En conxunto co noso “Socios en Caring” programa financiado pola UJA-Federation of New York, o Y contará con entrevistas de seis superviventes locais para comprender mellor a historia de cada individuo. Estas entrevistas serán mostradas na galería Hebrew Tabernacle “Experimentando un tempo de guerra e máis aló: Retratos de sobreviventes do Holocausto”. A galería abrirase o venres 8 de novembro.
Pearl Rosenzveig has been a member of the Y since 1998.
Pearl Rosenzveig (Photograph by Yael Ben-Zion: www.yaelbenzion.com)
Pearl (Friedman) Rosenzveig was born in Simleu Silvania, Romania on February 22, 1919. The Friedman’s were the only Jewish family in Simleu Silvania. Her father owned a liquor, tobacco, and grocery store. She has a sister, Esther, who was born on January 21, 1921. Her mother’s side of the family resided in a town about 3 hours away by train. Pearl remembers her mother as a loving person, who was also a business woman. She described her mother as a conservative Jew.
In Simleu Silvania, there was only one school for all the children to attend, however there was no high school. Pearl recalls attending that school until her 7th year. She was a gifted gymnast and states that gymnastics was her favorite subject in school. When asked if Pearl experienced any anti-Semitism as a child, she remembered a story from her time in school. Pearl and her sister were in a play about Romania and all of the states within the country. Each child was given a state to play, while Esther was given the part of Romania. When the class performed the play for the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister asked the teacher why a Jew was playing the part of Romania.
Even though the Friedman’s were the only Jewish family in Simleu Silvania, they still practiced Judaism. They celebrated every Jewish holiday and they kept kosher. On Friday, Pearl’s father would travel to a nearby Hungarian town where there were more Jews and would attend Shabbat services. On high holy days, Pearl and her mother would travel to a town called Silvaniei to go to synagogue.
When Pearl was 15, the Prime Minister of Romania put restrictions on Jewish owned businesses. The Friedman’s lost their business and was forced to move to Simleu Silvaniei. Pearl attended community college in Simleu Silvaniei, but was told that she failed her classes because she was a Jew. This did not make any sense to Pearl because when the gym teacher was absent, Pearl was called to replace her because she was such a talented gymnast. Even though Pearl tried to fight her way to stay in school, she did not win. By age 17, Pearl left the school. When she realized she had limited opportunities in such a small town, in her early twenties Pearl moved to Budapest where one of her uncles lived. She needed to learn a skill in order to survive so Pearl learned to sew. Pearl wanted to maximize her opportunities to make a living, which is why she decided to move to Budapest. She took great interest in sewing, but wanted to improve so she took a class in pattern making. Pearl remembers that later on that she began sewing yellow stars onto clothing. She recalls, “When we were in the ghetto, we needed yellow stars on each item.” Pearl had been told many times that she did not look like a Jew. When Jews were unable to shop at stores, Pearl made the courageous decision to take off her yellow star and go shopping. One time she was stopped by a Hungarian police officer who asked her why sometimes he sees her with a yellow star and other times without the star. He told her, “You’re not Jewish. Take that star off forever.”
While in Budapest, Pearl was able to correspond with her parents by sending letters. However, she lost touch with her parents in the early 1940’s and Pearl knew that she had lost her parents forever. When reflecting on her feelings about the war, Pearl believes that the Hungarian government is responsible for the deaths of the Jews in Hungary.
After being in the ghetto for about two and half years, Pearl and the rest of the Jews were rounded up. She prepared by packing up her belongings. Pearl was sure to pack her mother’s jewelry and all the valuables that she had. In addition, she bought as much nonperishable food as she could so that she would not go hungry. One morning, the police came to the door and told her that she had five minutes to gather her belongings and leave. The police gathered a few thousand Jews in a lot. Pearl recalls that the police were extremely unorganized and eventually had to send all of the Jews home because they did not know what to do with all of them. She hoped that this would be the end, but it was not. In October 1943, she heard the knock on her door and once again she left the house. This time, it was for good. She remembers walking for what felt like forever. There were several thousand Jews that were forced to march day after day. When they would stop at night, Pearl remembers that they were given very little to eat. They served liquids only and she remembers the food being disgusting. She had no choice but to eat it. The Hungarian police orchestrated the march. Pearl felt disappointed, sad, and weak. She found the strength to carry on each day throughout the march. On the march, Pearl saw a woman coming out of her house. Pearl ran over to the woman and offered to give her the sweater she was wearing in exchange for any food. Pearl did not care that winter was coming. She was so hungry; all she could think about was getting food. The woman went into her house and came out with a lot of food for Pearl and she took the sweater.
Pearl recalls the march lasting from October to December. The weather got so cold, Pearl is glad that she did not lose her fingers on the march. She knew that she was walking to Germany, but she did not realize that she was walking to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She reached Bergen-Belsen in January 1944. When she got to the concentration camp, all of Pearl’s jewelry including her earrings and watch were confiscated. She was stripped of everything; including her clothes. She was given clothing that was full of lice. On the days that it would snow, Pearl would strip herself down to nothing and wash herself with soap in the snow. When she was done, she had to put her dirty clothes back on and go back to the barracks. When more people would come to the camp, Pearl would do what she could to make room for people in the barracks. This would leave her without a place to sleep. She stayed in the cold corridor and became very ill.
When the camp was liberated, Pearl saw British soldiers coming to the camp. She recalls them intimidating the German soldiers. After a week, Pearl was moved from Bergen-Belsen to a better facility in Germany. She remembers being fed a little better. Everyone was still very sick from the filth of the camp. A nurse came to help the refugees including Pearl who had come down with shingles. Eventually the Swedish came and opened their borders to the refugees and offered assistance to them. In 1945, Pearl decided that she wanted to go to Sweden. She was taken there along with other refugees. The refugees were taken care of by doctors and admitted to hospitals if they needed extra medical attention.
The refugees were put into Swedish summer homes outside of Stockholm. She recalls being placed with Czech, Hungarian, and Romanian refugees. She stayed there for two years. Pearl was very happy when she was there. She was given new clothes every season so she could be comfortable. After several years in Sweden, Pearl wrote to an uncle she found in New York. Her uncle immediately sent her $100. She used this money to buy herself a watch and to get her teeth fixed since they had been damaged from the war. Once she got herself fixed up, Pearl asked her uncle to help her come to America. Even though Pearl loved her life in Sweden, she wanted to be in New York with her family. She thought she would have to wait years to get to America because the Romanian quota was so small, but she and her uncle were able to work out a way to get Pearl to America as quickly as possible. The first affidavit that her uncle was able to get for her was not enough to get her into the country so her uncle asked a friend of his for help. This friend helped get Pearl an adequate affidavit to come to America.
On June 14, 1948, Pearl arrived in New York City. Her aunt was at the harbor waiting for her. She recognized Pearl by the pictures she had sent. She then lived with her aunt and uncle, and worked as a seamstress.
Pearl never imagined that she would marry an American man. She recalls that she met her husband when she was visiting a friend. She married Max Rosenzveig and they had 2 daughters. Pearl has six grandchildren.
This interview was transcribed (from a previoulsy recorded interview) by Halley Goldberg of the Y’s Partners in Caring initiative and belongs to the YM&YWHA de Washington Heights e Inwood. Queda terminantemente prohibido o uso deste material sen o consentimento por escrito tanto do Y como do entrevistado. Máis información sobre o programa Partners in Caring aquí: http://ywashhts.org/partners-caring-0
Tabernáculo hebreo Galería Armin e Estelle Gold Wingen orgullosa colaboración cono YM&YWHA de Washington Heights e Inwoodconvídavos ao nosonovembro/decembro, 2013 Exposición“Experimentando un tempo de guerra e máis aló: Retratos de sobreviventes do Holocausto” con fotografías e esculturas de: YAEL BEN-ZION, PETER BULOW e ROJ RODRIGUEZ. En conxunto cun Servizo especial en memoriada75th Aniversario da Kristallnacht -A noite dos cristais rotosServizos e recepción inaugural do artista, Venres, 8 de novembro, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Unha declaración de Y : ” Durante décadas o Washington Heights/Inwood Y foi, e segue sendo, un paraíso para os que buscan refuxio, respecto e comprensión. Moitos dos que entran nas nosas portas e participan nos nosos programas viviron probas e tribulacións que nin sequera comezamos a imaxinar.. Para algúns, que formarán parte desta exposición, un destes horrores pasou a ser coñecido polo mundo simplemente como "O Holocausto" – o asasinato sistemático de seis millóns de xudeus de Europa.
Nós no Y lembramos o pasado, honrar aos que viviron e morreron durante ese tempo, e salvagardar a verdade para as xeracións futuras. Polo ben de nós mesmos e dos nosos fillos, debemos transmitir as historias dos que viviron os males da guerra. Hai leccións que aprender para o futuro. As entrevistas están documentadas por Halley Goldberg, un supervisor do programa “Partners in Caring”.. Este programa vital foi posible grazas a unha xenerosa subvención da UJA-Federation of New York, deseñado para mellorar as relacións coas sinagogas de Washington Heights e Inwood. “
A nosa exposición de arte conxunta presenta retratos e entrevistas de sobreviventes do Holocausto, Hannah Eisner, Charlie e Lilli Friedman, Pearl Rosenzveig, Fredy Seidel e Ruth Wertheimer, todos eles membros do Tabernáculo Hebreo, unha congregación xudía que moitos xudeus alemáns fuxen dos nazis e teñen a sorte de vir a América, uniuse a finais da década de 1930. Ademais tamén homenaxearemos á sobrevivente do Holocausto Gizelle Schwartz Bulow- nai do noso artista Peter Bulow e do supervivente da Segunda Guerra Mundial Yan Neznanskiy - pai do director do programa Y's, Victoria Neznansky.
Un servizo especial do sábado, con altofalantes, en lembranza do 75 Aniversario da Kristallnacht (a Noite dos Vidros Rotos) precede á inauguración da exposición Gold Gallery/Y:Os servizos comezan pronto ás 7:30 pm. Están todos convidados a asistir.
Para consultar o horario de apertura da galería ou para obter máis información, chame á sinagoga212-568-8304 ou verhttp://www.hebrewtabernacle.orgDeclaración do artista: Yael Ben-Zionwww.yaelbenzion.comYael Ben-Zion naceu en Minneapolis, MN e criado en Israel. É graduada no Programa de Estudos Xerais do Centro Internacional de Fotografía. Ben-Zion é o destinatario de varias subvencións e premios, máis recentemente da Fundación Puffin e da NoMAA, e a súa obra foi exposta nos Estados Unidos e en Europa. Publicou dúas monografías da súa obra. Vive en Washington Heights co seu marido, e os seus xemelgos.
Declaración do artista: Peter Bulow: www.peterbulow.com
Miña nai de nena, estivo agochado durante o Holocausto. Ao longo dos anos, a súa experiencia, ou o que imaxinei que fora a súa experiencia, tivo unha gran influencia en min. Esta influencia reflíctese tanto na miña vida persoal como na miña vida artística. Nacín na India, Viviu de neno en Berlín e emigrei aos Estados Unidos cos meus pais á idade 8. Teño un máster en Belas Artes en escultura. Tamén son o destinatario dunha subvención que me permitirá facer un número limitado de bustos de bronce de sobreviventes do Holocausto. Avísame se estás interesado en formar parte deste proxecto.
Declaración do artista :Rojo Rodríguez: www.rojrodriguez.com
O meu traballo reflicte a miña viaxe desde Houston, TX - onde nacín e criei - a Nova York - onde, exposto á súa etnia, diversidade cultural e socioeconómica e a súa visión única sobre os inmigrantes– Atopei un renovado respecto pola cultura de todos. Eu fun aprendiz de fotógrafos ben establecidos, viaxou moito polo mundo e colaborou con moitos profesionais de primeira liña na materia. Dende xaneiro, 2006, A miña carreira como fotógrafa independente converteuse nun proceso de asumir proxectos de fotografía persoal que xorden da miña propia comprensión da forma en que compartimos o mundo e exercemos a nosa creatividade no seu conxunto.
