻu 8. ʻOku ʻi ai hoku kau pule ʻi he ngaahi ʻaati lelei ʻi he ta-tongitongi. Ko au foki ʻoku ou maʻu ha foaki te ne fakaʻata au ke u ʻai ha ngaahi busts polonise ʻo e kau Siu naʻe hao moʻui. Kataki ʻo fakaha mai pe ʻoku ke fie kau ki he ngaue ni.
Fakamatala ʻa e tokotaha ta valivali :Roj Lotilikesi: www.rojrodriguez.com
ʻOku ha mei hoku sino ʻo e ngaue ʻa ʻeku fononga mei Hiusitoni, TX – feituʻu naʻe faʻeleʻi mo ohi hake ai au – ki Niu ʻIoke – ʻa ia, fakaʻaliʻali ki hono fakamatakali, kehekehe fakafonua mo fakasosiale pea mo hono vakai makehe ki he kau hikifonua– Ne u maʻu ha fakaʻapaʻapa foʻou ki he anga fakafonua ʻa e tokotaha kotoa pe. Kuo u akoako mo ha kau photographers kuo fokotuʻu lelei, fononga lahi ʻi he mamani pea collaborated mo ha kau palofesinale tuʻukimuʻa tokolahi ʻi he malaʻe. Talu mei Sanuali, 2006, kuo hoko ʻeku ngaue maʻuʻanga moʻui ko ha tokotaha faita tauʻataina ko ha founga ke fakahoko ai ha ngaahi ngaue faita fakatautaha ʻoku maʻu mei he mahino kiate au ʻa e founga ʻoku tau vahevahe ai ʻa e mamani mo fakaʻaongaʻi ʻetau mohu founga.
