Kwa kushirikiana na yetu “Washirika katika Kujali” mpango unaofadhiliwa na UJA-Shirikisho la New York, Y itaangazia mahojiano kutoka kwa waathirika sita wa ndani ili kuelewa vyema hadithi ya kila mtu. Mahojiano haya yataonyeshwa kwenye nyumba ya sanaa ya Tabernacle ya Kiebrania “Kupitia Wakati wa Vita na Zaidi: Picha za Walionusurika kwenye Maangamizi ya Holocaust”. Nyumba ya sanaa itafunguliwa Ijumaa Novemba 8.
Hannah Eisner worked at the Y for 18 miaka, as an office manager for Project Hope and then as a program director in the senior center. She retired in 1987, but currently is the chair of the chesed committee, attends the Partner in Caring weekly discussion group, and on occasion teaches an origami class here at the Y once a week.
Hannah Eisner(sculpture by Peter Bulow: www.peterbulow.com)
Hannah Eisner was born in Offenbach, Germany on November 12, 1924. She grew up in Offenbach with both of her parents. Her father worked as the vice president of a Jewish owned private bank and her mother was a stay at home mom. After 1934, Jewish children were not allowed to go to public schools, so they were taught by the Jewish teachers who were also not welcome in public schools. This is how the Jewish school in Offenbach came about. Hannah describes, “I did not feel so deprived. We had our own community.” She remembers that Jews were not allowed to go anywhere in town. There were signs outside movie theaters and businesses that said “Jews not wanted.” She explained the treatment of the Jews: “they were treated like nothings. Like vermin.”
Before Kristallnacht, the super intendant of the building that Hannah’s dad worked in asked him for a favor, which Hannah’s father was able to help with. , Hannah and her parents believe that the reason that her father was not taken to a concentration camp and that her apartment was not demolished was because the super intendant paid this favor back. He protected Hannah’s family. Hannah recalls, “I felt almost embarrassed when everyone else’s father was taken, but he was safe. Still, whenever the doorbell rang, one was afraid one would be taken away. One lived in utter fear.” Hannah remembers mostly how much fear she and her family lived in. She states that there was no justice for Jews.
There was a small Jewish population in Offenbach, and during Kristallnacht, almost all of the apartments were ransacked and the synagogue was set on fire. After Kristallnacht, Hannah remembers the devastation that took place and how it affected her and her community. She remembers getting ready to go to school the next day and being told by one of her classmates to go home because there is no school left. Later on, she and one of her friends walked to the school, “we looked into the broken windows, we saw it all black and burned.” Jewish businesses were greatly affected. Their stores were empty, and no gentile dared to go in. She also describes that her father was pushed out of his position at the bank as the bank was taken over by someone else who was not Jewish. “After Kristallnacht, we knew we had to get out if we could.”
After the events of Kristallnacht, Hannah and her family waited their number to be called in order to come to America. She feared that their number would not be called because the American consulate closed over the summer; however, their number was called before the consulate closed. While waiting for their number to get called, Hannah and her family prepared for their journey by taking the little money that they had left and buying clothes so that when they reached America, they would have clothes and shoes. Hannah remembers that each day she waited to leave for America, she watched as the Jewish community shrunk.
One of Hannah’s most vivid memories involves her friend Lisel Strauss. When one would receive an affidavit to leave the country, often times the affidavit was not big enough to cover the whole family. The Strauss family did not have an affidavit that would cover all four of them. So the family split up. The father and younger sister, Ellen, went to American first. Lisel and her mother stayed behind with the hope that the father would soon be able to get an affidavit for the two of them. But Lisel and her mother never got out. Ellen married a man who was in the leather business, specifically handbags. The handbags that they made were called the Lisette, which was named after Lisel. (Hannah still has her original handbag, pictured above).
Many of Hannah’s relatives perished in Nazi death camps. She had a cousin who was imprisoned in one of the camps. Her cousin found a boyfriend at the camp. The boyfriend had an opportunity to leave the camp, but he decided to stay with Hannah’s cousin. They both ended up being murdered in the camp together.
The Eisner’s came to America in April 1939. Hannah had relatives in New York who rented a room for her family for a short period of time. She remembers, “to my surprise, the freedom here, the abundance…after relatives had picked us up, they rented a room for us until our few belongings did come…they wanted me to buy things in the grocery store. So with my best English I went down and I said ‘can I have an egg or two?’ They said ‘what? Why don’t you take a dozen?’ These were the surprises of an immigrant.” Hannah’s family would rent five bedroom apartments, which was bigger than what they needed in order to rent out rooms to other refugees who could not afford their own apartments. Hannah remembers, “I never had a room of my own. For a long, long time because we rented out two rooms. But I’m glad to be alive.” When they first arrived, Hannah’s father took a job as a door-to-door salesman. This was a tremendous step down from his position at the bank, but it was the only work he was able to get. Eventually, he was fortunate enough to get a job as a shipping clerk. Hannah’s mother worked very little from home; she stitched slippers together.
Hannah was 14 years old when she came to America. She attended junior high school and then George Washington High School. She was a bright student, but did not want to go to college because she would have to go to classes a night. After graduation, Hannah worked as a billing clerk in a slipper manufacturer.
Living through the devastation of Kristallnacht and the Holocaust affected Hannah in many ways throughout her life, but especially when it came to raising her children. She explains, “I was stricter with them because I felt that the others were killed and we survived so [my children] shouldn’t be so silly. So I was stricter on my boys, which I regret now.”
“Hitler made me proud to be a Jew. Hitler made me Jewish.” Hannah was married in 1950 to an Austrian man that she met in America. She has two sons and three grandchildren. Her middle grandson was just accepted into the Israeli Army. She is tremendously proud ofhim.
Mahojiano haya yalifanywa na Halley Goldberg wa mpango wa Y's Partners in Caring na ni wa YM.&YWHA ya Washington Heights na Inwood. Matumizi ya nyenzo hii bila idhini ya maandishi kutoka kwa Y na mhojiwa ni marufuku kabisa. Pata maelezo zaidi kuhusu mpango wa Washirika katika Kujali hapa: http://ywashhts.org/partners-caring-0
Maskani ya Kiebrania Matunzio ya Mrengo ya Dhahabu ya Armin na Estellekwa ushirikiano wa kujivunia naKuhusu Y&YWHA ya Washington Heights na Inwoodinakualika kwenye yetuNovemba/Desemba, 2013 Onyesha“Kupitia Wakati wa Vita na Zaidi: Picha za Walionusurika kwenye Maangamizi ya Holocaust” na picha na uchongaji by: YAEL BEN-ZION, PETER BULOW na ROJ RODRIGUEZ. Kwa kushirikiana na Huduma maalum katika kumbukumbuya75Maadhimisho ya Miaka 10 ya Kristallnacht -Usiku wa Kioo kilichovunjikaHuduma na Mapokezi ya Ufunguzi ya Msanii, Ijumaa, Novemba 8, 2013 7:30 Mch.
Taarifa kutoka kwa Y : ” Kwa miongo kadhaa Washington Heights/Inwood Y imekuwa, na inaendelea kuwa, kimbilio kwa wale wanaotafuta kimbilio, heshima na uelewa. Wengi wanaoingia kwenye milango yetu na kushiriki katika programu zetu wamepitia majaribu na dhiki ambazo hatuwezi hata kufikiria.. Kwa baadhi, ambao watakuwa sehemu ya maonyesho haya, jambo moja la kutisha kama hilo limejulikana kwa ulimwengu kuwa "Maangamizi makubwa" – mauaji ya kimfumo ya Wayahudi milioni sita wa Ulaya.
Sisi katika Y tunakumbuka zamani, waheshimu wale walioishi na kufa wakati huo, na kulinda ukweli kwa vizazi vijavyo. Kwa ajili yetu na watoto wetu, lazima tupitishe hadithi za wale ambao wamepitia maovu ya vita. Kuna masomo ya kujifunza kwa siku zijazo. Mahojiano hayo yameandikwa na Halley Goldberg, msimamizi wa programu ya "Washirika katika Kujali".. Mpango huu muhimu uliwezekana kupitia ruzuku ya ukarimu kutoka UJA-Shirikisho la New York, iliyoundwa ili kuboresha uhusiano na masinagogi huko Washington Heights na Inwood. “
Maonyesho yetu ya pamoja ya sanaa yana picha na mahojiano ya walionusurika katika Maangamizi ya Wayahudi, Hannah Eisner, Charlie na Lilli Friedman, Pearl Rosenzveig, Fredy Seidel na Ruth Wertheimer, ambao wote ni washiriki wa Hema la Kukutania la Kiebrania, kutaniko la Kiyahudi ambalo Wayahudi wengi wa Kijerumani walikimbia Wanazi na kupata bahati ya kuja Amerika, alijiunga mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1930. Kwa kuongezea, tutamheshimu pia mnusurika wa mauaji ya Holocaust Gizelle Schwartz Bulow- mama wa msanii wetu Peter Bulow na mwokozi wa WWII Yan Neznanskiy - baba wa Afisa Mkuu wa Mpango wa Y., Victoria Neznansky.
Ibada maalum ya Sabato, na wazungumzaji, katika kumbukumbu ya Miaka 75 ya Kristallnacht (Usiku wa Kioo kilichovunjika) hutangulia ufunguzi wa maonyesho ya Gold Gallery/Y:Huduma huanza mara moja saa 7:30 jioni. Wote mnaalikwa kuhudhuria.
Kwa masaa ya wazi ya nyumba ya sanaa au kwa habari zaidi tafadhali piga simu kwa sinagogi kwa212-568-8304 au tazamahttp://www.hebrewtabernacle.orgKauli ya Msanii: Yael Ben-Sayuniwww.yaelbenzion.comYael Ben-Zion alizaliwa huko Minneapolis, MN na kukulia Israeli. Yeye ni mhitimu wa Mpango wa Mafunzo ya Jumla wa Kituo cha Kimataifa cha Upigaji picha. Ben-Zion ndiye mpokeaji wa ruzuku na tuzo mbalimbali, hivi karibuni kutoka kwa Wakfu wa Puffin na kutoka NoMAA, na kazi yake imeonyeshwa Marekani na Ulaya. Amechapisha monographs mbili za kazi yake. Anaishi Washington Heights na mumewe, na wavulana wao mapacha.
Kauli ya Msanii: Peter Bulow: www.peterbulow.com
Mama yangu kama mtoto, alikuwa amejificha wakati wa mauaji ya Holocaust. Kwa miaka mingi, uzoefu wake, au kile nilichofikiria kuwa uzoefu wake, imekuwa na ushawishi mkubwa kwangu. Ushawishi huu unaonyeshwa katika maisha yangu ya kibinafsi na ya kisanii. Nilizaliwa India, aliishi kama mtoto mdogo huko Berlin na kuhamia Marekani na wazazi wangu katika umri 8. Nina Shahada ya Uzamili katika Sanaa Nzuri katika uchongaji. Mimi pia ni mpokeaji wa ruzuku ambayo itaniruhusu kufanya idadi ndogo ya manusura wa mauaji ya Holocaust.. Tafadhali nijulishe ikiwa ungependa kuwa sehemu ya mradi huu.
Kauli ya Msanii :Roj Rodriguez: www.rojrodriguez.com
Mwili wangu wa kazi unaonyesha safari yangu kutoka Houston, TX - ambapo nilizaliwa na kukulia - hadi New York - wapi, wazi kwa kabila lake, tofauti za kitamaduni na kijamii na kiuchumi na mtazamo wake wa kipekee juu ya wahamiaji– Nilipata heshima mpya kwa tamaduni ya kila mtu. Nimejifunza na wapiga picha waliobobea, alisafiri sana ulimwenguni na alishirikiana na wataalamu wengi wa juu katika uwanja huo. Tangu Januari, 2006, kazi yangu kama mpiga picha huru imekuwa mchakato wa kuchukua miradi ya upigaji picha ya kibinafsi ambayo hutokana na ufahamu wangu mwenyewe wa jinsi tunavyoshiriki ulimwengu na kutumia ubunifu wetu kwa ujumla.
