When I was a kid growing up in Skokie, IL. in the 60’s and 70’s, we lived in apartment building my parents and grandparents owned. As our family grew, living in that two bedroom apartment became a hassle due to a lack of space for three growing boys and two adults. So Mom and Dad decided to sell the building and buy a house. We finally found a nice 4 bedroom/two bath house also in Skokie.
The day we moved in our neighbors welcomed us to the neighborhood. We lived on a dead-end street with houses on one side, and a park across the street. There were 7 houses on Birchwood St., and the Christophersons and us were the only gentiles, although some of our neighbors thought we were Jewish, because our last name is a rather common Jewish name.
Our neighbors in the house next to us were Norman and Pearl Weiss. They emigrated to the United States from Europe after World War Two.
I was outside one summer day washing our car when Mr. Weiss came outside. I said hi to him and he asked me how my little league team was doing (I was 12 years old). It was at that time that I noticed he had a faded tattoo on his left forearm. At first I couldn’t tell what it was, so I asked him. He said it was a number.
Now, my Dad was a Marine, and he had a couple of tattoos which obviously were not numbers. I then asked Mr. Weiss why he would want a tattoo of a number on his arm. He explained that he had no choice, and me being an inquisitive 12 year-old kid, I had to ask “why?”. He said he was in a hurry and would tell me later after talking to my parents. Turns out him and his wife were both survivors of the Auschwitz death camp, met after the camp was liberated, then married and moved to the United States.
They chose to move to the village of Skokie, population about 40,000, because at the time it had the largest number of Holocaust survivors in the U.S.A.
Israel is making the largest Holocaust memorial available online. The Yad Vashem is partnering with Google. Its collection of 130,000 photos and documents will be searchable on Google.
Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority
“And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (a “yad vashem”)… that shall not be cut off.”
Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 5
As the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust, Yad Vashem safeguards the memory of the past and imparts its meaning for future generations. Established in 1953, as the world center for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem is today a dynamic and vital place of intergenerational and international encounter.
For over half a century, Yad Vashem has been committed to four pillars of remembrance:
* Commemoration
* Documentation
* Research
* Education
Tags: Judaism
