מאגר סיפורי מורשת

אוצר אנושי מתוכנית הקשר הרב-דורי

On the Kindertransport

Saba and Savta's wedding
Saba Gerald
סיפורו של ג'רלד לידר, בן יוסף ורוז

Saba, Gerry Lieder, was born in Germany, to Josef and Rose Lieder. He grew up with his siblings
in a normal Jewish home. When the Nazi's took over the Government in 1933, things got bad for Jewish people living in Germany. He went to a German school until 4th grade, when the Germans didn't want any Jewish students in their schools.
 
תמונה 1 
The Jewish community then formed schools for all Jewish shildren until the end of grade school. Things were getting much worse for Jews living in Germany. When he was 12 years old, the Germans had started to get rid of all Jews living in germany, pushing them to leave.  Other countries did not want Jews either, with some exceptions, mostly when you had relatives in other countries, some lucky families were able to ge out. Polish Jews were the first targets of deportations, of "Foreign Jews". Saba's parents and their children were Polish Citizens, and were the first victims of deportation against their will when Saba was 12 years old
 
תמונה 2 
One evening at supertime, the Gestapo Police knocked on their family door and told them to "just finish your supper and then just come down to the city jail fo registration. You'll be back home shortly after that". But…there was "no after that". From the city jail, Saba, his parents, and siblings who were at home at the time, were put into police squad cars. The windows were kept open to 'hurt them" in last days of an October cold night, and they were brought to the Polish
Border, told to get out and left in an open field. The Polish Border Police, were caught by complete surprise and refused their entry into Poland.
All of the Jews of Polish descent were deported from from their homes in Stettin and dumped onto this field. Eventually, the Poles let them in. By then, they had only the clothing they were wearing. All German money and any jewelry were robbed by the Germans, so they at the mercy of the Jewish communities to help with food and shelter.
 
תמונה 3 
Saba lived in Poland just about 9 months. He had been moved with his younger twin sibling to another town, away from his parents, where he was taken in by kind Jewish people who kept kosher. Through the workings of many people and his older siblings working with social services, he was picked to travel to England through the "Kinder Transport" organized by European Jewish Welfare Committees, because he was the right age, at time of selection. He left Poland by ship and was brought to London, England, three days before the war in Europe started, when Germany invaded Poland. So the rest of the family could not get out of Poland, to go anywhere
After a few weeks, as many children as possible, were evacuated from London and nearby big cities, because they expected German bombers to hit England shortly. Saba was evacuated to a  farm where he was to get some schooling, and also do farm work. The schooling never really came about, because teachers were not available, they had to go fight in in the battles against the Nazi Germany forces. We had a "Headmaster" (teacher) with very little ability, we were 13 boys in age from 13 to 17, no religious teaching at all.  He didn't know German, and we didn't know English….That was an educational problem
 
תמונה 4 
When Saba's siser Doris came to visit him a few months later, before she left for America, she was shocked to see what was happening to her brother: the hard work on the  farm, long hours, practically no schooling , and no Jewish surroundings. She went back to London and told the Polish Jewish Agency that they must take Saba out of there because he was the youngest, and he needs better accommodations in Jewish religious school and better conditions.
After a short time, Saba was transferred to a Charedi Yeshiva back in London. With no choice of location, others stayed where they were.
 
תמונה 5
 
Soon after the bombings started, but the Yeshiva stayed in London. Saba was lightly wounded when a bomb landed near their dormitory building.
When Saba was able to get approval to come to America, he first stayed at Yeshiva College in. New York,  but could not afford tuition. After three months he started working in all kinds of jobs. He  had to change jobs often, because some did not want to give off for Shabbat. He also went to evening high school ("night school") and college

 Life of Gerald Lieder – map

 
תמונה 6 
After 10 years in New York, Saba was lucky to meet Savta through friends. They married in 1956, and moved to Baltimore, Md. where they built a wonderful lovely family. This is a family of which, I, Leesy, am proud to be part of, because I am named after Savta's mother, and Saba always says that it was Savta who helped him in many ways to become successful and prominent in his community, in their joint social and charity activities to his day. They now continue these in Israel.
 .and are happy to live in Jerusalem since 1996
 

מילון

Kinder Transport
The Kindertransport (in German - children transport) is a rescue mission that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Free City of Danzig. The children were placed in British foster homes, hostels, schools and farms. Often they were the only members of their families who survived the Holocaust.

ציטוטים

”They are happy to live in Jerusalem since 1996“

הקשר הרב דורי