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It’s one thing to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust in a classroom. It’s quite another to hear about one of the most unthinkable chapters in human history from the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor.
Realizing the value of such an experience is what prompted Justin Fladd, Newark High School Global Studies 9&10 teacher to get permission last fall from Newark High School Social Studies Department Leader Mark Eakins to invite Dave Reckess, grandson of Holocaust survivor Sarah Tuller to speak, when his schedule allowed, to NHS sophomores who are taught about the Holocaust each year.
Having attended the annual conference last month for Social Studies educators in Albany, Fladd was both surprised and delighted when he learned Reckess, a former teacher who lives near Syracuse and is executive director of 3GNY Descendants of Holocaust survivors, was one of the speakers.
Since Reckess’ presentation more than lived up to his billing in the conference brochure, Fladd naturally couldn’t wait until his 10th grade students, and those of the three other Global Studies 10 teachers Haley Curley, David Roman and Dan Micciche could hear him speak to their students March 28th.
Just as he had hoped, Reckess’ presentations, that included photos and videos of his grandmother telling her compelling stories as she did publicly so many times in her latter years, to about 160 Global 10 students at NHS didn’t disappoint. They were riveting and students were both respectful and engaged including during the question-and-answer sessions that followed his talks.
“Dave is an amazing speaker, who does a great job engaging the student audience and the story of his grandmother makes the Holocaust "real" for a lot of the students. Hearing from Dave, our students and staff were truly impacted. It made information about the Holocaust we had discussed in our classes really come alive,” Fladd said.
"Having Dave come and speak to our sophomores was such an amazing and engaging opportunity for students. His stories allowed students to apply real life stories to what we have learned about in the classroom. This really helped emphasize to students that what we talk about in class isn't just history, but is a part of people's lived experiences,” Curley said.
“It was engaging and an amazing opportunity for our students to learn from ‘outside of a textbook.’ The speaker was dynamic and put such a human lens to the time period. I was so grateful to be able to experience that,” said NHS Principal Kelly A. Zielke.
While all four of Reckess’ Jewish grandparents were sent to concentration camps, all four miraculously survived. But his presentations focus primarily on his maternal grandmother whose maiden name was Sarah Feldzamen. He enduringly refers to her as “Bubi” Sarah, since “Bubi” is Yiddish for grandmother.
Born in 1922 in Lublin, Poland, life for Sarah changed over her childhood years, but took a dramatic turn in her teens when harsh restrictions, she thought were only being imposed on Jewish people in Germany, were placed on Jewish citizens in Poland. They had to wear yellow armbands to identify themselves. Demeaning, antisemitic signs went up all over the town. Kids who were once her friends would throw stones at her. At 16, she could no longer attend school because Jews were not allowed. Strict curfews had to be adhered to. Jewish families, now forced to live in apartment buildings called ghettos had to pay Nazi soldiers money. They had to keep their shops and businesses, that few townspeople would no longer frequent, open so Nazi soldiers could come in and take whatever they wanted to.
At night, Nazi soldiers would order certain segments of Jews in Lublin to immediately leave their apartments and board trucks headed for concentration camps. Many of Sarah’s friends gradually disappeared. Her brother, who tried to evade this fate, attempted to flee to Russia but was captured, imprisoned and was killed in captivity.
When Sarah was 19, Jewish men and boys of Lublin were forced to build a concentration camp in nearly Majdanek, which all the remaining Jews in the community were forced to live in once it was completed.
“The Nazis treated us like dogs, actually not even dogs, more like stray dogs. They took away our dignity. They dehumanized us. I knew that even though I was treated terribly, I just had to go on living and that helped me survive,” Tuller shared on a video made several years ago.
Miraculously, not long after they arrived at Majdanek, a Nazi guard told Sarah’s boyfriend, Yehuda, who had come to the camp with his ailing mother, that some people could try to escape at midnight. He said he would open the gate, look the other way and let people them escape. But in three minutes, he would release his 7 dogs to chase after them.
Sarah’s boyfriend, who knew he could not leave his sick mother, persuaded her to try to escape with her parents and 17-year-old brother or they would face certain death in the concentration camp. Amazingly, they all made it back to nearby Lublin and stayed for a couple of days with a Catholic family they trusted. After a few days, the Catholic family, in fear for its own safety for harboring the Feldzamen family, told them they had to leave. The Feldzamens soon managed to board a train to Warsaw where a kind, non-Jewish family they knew let them stay in a concealed room in their tiny apartment for 3.5 years. The Feldzamen’s colorless existence was fraught with loneliness, anxiousness, fear, sadness and monotony. But the kindness of their hosts, who placed their own lives in danger, and their hope of a better future someday kept the Jewish family from giving up.
Reckess said his grandmother and family often wondered if perhaps there would be a world worth living in when the war was over.
In the spring of 1945, the Russian Army reached Warsaw and freed it from the Nazis.
Before that,Sarah’s family, because they had no idea of what had happened to so many Jews, wondered if they were the only ones left and how it would be for them when they re-emerged into the world. Once freed, they returned to their home city of Lublin where the family searched for anyone they knew that managed to survive. They found a friend of her older brother named Sasha Tuller who had fled to Russia in the beginning of the war. He was the only member of his family to survive. Sarah and he became close and soon married. And then, along with her parents, they moved to New York City where as immigrants they created a new life. They had three children and ran a successful fabric shop in Brooklyn and had many good years together.
Sasha Tuller died in 1985. Years later, Sarah met and married Morris Golub, who encouraged her to talk about her experiences and chronicled them into a 70- page history manuscript which Reckess and his family treasure and can be seen in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.. Golub died in 2016. Sarah died three years later at age 97, not long after she had shared her story, for the umpteenth time publicly, this time to some 5th and 6th graders at their school.
Daunting memories of the Holocaust and its impact on her family and so many others she knew and loved, didn’t permanently scar Sarah. She lived a full productive life. Her obituary says it best: “Through it all, Sarah lived her life with abundant energy, honesty, and determination. She was spunky, big-hearted, and left an indelible impression on everyone she met. She taught us that life is not always fair. But while we are here and living, we should make the most of it. She showed us how to enjoy life and treat each day as a marvelous gift.”
That’s why Reckess is carrying on her legacy with his work with 3GNY, an educational non-profit organization founded by grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. On its website, its mission is clearly delineated: “As a living link, we preserve the legacies and the lessons of the Holocaust. Our mission is to educate diverse communities about the perils of intolerance and to provide a supportive forum for the descendants of survivors.
“We feel a deep commitment to know and tell our family stories, and to place them within the greater context of the Holocaust. 3GNY also raises awareness about human rights issues and genocide – past and present.”
Sandra Ordan, Director of Innovation and Grant Services at NCSD, was very moved by Reckess’ presentation.
“He was phenomenal and our students were so engaged with him sharing his grandmother’s heroic story about survival, trust and family. I immediately contacted my own synagogue to see about having him come speak with our congregation. Thank you to Justin for providing this incredible opportunity for our students to learn about this time period from such a dynamic speaker.”
What did students think about the presentation?
What did students think about the presentation? “It was truly a moving experience to hear Mr. Reckess tell the story of his Bubi. Sharing this story might help teach people that joking about the Holocaust/Jews is not okay and terrible. Hearing this story will help me educate people on anti-Semitism, and how important ending hate is for today's society.” - Jenna Downey.
“Great presentation, it truly made me feel emotional inside. I could feel the imagery presented by the speaker.” Anna Lance
And this from Bella Belliveau. “I feel guilty for the life that I have and how easy it is. You can't really put the turmoil these people went through into perspective unless you hear it from someone who actually experienced it.”