The Individual and Togetherness in the "Witnesses and Education" Film Series Intended for high-school students Activity duration: 90 min. To the Online Educational Unit - http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/learning_environments/witnesses_and_education/index.asp

1. The Individual and Togetherness
in the "Witnesses and Education" Films
Intended for high-school students
Activity duration: 90 min.
Yad Vashem,
International School for Holocaust Studies
Educational Technologies Dept
Teacher’s guide available – see the relevant tab above

2. Part 1
Jewish Mutual Assistance before
the Holocaust

3. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
In her film "She Was There and She Told Me“,
Hannah Bar Yesha, a survivor from Hungary, refers
to the Jewish diversity that existed in Hungary. As a
member of an orthodox family, she visited the
Neolog synagogue in Budapest with her parents
during a holiday vacation. Her father saw this visit
as an important lesson for his daughter, a way to
experience the diversity of ideologies and
worldviews.

4. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
In the film, "My Lodz No Longer Exists" Joseph Neuhaus leads
us, the viewers, to the landscapes of his childhood, to the
streets in the Jewish area of Lodz. One third of the Lodz
population was Jewish. Jews from all different streams often
immigrated to larger cities during the earlier stages of their
development, due to the economic potential inherent there.
This process was typical of Jews in general, and therefore
their proportion of the population in large cities was often
high. Thus also in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, Jews
comprised one third of the population. In the cities, Jews
continued to lead a communal life, as Joseph describes. He
explains that the Jewish community was made up of different
groups, and that there was room for all of them.

5. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Contrastingly, Ovadia Baruch was born in Thessaloniki, and
was a member of a warm and nurturing Mediterranean
Jewish community. At some point, Thessaloniki was regarded
as a Jewish city since most of its residents were Jewish. Many
of the Jews in Thessaloniki worked in different branches of
the city's port, and for many years it remained closed on
Saturdays (Shabbat) due to its Jewish nature. In his film,
"May Your Memory be Love" the direct connection between
Ovadia, the son of a simple worker, and the community Rabbi
is mentioned. In addition, Ovadia's disposition towards love
and giving are apparent from childhood, and is expressed in
the care and concern he displayed toward those around him -
family members and others.

6. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
The story of Avraham Aviel is unusual. He was born in Belarus in
a small agriculture village called Dowgalishok, inhabited by
twelve families, nine of them Jewish. This way of life was
relatively rare and not representative of Jews living at that time
in Europe. The family's children were sent to study in a Cheder
(Jewish religious primary school) and a small Yeshiva (Jewish
secondary school) in the near town of Radun, the town where
Rabbi Israel Meir (HaKohen) Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chaim,
based his congregation. The living fabric of Jewish life in the rural
regions is revealed throughout the film "...But Who Could I Pray
For?" which shows the mutual responsibility that existed
between the large and the small communities, and in some cases
between those and individual families that lived in the area.

7. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Fanny and Betty, two sisters from the Ichenhauser
family, were born in Frankfurt, Germany, and after
the rise of the Nazis to power immigrated to
Amsterdam, Holland. In their shared film "From
Where Shall My Help Come?" the sisters recount
growing up in the city, and their involvement in the
Zionist youth movement, which alleviated the
trauma of immigration and became a social and
emotional anchor for them. In the movement the
two found friends, youth experiences and ideals. It
should be noted that at the time youth movements
flourished in Europe, and represented the different
political factions that co-existed in Judaism.

8. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
1. How was the mutual Jewish responsibility
expressed before the Holocaust? How is it
expressed in each one of the passages?
2. What is the power and the role of Jewish
solidarity within the individual's life in the
community?

9. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
After the Nazi occupation the condition of the Jewish
community and its institutions deteriorated. The Jews
had to adapt to life under violent occupation and terror,
and continue their lives under of the restrictions and
anti-Jewish climate. The beginning of the crisis and the
process of deterioration hounded all Jews during the
Holocaust. In his film "From Generation to Generation"
Yisrael Aviram describes the transition from normative
life to life under German occupation, and the attempt to
preserve the life of the Jewish community and public
prayers in the houses of Jews in his city, Lodz, despite the
restriction and the atmosphere of terror prior to the
establishment of the city ghetto.

10. Part 2
Individuality and Togetherness During the Holocaust
"We were fortunate that we were a family…"

11. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Once the ghettos were established the city, the Jews were
transferred into them. Later on they were joined by Jews from
the neighboring towns and villages. And so, Avraham Aviel's
family was forced to move to the ghetto established in the city of
Radun, near the village Dowgalishok. Avraham describes on the
one hand the difficulty of the departure from the familiar, and the
distress that prevailed at the joint living quarters of several
families crammed into one house. On the other hand he
emphasizes the evident mutual responsibility in the ghetto.

12. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
 From Aviel's testimony we can learn about several
manifestations of help and the responsibility of the public
towards the individual in the ghetto. What are they? What is
unique about each one?

13. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Alongside the official leadership in the ghettos, the Judenrat,
there was also an unofficial leadership manifested, among other
ways, in the youth movements. In the large ghettos many youth
movements operated, representing the different political parties
that continued to exist, although in a diminished format, inside
the ghettos. The youth movements restored their branches,
opened their gates to new members, maintained communication
with the branches in the different ghettos, and on occasions
provided the education structure that filled the gap after the
schools were closed. In Yisrael Aviram testimony, the importance
of the youth movement in his life as a boy growing-up in the
ghetto is revealed, as well as the care the movement showed
when one of its members was in distress.

14. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
1. Why does Yosef Neuhaus assert that "We were fortunate that
we were a family”?
2. What can be learned from the first frame about the
Judenrat's responsibility in the Lodz ghetto? (The concept of
work)

15. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Subsequently, in Yosef Neuhaus' testimonial journey he
articulates many times the role of the family in the ghetto. It
seems that the family 'togetherness' was of great significance to
the individual, due to the family's ability to protect the individual
and alleviate the hardship of life in the ghetto (for example the
hunger, especially when one is first confronted with exile into the
unknown). In this testimony what can be noted is how the
community's 'togetherness' was disintegrated because of the
need to protect personal family members.

16. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
 What are the ways in which the family is significant for the
individual in this testimony?

17. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Avraham Aviel recounts the moment of returning home after the
German's round-up operation (Akzia) in which his mother and
little brother were killed. Since Radun was part of the Soviet-
Union at the time, the Jews were shot nearby. Avraham, who saw
his big brother marching with a group of workers out of the
death, pits area, hurried to join him and return to the ghetto,
risking his life. In his testimony he recounts the desolation left in
the ghetto after the murder of its inhabitants. However, there is a
sense of 'togetherness' between the brothers, as well as in the
wish to join other Jews who escaped to the forests to survive.

18. Part 3
Loneliness in Hiding
“It seemed to me as though it was my entire life…"

19. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
While Fanny and her husband found a foster family for their
toddler, Uri, and they themselves were hiding with a family in the
village, Betty was left with her elderly mother. After Fanny
suggested that the two should join them, Betty decided to turn
down the offer, if only because she wished not to leave her
mother alone. It was a fateful decision that affected both their
lives.

20. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
In contrast to the story of the sisters, Avraham Aviel joined the
partisans and was able to survive the daily struggle in the forest.
Earlier, the brothers met with their father after the other
members of the family were murdered. The father taught his sons
how to acquire food; however, he decided that they should
separate.

21. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
 What is the process that the Jewish family underwent while
being forced to hide in fear of death? What can we learn
about the balance between individuality and togetherness
during that period?

22. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
After her mother and sister were murdered, Malka Rosenthal and
her father were left on their own. In her film, "The Heavens Will
Open for You" the escape route of the father and his daughter is
recounted, how they lived in the woods for a while, and how they
searched for improvised hiding places. Eventually, the father
joined the partisans and left Malka with the Kot family, a family of
farmers, who risked their lives and did all they can to keep Malka
alive. Malka lived alone in a barrel in the cowshed for a year and a
half, until she was let out for fear for her life.

23. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Question for discussion:
 How did Malka survive alone in hiding?

24. Part 4
The Camps
"The struggle for the moment, [..] to
survive, the will to live…"

25. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
The nightmare and horror started with the expulsion to the
camps in very densely crowded train cars, intended for livestock.
These voyages sometimes lasted days and even weeks without
minimal living conditions. Some did not survive the journey.
Yisrael Aviram was transferred from the Lodz ghetto along with
the rest of his family. Upon entering the train car he encountered
two girls who were pupils in the youth movement. In the horrid
conditions in the train car Yisrael didn't forget his role and his
duty as a youth movement guide towards the two.

26. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
 What can we learn from Yisrael Aviram's conduct in the train
car?

27. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
While her sister and family stayed in hiding, as mentioned earlier,
Betty and her mother were sent to the Westerbork transition
camp in Holland. Betty, a professional nurse, worked at the camp
in a shed used as an infirmary. Betty took upon herself a
considerably dangerous role and practically risked her life for her
fellow inmates. During the filming, Betty remembered her
birthday which was celebrated in the camp, and the gift she was
given when she became 20 years old.

28. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Hannah Bar Yesha was sent to Auschwitz with her mother. She
recounts the way of life in the women's camp at Birkenau after a
day of hard labor.

29. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
 What did the female prisoners hold on to in order to survive
the camp? (Relying on memories from the past, maintaining
normative human relationships in a world that has collapsed.)

30. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
As in Hannah's story, Ovadia Baruch also testifies to the solidarity
that existed between the Greek prisoners in Auschwitz. This
group was known for the mutual assistance of its members as
well as for the trading abilities of its members. These qualities
were crucial in the camp environment, and could in some cases
actually allowed some of the prisoners to survive. Ovadia
recounts how he got a good job at the camp after a friend from
Thessaloniki managed to get him work in one of the factories.

31. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Subsequently, one of the dilemmas in the camps was: what are
the limits of the 'togetherness'? How does one act when the
concern for oneself or for one's friends comes at the expense of
other prisoners? Dilemmas such as these arose time and again in
the everyday life in the camp, and as time passed they became
more complex and weighty. Part of the tragedy of the human
existence in the environment of the camp was that the margin of
choice when confronting those dilemmas was narrowed to the
basic biological instinct of existence – the survival. The physical
survival governed the prisoner in the camp and dictated his
actions and decisions. Ovadia Baruch's story is exceptional since it
transcends the boundaries of mere physical existence in the
context of the camp.

32. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Toward the end of the war the "death march" method of
extermination was developed. Hundred of prisoners were forced
to march thousands of kilometers to concentration camps within
the borders of Germany. A large percentage of the prisoners died
during the march by gunshot, starvation and exhaustion. Yosef
Neuhaus, who was in the camp with his father, recounts the death
march to the Ravensbrück camp. Despite his deteriorated physical
condition, Yosef insisted on carrying his father for weeks rather
than see him collapse.

33. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
1. What was the significance of spiritual and cultural life in a
reality of de-humanization?
2. What was the significance of the 'togetherness' for the
individual living in the camps?
3. What can be learned about the way in which Ovadia describes
his love affair with Aliza?
4. How can Yosef Neuhaus' devotion to his father during the
grueling death march be explained?

34. Part 5
Liberation and Return to Life
“I felt that I was truly alone.”

35. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
After the liberation many of the survivors found themselves alone,
without family members, without a community, without property
and without a home. They had to restart their lives, search for
their relatives, return to the empty houses and decide where they
were heading. There were those who were able to find relatives
and friends through lists that were published anywhere Jews
congregated, and naturally, these reunions were extremely
emotional. But in many cases the survivors had to reconstruct
their lives on their own and start from scratch, haunted by their
traumatic past.

36. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Upon liberation Avraham Aviel returned to Radun to try and
locate the few survivors from the community. These were terrible
times, and the few survivors gathered for the Yom Kippur (Jewish
High Holidays) prayer. Avraham recounts the moving prayer and
his personal distress while acting as cantor, leading the prayer.

37. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Hannah Bar Yesha was only 13 years old when she was liberated.
During the filming she recalled the moment it struck her that she
was alone in the world. She recounts the moment of realizing that
she was alone and responsibility toward her future. She had to
decide which way to go and where to resume her life.

38. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
After returning to Lodz in a failed attempt to search for family
members, Yisrael Aviram and his father arrived in Germany on
their way to Israel. The two weren’t discouraged and eventually
found Yisael's sister Henia, on the relative list. The reunion of
Yisrael and his sister was shared with other survivors who wished
to take part.

39. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
After making Aliya (arriving in Israel), Yosef Neuhaus was recruited
to the Israeli Palmach – the underground army during the period
of the British Mandate – and fought in the 1948 Israeli War of
Independence. Yosef recounts his obligation toward his fellow
soldiers, and his dedication to his duty as a medic.

40. Mutual
Assistance
Before the
Holocaust
Individuality and
Togetherness
During the
Holocaust
Lonliness in
Hiding
The Camps
Liberation and
Return to Life
Questions for discussion:
1. In Yisarel Aviram's testimony it seems that the boundaries
between 'individual' and 'togetherness' were blurred after the
liberation. Discuss.
2. Considering the struggles that we have seen to stay together,
how did the survivors cope with the void created by the
Holocaust?

41. Conclusion
As we have seen, after remaining on their own, many survivors
began to restore their lives, searched for relatives, found new
life partners and raised families. Those Individuals created a new
kind of 'togetherness', while for most of them the pre-war
'togetherness' would remain a memory. Many of them engaged
in commemorating that 'togetherness' which was lost – their
community and families. In their new life they wished to
establish new families and communities, but it can be said that
the longing for that lost 'togetherness' gave many of them the
strength to fight for a cause that transcended the boundaries of
family and community across to the public realm of the Jewish
people.