Re: [Cz-L]czernowitz-l_digest:_October_22=2C_2014

Shelley
What you say is not far fetched. All depends on circumstance, location and
the folk
you mix. My experience was when I was in a Displaced Person Camp in Steyer/
Austria.
I very much wanted to learn a trade & I was 18 and on my own. Steyer is a
small industrial
town and the camp was in the town. It took some courage for me to approach
the Principal
of the Trades School ( Bundesgewerbeschule Steyer) explain my situation
that I missed my
schooling due to my circumstances and I would like to learn a trade. I also
told him I am Jewish and live nearby in the DP camp. After some discussion
we came to an agreement to try out.
I was accepted I was the only Jew among hundred's of other Austrian
student. Nobody excepting the teachers knew of me being a Jew. As a
Czernowitzer & young I acquired the Austrian dialect very fast. Everything
was OK, I had no problems until one day there was a noise in the class and
the teacher yelled out : Das is keine Judeschule, ruhe. ( This is no
Jewschool, quite.) He turned toward me and heaped me with profuse
appologies, that he did not mean it. I was embarrassed & apprehensive what
will happen next. There was a deadly silence, next I was surrounded with a
friendly mob. : Aber du sieht ja garnicht wie ein Jude aus. ( But you do
not look Jewish. )
They were looking for the stereotype as was prescribed. I made that day
many friends to the relief of the Principal who was really concerned by the
incident. I stayed there till my emigration to Australia.
In Australia I had cause to talk to a priest who liked to know about my
past, I told him. He then said to me if the Jews would have accepted Christ
things would not have hapened,my reply was he would have been crucified a
second time for being a Jew. What is happening in to days Europe & the
world is almost a repeat of the 1930. There is always the sub current of
anti Semitism it only needs a nudge and it comes forth. Today anti Israel
equals anti Jew.
Fred. Weisinger

> >>It is not uncommon to remember the fears of our parents or our
> childhood fears. But we must go forward without shame or fear. My
> mother moved to a part of Florida that was not predominantly Jewish.
> So, around the holidays, she asked the local supermarket chain,
> Publics, if they could order certain foods for the holidays. She
> never hid her religion even when she and my father joined the
> (Christian) Polish Club. My parents would dance and eat there and the
> priest who attended loved to talk to my mother about all kinds of
> things. Everyone was nice to her because she was a nice person. We
> must not live in fear. Not today. I wear a Jewish star wherever I
> go. At work, it was assumed that I wasn't Jewish because I don't have
> a stereotypical Jewish face and my last name is Mitchell. I always
> corrected anyone who said I wasn't Jewish. I always had a Menorah in
> the Window at Home and near my desk at work. The fact that there was
> more Christmas decorations at work didn't bother me at all. I enjoyed
> trimming my Christian friends' trees. They had Christmas; we had
> Chanukah. We both exchanged gifts. Sylvia, you said you never
> experienced anti-Semitism. But you are afraid to be known as a Jew.
> Be strong. There are ways to approach people who just have not
> experienced us. There are still people who never met a Jew. It's how
> you approach them that will determine how they react to you. Let them
> see you as both an individual and a Jew. It's been many years since
> anyone looked for the horns on our heads. I apologize if it sounds
> like I'm lecturing you. I'm just trying to be encouraging and
> positive. I hope you will take this in the right light.
>
> Shelley
>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject of
 Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions expressed
 in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necessarily
 the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members
 or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has
 an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com that includes a
 searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. As a result,
 Messages sent to the list are available to the general public within days
 of posting.

Please post in "Plain Text" (help available at:
<http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/PlainText.html>).

To remove your address from this e-list follow the directions at:

<http://www.it.cornell.edu/services/elist/howto/user/leave.cfm>

To receive assistance for this e-list send an e-mail message to:
<owner-Czernowitz-L_at_list.cornell.edu>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Received on 2014-10-25 16:36:31