By: Jason Scheer
Now the Lawrence resident is trying to capture the minds of youth in America by opening their eyes to the horrors of the Holocaust and instilling messages of tolerance.
Last Sunday, Katz visited the South Baldwin Jewish Center to address students at the center's Hebrew school. He interweaved bits of little-known history with details of his own compelling story. Katz spent the better part of the 1940s masquerading as a gentile, moving all over Europe and changing his identity many times along the way.
Katz was one of 10 children, and his brothers and sisters were also dispersed throughout Europe. In order to establish some form of communication, the siblings developed a secret code. When family members wanted to communicate with one other, they would have non-Jewish acquaintances take a brush with them. Inside the brush the family hid messages and money.
Katz also told of how, in order to elude capture, he went to a barbershop one day to get rid of his long hair. At the time, long hair was seen as unclean, and would tip people off that he was a runaway. While Katz sat in the barber's chair, the barber secretly signaled to his assistant that his customer was a Jew. The assistant, unbeknown to Katz, left the shop to tell Nazi authorities. But as the assistant and two officials approached the shop, Katz saw them through the window, excused himself from the chair and fled the store.
By his own account, Katz had eight similar encounters, narrowly escaping each time. "It was all God's hand," he said of the reason why he wasn't captured. "Each time, a miracle happened."
According to the United Jewish Federation, an estimated 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. From Katz's home country alone, more than 78,000 perished. He was truly one of the lucky ones.
After telling his story, he fielded questions from audience members. One woman asked whether anti-Semitism will ever be eradicated. "The truth of it is, there always was [anti-Semitism] and there always will be," he said. But the best way to counteract the unyielding hatred, Katz said, is to keep alive the lessons of the Holocaust so that such a travesty never happens again.
"The Nazis, they wanted to get rid of us," he said. "What I do, it's the opposite. This is revenge."
Katz said that furthering the Jewish faith, through children, is another means of "revenge." According to Remember.org, a Holocaust information Web site, there are at least 250,000 children of survivors alive in America today.
Teaching life lessons
Miriam Baum, principal of the South Baldwin Jewish Center Hebrew School, said that young Jews need to be exposed to Holocaust survivors like Katz in order to understand the heritage and history of their people. "This is his gift, giving up this information, and we should appreciate that gift," she said of Katz's visit to the school.
In addition to understanding the lessons of the past, Baum said, students must work toward ensuring a better future. The school has been participating in community-oriented service projects, including charity walks and fund-raisers. The students have also been compiling a "Rainbow of Random Acts of Kindness," which is on display in the lobby. The rainbow is a collection of short stories about students helping those in need.
"The idea is to build character and a sense of responsibility to mankind," Baum said.
The latest venture by the SBJC students will be among their most far-reaching. Class members are re-enacting the efforts of the characters in the movie "Paperclips," which they recently viewed. The 2004 film tells the real-life story of students at a middle school in Whitwell, Tenn., who tried to collect 6 million paper clips.
"This will help build an awareness for our young generation," Baum said.
Survivor speaks out
Baldwin High School students in Kim Johnson's Facing History classes listened intently to Holocaust survivor Esther Peterseil when she shared her life story with them last month.
Peterseil, who was born in Poland, was only 14 when she was separated from her parents and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp with her younger sister. Because her sister had a heart condition, Peterseil became her nurse and protector. She was able to save her sister during their ordeal at Auschwitz, although her sister died shortly after their liberation in 1945.
Peterseil told tales of being face to face with the infamous Josef Mengele, standing naked in the cold to prevent her sister from being gassed, and trying to emigrate illegally to Israel before being caught in Austria, where she met her husband. The Peterseils came to America with their son in 1949.
"The story of Esther Peterseil is very touching. I have never encountered a survivor of the Holocaust. I have only read books and seen photos," said student Mark-Anthony Gilbert. "Looking at Esther, you don't see sadness, sorrow or suffering. It is hard to imagine how such a beautiful senior could have gone through something like that."
Comments about this story? JScheer@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
