My father wrote this article in 1981 for a Jewish Newspaper
20th Century Miracle
by Rachmiel Tobesman
The excitement of Chanukah with its songs, gifts, and sizzling latkes, warms many Jewish hearts. The joy and happiness goes beyond the beauty of flickering lights and songs. A triumphant joy is felt each time the story of Yehudah haMaccabee is told, the fight and victory of the Jewish rebels over the paganistic Syrian-Greeks showed how they fought for what they believed.
The Nazi hordes descended upon Poland and conquered it in a very short time. The Jewish population of Poland had to be dealt with. In answer to the “judenfrage”, the Jewish question, the Nazis established pits of starvation and disease called ghettos.
In the capital city of Poland, Warsaw, the largest Jewish ghetto was established. The Nazi plan was not only to starve the Jewish people of food, but also their right to worship Hashem. The Jewish communities of Poland were known to be stubborn, and many did not follow the Nazi laws.
The Judenrat, Jewish Council, often collaborated with the Nazis claiming to save lives. The Judenrat tried to ban the holding of Chanukah parties without a permit from a special office set up for that purpose. The parties were held without permits, and the Judenrat did not make any profit for their Nazi masters.
Chaim Kaplan kept a diary in the Warsaw Ghetto. His diary was written in Hebrew. The entry about Chanukah 5701 was made on December 26, 1940. In it Chaim Kaplan relates: “Never before in Jewish Warsaw were there as many Chanukah celebrations as in the year of the wall….After 16 months of Nazi occupation we came to life again.“
The joy of Chanukah was not only felt in the ghettos but also in the Nazi concentration camps. In Nieder-Orschel, part of the Buchenwald industrial/death complex, a 17 year old Jewish student from Bratislava, Simche Unsdorfer, with others set out to bring Chanukah to the camp.
In the concentration camp many people suffered from severe spiritual and physical distress. Simche Unsdorfer and a few friends thought that they could somehow light a Chanukah menorah to raise the morale and restore faith to the many men in the barracks.
With Chanukah just a few days away, a plan of action was adopted. The group drew lots. The first name…Grunwald…would have to somehow obtain oil for the “menorah.” The third name would have to hide the oil and be responsible for it until Chanukah. The fifth…Simche Unsdorfer…would light the menorah under his bunk.
The “menorah“ was made from an old shoe polish tin with wicks made from blankets and oil for fuel. Finally Chanukah came.
December 11, 1944, was the first night of Chanukah. Simche Unsdorfer lit the menorah under his bunk and recited the three traditional blessings and all began to sing Ma’oz Tzur.
An unterstrumfuhrer (lieutenant) happened to smell the burning oil and burst into the barracks to find out who was burning it. As the unterstrumfuhrer was about to find the menorah the menorah under Simche Unsdorfer‘s bunk, an air raid siren blared and the unterstrumfuhrer ran for shelter.
That night in Nieder-Orschel a Ness Gadol Haya Sham (A Great Miracle Happened There). Many of the men with their faith restored in Hashem looked to the liberation from the Nazi terror and paganism.
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
(Atlanta, GA)
December 18, 1981
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us
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