The YomHashoah Article
It is going to be YomHaShoah again. I have been working on a special article for The Signal -My Alma Mater’s Newspaper. I have written many articles regarding the Holocaust, including my most known article about Otto Wolf. https://www.uhclthesignal.com/wordpress/2016/11/07/diarist-slain-in-the-holocaust-called-male-anne-frank/
But this time, I want to highlight the survivors, since they are the ones who tell us their stories about survival. Some were hidden and some had to face concentration camps head on.
Jewish stories are very important, just as important as stories from the French, Germans or the Polish.
I have written about a few survivors, some are different from one another, but they all have one thing in common, they all survived the Holocaust.
I have written about survivors Ruth Steinfeld, Rose Gelbart, Arthur Gelbart, and Pieter Kohnstam.
I have a few months to write this article, but I have written the survivors, especially by letters. I have heard from Ruth first, which is a good start. She is honored that I would share her story. Ruth doesn’t live too far from me, as I hope to meet her in person soon. We are going to set that up. I hope to pay for her dinner and talk to her for an hour or two, hell she can bring her whole family. She was seven when she was taken from Gurs concentration camp and placed in a French home. OSE (a child rescue group) helped place her and her sister in the French home. She was then placed in another home and then she was able to immigrate to the U.S. She relocated from NY to Houston, Texas, where she has lived for many years. She has become a real essential part of the Houston Holocaust Museum. She knows about my dream to work at the Holocaust Museum, at any Holocaust organization for that matter. She said she was going to talk to the CFO of the Holocaust Museum. I am excited beyond belief! She seems like the sweetest thing and I hope to get to know her more.
Anne Frank makes her way into the article with the next survivor. Pieter Kohnstam. He is from the Netherlands and escaped the Nazis by walking to Barcelona, Spain and finally finding refuge in Argentina. I hope to talk to him as soon as I can, hopefully he’ll call or email, depends on which is easiest for him.
Finally, I get to interview a couple. They are both Holocaust survivors. Aruthr Gelbart survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He came to the United States in the late 40’s and married Rose in 1955. Rose was a Jewish girl hidden during the Holocaust. She immigrated the United States and married in 1955. Their first son was born in 1956.
I can’t wait to talk to these two and know about their love story.
It’s amazing when I can understand things from their point of views. I am not a Holocaust survivor, I was born several years after the Holocaust happened. I am a writer who talks about the Holocaust. I write about certain people, like Otto Wolf, I am wanting to keep voices alive as much as I can. That’s all I want, is for these people to have a place in history or be remembered. These Jews may not be around for a long time, but I want to make sure in writing they are kept alive eternally.
The article will be published by the Signal in April.
