JEWISH WORLD

Germans rounded us up and returned us to Czyzew. I was reunit- ed briefly with my surviving family. At the Czyzew train station, empty cattle wagons awaited. We were brought to Auschwitz on the night of January 12, 1943. I remem- ber the station was well lit. We were ordered out of the wagons. You stopped for a piece of bread, you were shot dead. The bodies of those who had already died in transit were left behind. The Germans separated us into two groups. My brother Yitzchok went right, I went left. Those on the right were taken away and burned, including Yitzchok. Every day new transports arrived. Sometimes I recognized old friends, old neighbors. Sometimes entire towns arrived together: worn out, half dead, skeleton-like. When the Germans saw there was no one to select for labor, they sent everyone to the crematorium. The gas cham- bers consumed the last remem- brances of many Jewish towns. Those who survived waited for death. Every day, people were beaten to death. My brother La- zer became sick and went to the hospital. A few days later he went to the ovens. As the Soviet army approach- ed, the Germans instituted a death march. They led us from one bar- rack to another, then back a-gain. People fell like flies. Ahead of the Russians, they transported us to a remote city in Tshechia. On May 8th the Russians freed us. Where would I go? Maybe rela- tives survived in Poland. I came to Tzisheva and learned the night before the Polacks had killed the last surviving Tzishevar Jews. I wandered for a long time. In 1948 I arrived in America. Now I have a wife with two chil- dren. I don't have a bad life. What I witnessed and lived through, how- ever, I will never forget. I will remember my father Mottel Jushko and my mother Rochel Leah Bolender. I will remember my brothers Shimon, Lazer and Chaim Yitzchok. My sister, Sora Feiga. My uncles Fishel Bronstein and his wife Chynka, Yitzchok Starkovisky and his wife Beltshe and their four chil- dren. I will remember forever. - Benek Bolender Smoke continued from page 17 As the Soviets neared, the Germans led us from one barrack to another, then back again. People fell like flies. be closer to the center,” she said, referring to its Glen Cove location in the former Pratt estate. (The mansion has been made available to the center on an inexpensive long-term lease through the gen- erosity of Nassau County.) Ms. Bolender maintains a busy calendar of leadership activities. She sits on the Leadership Com- mittee of the March of the Living, as well as serving on other philan- thropic boards, including that of the Last Survivor Legacy Foundation. She has been involved in the mak- ing of music videos that teach young people the lessons of the Holocaust. Privately, she provides personal care to several survivors, taking them out to run errands or spend time outside their homes. “I feel these survivors have become my parents,” she said. She makes it her responsibility to ensure the HMTC carries out its mission, laid out on its website, hmtcli.org , as teaching “the history of the Holocaust and its lessons through education and community outreach. We teach about the dan- gers of anti-Semitism, racism, bul- lying and all manifestations of intolerance. We promote resistance to prejudice and advocate respect for every human being.” Ms. Bolender said her goals for the next two years are: to build a board that is “truly and fully engaged in the mission of the cen- ter”; enhance the institution’s financial security; and expand out- door programming “to include local community events that honor our diversity.” She added that expanding inclu- sion for third-generation survivors, and enhancing the center’s social- media efforts, were also top priori- ties. W hile she takes pride in the strides that the HMTC has made in addressing anti-Semitism, racism, bullying and intolerance in the community, she is quick to acknowledge the job is nowhere near complete. Last December, when the HMTC was defaced by anti-Semitic graffiti, she experi- enced — as did many people — the troubling realization that Jewish lives re-main vulnera- ble here as well as internationally. “This is what Elie Wiesel always told us, that Jew-hatred is eternal,” Ms. Bo- lender said. “We have to remain vigilant lest this country become as inhospitable to Jews as Europe cur- rently is.” Holocaust educa- tors and Jewish lead- ers need to remain cautious and avoid alliances with politi- cal extremists. “I vow never to allow the mission of the HMTC to be diluted by political correctness,” she said. “The Holocaust and its lessons are eternal. As survivors age and pass I will reinforce to students and visitors that we are the last generation to know living witness- es.” The experience of taking office in the vacated HMTC building after it was closed for half a year due to Covid-19 reminded her of her father, and what advice he’d have to offer. “My dad was my absolute hero, wise and resilient while being lov- ing and filled with laughter,” she recalled. “He taught me early in life: ‘Get attached to people not to things.’ This advice has served me well in life, helping me under- stand that having everything I need is more important than hav- ing everything I want. My dad never held grudges. If you don’t like what you see, he used to say in his Yiddish accent, ‘Look avay!” She gave a gentle laugh of rem- embrance. “My dad was a huge proponent of hard work. He used to say, ‘The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.’ I like to think,” she said, “that I’ve inherit- ed his work ethic.” The Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center serves Nassau County with tours through their Children’s Memorial Garden and their Museum. Appointment only, book 3 days in advance, call (516) 571-8040 or email rachelcara @hmtcli.org . $10 adults, $5 stu- dents and seniors (65+). For more information, visit htmcli.org. Warren Strugatch is a writer, consultant and speaker with over 25 years of experience. Journey continued from page 16 “We have to remain vigilant lest this country become as inhospitable to Jews as Europe currently is.” Andrea Bolender’s parents Ruth and Benek Bolender dancing at her 1984 wedding. Ruth Weinstein and Benek Bolender on their wedding day, June 1953. JEWISH WORLD • OCTOBER 16-22, 2020 27