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| Holocaust survivor Stella Knobel's teddy bear on display at the memorial's "Gathering the Fragments" exhibit at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013., Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. When Stella Knobel's family had to flee World War II Poland in 1939, the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as the family wondered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the Holy Land. "He was like family. He was all I had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old now says with a smile. "I saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I died." So when she heard about a project launched by Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum to collect artifacts from aging survivors - before they, and their stories, were lost forever - she reluctantly handed over her beloved bear Misiu - Polish for “Teddy Bear”- so the fading memories of the era could be preserved for others. |
JERUSALEM
(AP) -- When Stella Knobel's family fled World War II Poland in 1939,
the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy
bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as
the family wandered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the
Holy Land.
"He was like family. He was all I
had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old said with a smile. "I
saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I
died."
So when she heard about a project
launched by Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum,
to collect artifacts from aging survivors, she reluctantly handed over
her beloved bear Misiu, Polish for "teddy bear," so the memories of the
era could be preserved.
"We've been through a
lot together, so it was hard to let him go," said Knobel, who was
widowed 12 years ago and has no children. "But here he has found a
haven."
The German Nazis and their
collaborators murdered 6 million Jews during World War II. In addition
to rounding up Jews and shipping them to death camps, the Nazis also
confiscated their possessions and stole their valuables, leaving little
behind. Those who survived often had just a small item or two they
managed to keep. Many have clung to the sentimental objects ever since.
On
Sunday, Knobel's tattered teddy bear was on display at Yad Vashem, one
of more than 71,000 items collected nationwide over the past two years.
With a missing eye, his stuffing bursting out and a red ribbon around
his neck, Misiu was seated behind a glass window as part of the
memorial's "Gathering the Fragments" exhibit.
The opening came as other Holocaust-related events took place around the world.
In
2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust
Remembrance Day, marking 60 years to the liberation of the Auschwitz
death camp.
Israel's main Holocaust memorial
day is in the spring, marking the anniversary of the uprising of the
Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland, against the Nazis.
To
coincide with the international commemorations, Israel released its
annual anti-Semitism report, noting that the past year experienced an
increase in the number of attacks against Jewish targets worldwide,
mainly by elements identified with Islamic extremists.
At
Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
the lessons of the Holocaust have yet to be learned. He accused Iran of
pursuing nuclear weapons with the goal of destroying Israel.
"What
has not changed is the desire to annihilate the Jews. What has changed
is the ability of the Jews to defend themselves," he said.
Yad
Vashem showcased dozens of items, each representing tales of
perseverance and survival. They included sweaters, paintings, diaries,
letters, dolls, cameras and religious artifacts that were stashed away
for decades or discarded before they were collected and restored.
Yad
Vashem researchers have been interviewing survivors, logging their
stories, tagging materials and scanning documents into the museum's
digitized archive.
Aside from their value as
exhibits in the museum, Yad Vashem says the items are also proving
helpful for research, filling in holes in history and contributing to
the museum's huge database of names.
"Thousands
of Israelis have decided to part from personal items close to their
hearts, and through them share the memory of their dear ones who were
murdered in the Holocaust," said Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev.
"Through these examples, we have tried to bring to light items whose
stories both explain the individual story and provide testimony to join
the array of personal accounts that make up the narrative of the
Holocaust."
For 83-year-old Shlomo Resnik, one
such item was the steel bowl he and his father used for food at the
Dachau concentration camp. His father Meir's name and number are
engraved on the bowl, a reminder of how hard they had to scrap for food.
"We fought to stay alive," he said.
Approaching
the glass-encased display, Tsilla Shlubsky began tearing. Below she
could see the handwritten diary her father kept while the family took
shelter with two dozen others in a small attic in the Polish
countryside. With a pencil, Jakov Glazmann meticulously recorded the
family's ordeal in tiny Yiddish letters. His daughter doesn't know
exactly what is written and she doesn't care to find out.
"I
remember him writing. I lived through it," said Shlubsky, 74. "Abba
(Dad) wasn't a writer, but with his heart's blood he wrote a diary to
record the events to leave something behind so that what had taken place
would be known."
She said it pained her to part with the family treasure.
"I know this is the right place for it and it will be protected forever," she said. "Now is the time and this is the place."
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