Step 3: Tie Up Loose Ends

So I don't think it fully hit me that I leave tomorrow until this morning in minyan* while the cantor was doing a misheberach* for me, and everyone asked when I leave.  And my response was "...tomorrow." This trip is finally starting to feel real, which is scary and exciting and nerve-wracking and mind-blowing all at the same time.  Last night I went home to do laundry and write thank-you notes* (see Fundraising page about that) and give my mom a chance to fret some more. I called Delta today to register for the SkyMiles program so I can get points for all this flying I'm about to do.  I still have to get some currency exchanged, figure out where I'm staying on Saturday night (so unlike me to leave this until now...whoops), and pack (that's a big one), but things really are falling into place.  I'm meeting up with my aunt again tonight to get the ring and some more photographs, and to say goodbye to my Grandma before I leave. 

That's a big one.  I had a lot of anxiety over leaving, mostly tied to her--she's 90 and practically healthier than I am, minus the whole Alzheimer's bit (which most of my friends would tell you is a problem I have as well)--but I've still been so nervous to be so far away, maybe even more so because I'm going on this whole trip because of her.  That loose end will definitely be the hardest to tie up.  I'm even kind of sort of maybe okay with leaving work for a whole week.  But a whole week without my grandma, even though before Tuesday I hadn't seen her in three weeks, so far away, is still scary.  And unfortunately, I don't think she can figure out Skype.  I'll have bits of her life with me--I'll actually be surrounded by and immersed in her life, so that's helpful.

Last loose end tied up: today's issue of the Jewish Advocate has a pretty cool article.  For those of you with a subscription, just click here.  For those of you without, see below.  I've just stuck the whole thing right in here.  (I hope that's okay!)  Special super amazing thanks to Susie Davidson for putting this together and making it happen.  
 ______________________________________________________________________________

The Jewish Advocate

July 13, 2012 Edition

A trip into family’s darkest days

In Berlin, granddaughter to meet others affected by Shoah

By Susie Davidson

Special to the Advocate

Alyse Lichtenstein and her grandmother Irene Wolf.When Alyse Lichtenstein’s grandmother was her age, she was trapped in the Nazi murder machine.

This week, the Boston University senior departs for her grandmother’s native land, Germany, to meet with others directly or indirectly affected by the Holocaust: survivors, perpetrators, resisters, bystanders and those, like Lichtenstein, who are descendants.

They will gather in Berlin under the auspices of One by One ... Descendants of the Third Reich and the Holocaust in Dialogue, an international non-profit organization launched in 1995. Co-founders include Rosalie Gerut, a professional musician and 2G active at Kerem Shalom in Concord.

This is the first year that the program has been open to the 3Gs, the third generation since the Holocaust. Besides holding discussions, attendees will visit relevant historic sites.

“Through this experience, each side can explore the distinctive history and perspectives of the other,” said Lichtenstein, who with other 3G’s from the United States and Germany will stay in a house outside of Berlin for the five-day program. “[We’ll] get to know each other personally as we share meals and spend time together,” she said.

Lichtenstein, who lives in Framingham, has launched an appeal for help to defray the $2,300 cost of the trip. She is enrolled in BU’s School of Education, majoring in English education and English literature.

Lichtenstein’s grandmother, Irene Wolf, was born in 1921 in the picturesque village of Kobern on the Mosel River in Germany’s wine country. Wolf was imprisoned at Terezin outside Prague from 1942 until mid-1944, when she was transported to Auschwitz. In January 1945, she was marched more than 400 miles to Bergen-Belsen in northern Germany. She was liberated the following April. Today she lives in Peabody.

“My grandma has always been the image of quiet strength in the face of adversity, and she has always been clear about the fact that she has forgiven the actions of those who carried out the Holocaust,” said Lichtenstein. “She is the reason I feel so connected to this element of my family’s past.”

Lichtenstein recently attended the Café Europa event at Temple Reyim sponsored by the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and the German Consulate in Boston.

Looking ahead to her career, Lichtenstein said she would like to expand Holocaust education curricula. “My target demographic is urban youth, especially in Boston, to whom my personal history is foreign, intangible and, at times, unbelievable,” she said.

Lichtenstein, who leaves July 13 and returns July 22, said she would like to share her trip experiences with various community groups across Boston by giving presentations and hosting discussions.

To contribute to the trip, email arl2013@bu.edu or visit Lichtenstein’s blog, 3gtogermany.blogspot.com

________________________________________________________________________________

That's it...next post may very well be from the airport!

ARL


*minyan: a gathering of 10+ Jewish adults (generally over the age of 13).  In this context, I'm technically referring to shacharit, morning services, for which we had a minyan, which meant we could say kaddish, the prayer of mourning, and other various things for which a minyan is required.   I don't know that that cleared much up for you, but there's always Google.

*misheberach: literally "he who blesses" or "may the one who blesses." Generally a prayer said over the sick, but can also be applied for other things.  Like travel.

*Really, I can't thank everyone who contributed enough.  Check your mailboxes!

Step 2: "She's not afraid of anything"

As my departure date gets closer (126 hours and counting) I've started compiling the technical historical information I'll need when we start these groups.  Last night, I sat down with my Auntie Carole and my dad to hash out the details of who was where at what time and for how long.  I got a lot of background information--my grandma's life growing up, when she left home to train to be a nurse, etc.--which is the foundation I'll need to understand how her life changed throughout the Holocaust.  I also got two books, one about the Jewish hospital in Köln she worked at, and one about the Jewish families of Kobern, where her family was from; a one-page testimony she typed on the fiftieth anniversary of Kristallnacht about her experience that night; and twenty or so letters from people she knew before and during the war that she started saving once she was in the states (I'll scan/translate things and post them soon).  I also grabbed a few photo albums from her apartment, and I'll try to post some photos as well. 

Later this week, I'm going to meet up with my aunt again to get another photo album, probably the most important one, with old pictures of her family from her childhood before the war, her yellow star, and other artifacts.  Before they left their home, my grandma's family gave some belongings to a few neighbors they trusted; the Schneiders, the Danys, and one other family hid photo albums and other belongings in their homes through the war, and returned them safely to my grandma when she returned. 

As I started to get everything together, the fact that I'm leaving on Friday for this trip really started to sink in.  All through the evening, as my aunt and dad revealed details I didn't know about my grandma's life before and during the war, I found I had a difficult time holding myself together.  I know that when I get to Berlin, and I am sitting in a room with these other people--half of who share similar stories, and half of who fill in the other side of the story--the reality of the fact that this is actually my family we are talking about, my grandma who went through these things, is going to hit me.  Very hard.

 I'm taking a lot of these things with me--copies of photographs, written testimonies, letters--but there are two things (one of which I always carry with me anyways) which really make up the most powerful components of all of this stuff:

 The first is a sworn statement stored in the archives at Yad Vashem.  I knew this existed, and when I went to Israel last summer with Building Latina Jewish Bridges on Campus, I went into the hall of records and printed a copy.  It's a testimony from a man named Alex Salm stating that my grandma, Irene Wolff (now Wolf) died in Theresienstadt.  Again, I knew this was out there somewhere, but to actually have it with me and see it on paper was a whole different matter.  I can't exactly verbalize yet why this affects me so much, but we'll see if that changes by the end of next week.

The second is a silver ring, which I didn't know existed until last night.  When my grandma and grandpa Charlie went back to Kobern (I'm not sure at what point after they reunited--sometime between 1945 and 1947), they went into the remains of the synagogue that my grandma's family helped to build and dedicate.  On the ground, they found a few silver coins, and they had them melted down and made into rings, which they brought with them to the US.  My dad had one, which is gone now; my aunt has the other, which I'm taking with me.

That's a whole lot of rambling--hopefully as I gather my thoughts more concretely, these posts will make more sense.

Almost forgot--the title.  Last night, my dad told me another story that I'd never heard before.  In 1944 (I think), my grandma was transported from Theresienstadt (Terezin) to another camp, packed into open train cars.  On the trip, there was an Allied air raid--bombs were falling all around them, and they didn't know until the bombs were almost on the ground where they would land.  Shrapnel exploded everywhere, and some people in her car were hit and died.  As they kept moving, they worried about what would happen when they opened the doors at the station, and how mad the guards would be.  When they got to the station and open the doors, the kapo casually indicated where to pile the bodies: this was routine.  That is when she realized that they were in trouble--they were not being relocated, they were not just being transported--and the full scope of what was to come hit her.  Just that she understood.  I asked if she was afraid, because the way he told it, it didn't sound like she had been--just aware.  He replied, "she's not afraid of anything."  And she's not.  And that's part of why I'm going.  I know the things I'm going to find out on this trip, both in terms of historical facts and personal revelations, are going to be intense.  This whole trip is going to be intense.  But if my grandma can come out of those years of her life and be the person she is today--compassionate, willful, clever, and above all, fearless--I can do this.

ARL

Step 1: Book your flight

Most people complete step one as early as possible (like, say, February, when they planned to go on the trip).  I, however, have waited until approximately one hour ago to finish this part of the preparations, partly because I was waiting to hear back re: some donations, and partly because it was just so intimidating.  But, it's finally done, so here it is!


going
depart Logan on Friday, 7/13 at 3:57 PM  ✈ arrive at JFK at 5:29 PM ✈ depart JFK at 7:15 PM ✈ arrive at DeGaulle on Saturday, 7/14 at 8:35 AM ✈ depart DeGaulle at 10:20 AM ✈ arrive at Tegel at 12:00 PM


coming
depart Tegel on Sunday, 7/22 at 12:10 PM ✈ arrive in Amsterdam at 1:30 PM ✈ depart Amsterdam at 2:50 PM ✈ arrive in Boston at 4:55 PM


All in all, that's 19 hours and 57 minutes in the air, 4 hours and 51 minutes of layovers, and approximately 8,173 miles.  (#rasl)


Step 1: Complete.

More to come later!

ARL

Two Weeks

So I'm finally getting this up and running with less than two weeks to go before the trip (whoops).  Before I leave, I'll be posting information about the program along with details of my family history as I gather them.  Once I get to Berlin, I'll hopefully be able to post every day with reflections and such.   I'll post the schedule as well when I know a little bit more, but I do know that we'll be making some day trips out of the house we'll be staying in (Haus Schwanenwerder).

Here's the general gist of the program and why I'm going (as excerpted from a kind of cheesy letter I sent out to some local organizations):

I have recently been invited to participate in a program called “One by One” which seeks to bring together the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and the grandchildren of perpetrators in a constructive dialogue. Through this experience, held in Germany this July, each side can explore the distinctive history and perspective of the other. This is the first year the program has been open to the third generation after the Holocaust, or “3Gs,” as we’re called; I’m honored to have the opportunity to engage in something so unique and life changing.

In this program, I, along with other 3Gs from across the country, would spend five days in a house outside Berlin with our German counterparts. We would participate in facilitated discussions and guided exercises, but we’d also be able to get to know each other personally as we share meals and spend time together. 

My grandma has always been the image of quiet strength in the face of adversity, and she has always been clear about the fact that she has forgiven the actions of those who carried out the Holocaust; she is the reason I feel so connected to this element of my family’s past.  As a junior studying at Boston University School of Education, I plan to enhance and enrich the currently available Holocaust education curricula; my target demographic is urban youth, especially in Boston, to whom my personal history is foreign, intangible, and, at times, unbelievable. This program would be an unparalleled experience that could inform not only my personal life and faith, but my future teaching as well.

So, that's it.  Two weeks from now, I'll be in Berlin, in a house with some 2Gs, a few other 3Gs, and some participants from the German perspective as well. 


Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more.


ARL