Over 400 Youth at Kristallnacht Events in Honor of Holocaust Heroes

Edited by: TJVNews.com

On the eve of Kristallnacht, Wagner College Holocaust Center created an interfaith Holocaust remembrance event “Leo’s Survival: Acts of Extraordinary Heros of All Faiths” featuring survivor, lawyer and philanthropist Leo S. Ullman. Over eighty years ago, in March of 1943, Leo’s parents Emily and Frank made the difficult decision that their three-year old Jewish toddler needed to go into hiding in Amsterdam apart from them. He would be separated from them for 796 days without knowing if they were alive. His hiding spot was across town and only a few miles away from the “Secret Annex” where Anne Frank hid with her family. This was the difficult decision Jewish families had to make in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.

100 students and community members participated in the Wagner College Holocaust Center guest lecture by Leo Ullman on November 2nd, 2023 in the week before Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” when 267 synagogues and thousands of Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed.  According to Prof. Lori Weintrob, Director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center, “One element of Leo’s survival is the courage of both his parents and their friends and neighbors of all faiths who helped them survive those years. His rescuers were good people who were doing “extraordinary deeds.” These were “ordinary people” like you or I who made ethical choices that were extraordinarily heroic. They truly inspire courage.”

Germany had pledged not to invade Holland but on May 10, 1940, hundreds of German planes bombed the city of Rotterdam. Anti-Semitic laws came quickly, such as banning Jews from owning cars or bicycles or going to public parks or restaurants. Special required ID cards marked with a “J” were required. As other families were arrested and deported, Leo’s parents realized they needed to go into hiding or they would be sent to labor or concentration camps. He and his parents were helped by Hendrik Schimmel, a retired police officer, and his wife Jannigje, who Leo called “Opa” and “Oma” Schimmel.

A fascinating aspect of Leo’s history was the help offered by a local Muslim businessman, M. Kinnebanyan, who sold rugs. Mr. Kinnebanyan helped Leo’s father accumulate funds to go into hiding by selling rugs, but he also gave him a prayer rug as a way to be kept safe, saying “I believe G-d will help save you.”  Leo’s family has kept this rug at the center of their home for 80 years. Leo related this history and unrolled the prayer rug, in the company of Imam Tahir Kukaj, Vice-President of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center, NYPD Chaplain and head of the Islamic Studies Department at the Miraj Islamic School. Imam Kukaj has been active in interfaith events at Wagner College for over 20 years. Imam Kukaj spoke of his admiration for those Albanians who have been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for their rescue of 2,000 Jews in the Holocaust.

In addition, other community leaders were present including Hassan Naveed, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes; Kajori Chaudhuri, Deputy Commissioner, NYC Commission on Human Rights (NYC-CHR); Mendy Mirocznik, President, Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island (COJO-SI); Rabbi Michael Howald, Temple Israel Reform Congregation; and Reverend Terry Troia, President, Project Hospitality.

“Today’s interview with Leo Ullman is an example of using first-hand testimony of witness who survived the Holocaust. This has tremendous value for the next generation. It showcases the impact of antisemitism and Nazi persecution on Jewish children and families,” emphasizes Mendy Miroznik of COJO-SI. “The words and memories of Leo Ullman demonstrate the painful impact of the Holocaust on Jews and on humanity, as well as elevating the rescuers of other faiths who have been designated Righteous Among the Nations. The Wagner College Holocaust Center (WCHC) is a pioneer in bringing the community together for the purpose of remembrance, during the over 25 years of teaching by Prof. Lori Weintrob and in the past decade in her work as founding director of the WCHC. COJO-SI is proud to support these important educational endeavors that perpetuate the memory of the martyrs of the Holocaust.”

“Leo’s story of hiding in Amsterdam is compelling–his gratitude to those of other faiths who rescued his family is strong. At this tragic moment of global crisis and war, let us find connection with good people of all faiths,” urges Fern Zagor, Chair of the Wagner College Holocaust Center Advisory Committee.

Mr. Leo Ullman’s experiences in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam are featured in his memoir 796 Days: Hiding as a Child in Occupied Amsterdam and a film, “There Were Good People Doing Extraordinary Deeds…Leo Ullman’s Story.” A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School and Business School, Mr. Ullman served our country in the U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve. He has a long and distinguished career as a lawyer and as a real estate entrepreneur.

In 2003, he was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He currently heads Vastgood Properties. Mr. Ullman is devoted to promoting Holocaust education, including serving many years as Chairman of the Anne Frank Center, USA, and presently as Chairman of the Foundation for the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, Inc. In gratitude to his rescuers, he and his wife Kay have created the “Schimmel and Hoogenboom Righteous Remembrance Room” at Stockton University and the Emily Ullman Summer Conference Fund at Wagner College, in honor of his mother. When Emily Ullman arrived in New York harbor and saw the Statue of Liberty, she movingly said: “We beat Hitler!”

In addition, on November 8, 2023, 75 students from the 7th and 8th grade of the Jewish Foundation School of Staten Island came to say prayers, sing and learn in the Wagner College Holocaust Education and Action Gallery. This was the 7th year that JFS students have commemorated Kristallnacht with students of all faiths from Wagner College. Holocaust survivor Arthur Spielman, born in Krakow, Poland, who will be 95 in a few weeks, shared his memories of Cheder school in pre-war Europe and growing up in an Orthodox family.

Arthur spoke of facing anti-Semitism in public school in Poland until 5th grade when the Nazis invaded and his family was soon moved to the Krakow ghetto. After the Nazi brutality became too much, they smuggled themselves across the border to Slovakia and then went into hiding in Hungary. He credits his parents with the courage to separate the family during the journey until they were reunited and lived with false papers until the end of the war.

The Wagner College Holocaust Center organized several other major events, including the 103rd birthday in late October of Margot Capell, eyewitness to Kristallnacht when she was only age 18. Students also attended an event at the Staten Island Museum, “Love and Light,” where they shared art projects created to express their concerns about rising antisemitism and key lessons of the Holocaust, including standing up to hate.

Finally, the 8th annual Egon J. Salmon Commemoration of Kristallnacht and the St. Louis involved almost 150 students from nine public high schools on Staten Island at a ceremony on November 14, 2023, organized by the Wagner College Holocaust Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-Living Memorial to the Holocaust. The German Deputy Consul Carsten Rupke spoke meaningfully about how seriously Germany takes the responsibility to Never forget.  The sons of Egon Salmon, Jon and Henry, spoke about their father’s legacy as an eyewitness to Kristallnacht in Dusseldorf, Germany. Their grandfather Paul was arrested that night and sent to Dachau. They barely escaped Europe in time, going directly to Staten Island, after initially being refused entry to the U.S. during the voyage of the St. Louis in 1939. Later, Egon Salmon served in the U.S. army in North Africa and Italy, earning many medals. Students shared the lessons of the Holocaust exhibit which includes the trunk the Salmon family used on the voyage of the St. Louis and the new exhibit on Denmark.

Wagner College Holocaust Center, founded in 2014, is committed to empower future generations in empathy, courage, and ethical decision-making in order to combat anti-Semitism, racism & all forms of prejudice. For more information, contact Director, Lori Weintrob at [email protected] or 718-390-3309/646-345-4507. Our next event is November 29th on zoom with Israeli scholar Sharon Geva on two Holocaust Heroes, leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Yitzchak Zuckerman and Zivia Lubetkin’s lives in Israel after the war.