Out of the Depths-An Inspiring Story of Survival

If you are looking for spiritual invigoration and a renewed sense in the strength of the human spirit, I may have a book for you.

Heading into the High Holidays, I said to the NFO, “I really need a few books to read-particularly one that I won’t feel guilty reading in synagogue when things get slow-or else I won’t make it.”

She responded in a big way and selected Out of the Depths: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Lastby Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, who was Chief Rabbi of Israel.

If that’s all he had done, that would have been a notable achievement, but the story of the man and his struggle is one of the most remarkable I have ever read.

Israel Lau was born in pre-WWII Poland. His father was the rabbi of their town, the 29th generation of rabbis in their family.

The Nazis invade, do an Aktion (a rounding up of all the Jews) and all but Israel and his brother, Naphtali, end us surviving the war.

But surviving doesn’t even do that justice. It’s incredible moment upon incredible moment…and all of this done at the ages of 7 and 8 with indomitable will to survive and the never-ending dedication of his older brother.

Circumstances, luck, miracles, divine intervention…call it what you will, Lau is the youngest survivor of Buchenwald, makes his way to pre-state Palestine, and eventually becomes Chief Rabbi, where he is in a position to affect not just Israeli politics, but world leaders like Pope John Paul II.

Jewish or not, you’ll have a difficult time putting this book down and when you do, you’ll reflect on what makes people persevere in the face of atrocity and inhumanity and our obligation to ensure that such events never happen again to anyone, anywhere.

There are a number of powerful stories in the book and a surprise appearance by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but the quote that stuck out for me came when he talked about the trail of Adolph Eichmann and Lau confronts another survivor who had testified.

“You coined the phrase, ‘Auschwitz as another planet’-but it is not accurate.

If Auschwitz were indeed another planet, it would be easier to accept the Holocaust. But in truth, the disaster of Auschwitz is that it happened on the very same planet where we had lived before, where we live now, and where we will continue to live.

Those who carried out the cruel murders of the innocent were ordinary people, who returned home from their murderous acts to water the flowers in their manicured gardens. They tended the flowers lovingly and carefully so they would blossom, just after they had torn infants to pieces and shattered the skulls of men and women. Just after shoving thousands of people into the gas chambers to their deaths, they came home to play with dolls together with their little girls, and listen to classical music, eyes closed, engrossed n the uplifting spirituality of Bach and Beethoven.

They knew exactly what was going on in the camps, but were able to continue enjoying life as if unaffected.

Is  that another planet? Absolutely not.

Those were people just like you and me, and that’s the whole problem.

When you transfer all those horrors to another planet, you minimize the issue. You are saying that something like the Holocaust can never happen to us again. In my humble opinion, you are wrong.”

How Perspective Shapes Experience…in Freising, Germany

Sometimes adhering to my travel philosophy of “do something unique to that location” can be a challenge.

I arrived in Munich on a Monday morning, having had basically NO sleep on the plane. It was 7 am.

Tuesday was a full work day and the plan was to leave on Wed. AM, so Monday afternoon was the only time.

Thing is…I was exhausted. What’s more, I wasn’t IN Munich, but a suburb called Freising about 50 minutes away from the city by subway.

Originally, I had envisioned a trip to one of the city’s top art museums, the Alte Pinakhotek, but after a 5 hour nap (I was wiped out!), that dissipated. Just not practical.

It was getting late and going to be dark soon, so at 4pm, I went for a walk in Freising and, as I did, I was reminded (yet again) that “anything can be an experience/adventure if you view it that way.”

As luck would have it, I was a 5 minute walk away from the center of Freising and if there’s a stereotypical German winter scene, it’s that each town has a “WinterMarkt” where daily, various vendors come out to sell their stuff for Xmas. There’s all kinds of food and drinks, as well, obviously, but it’s a fun, joyous, festive scene and nothing like an overcrowded target or retail mall.

So, I lucked out and found Freising’s version of this event that happens all over Germany at this time of year.

I had an espresso, bought some socks (why not), and chatted up the vendors, both to practice my German and to get a feel for what is going on in the country at the moment.

On the way to/from, I got to see some of the typical German architecture, street design, and sidewalk patterns.

I thought to myself…”victory declared.”

Just a reminder that so often, it’s a matter of perspective that shapes what you experience.

(Note: those “tools” in the picture are all made out of chocolate.)

Hospitality: Paying It Forward...

Image by Aenneken via Flickr

One of the things that made a huge impression on me during my 3 years living in Germany and Japan was the number of strangers/"loose affiliations" of people who would open their homes for me in one way or another.

I remember thinking how great it was when I was far from home to have a place where I felt welcome.

Last weekend, there were some British students on a tour of America and they spent the Sabbath in our neighborhood, so I volunteered to host them (which basically meant that they just slept in my basement...other than that, I barely saw them.)

They were really nice chaps (we're friends on Facebook now!) and, as they were leaving, I turned into a Jewish grandmother, packing them a bag of food to take back to their dorms.

I remember the "travel diet," as inglorious as it was and I knew they weren't cooking gourmet meals for themselves the way that the NFO was for us.

They were exceeding grateful, but all I said to them was, "some day, a young, hungry student will stay with you and you can pay it forward."

I'm sure they will.

Movie: The Reader....

Image via Wikipedia

Actually, Der Vorleser, since it was written in German ;-)

The NFO and I actually managed to get out on a 'date night' for the first time in a Looooonnnggg time and see a movie. This marks, what I believe is our 5th movie in a theater...ever.

The Reader, starring Ralph Fiennes and a phenomenal Kate Winslett (she's not on the Titanic anymore) is a movie that is both soft-core porn (the 1st part) and a deep study into the post-war German psychology of Guilt.

As you know, I spent the year after I graduated from college in Germany studying this same topic, so it was near and dear to my heart (perhaps not the best phrase, but you get me.)

I thought it did a great job of delving into this sensitive topic and exploring it from an unusual angle...what is it like to have a romantic relationship with someone you later find out is a mass murderer?

That doesn't come up every day.

My general take on modern-day Germany is that they have earned the right to not be held accountable for the sins of a previous generation (i.e. they are not guilty of a crime), however, they do bear a unique historical responsibility to help remedy (what they can) and ensure that the world remembers the lesson.

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