Friday, April 4, 1947

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

Page Sixteen

How GI Celebrated
Passover in Shanghai

Jewish Center Opened in Yokohama

Sabbath Observance
Parley Called in N. Y.

NEW YORK—For the purpose
of stimulating observance of the
Sabbath and strengthening Juda-
ism on an international basis, the
second Sabbath congress will be
held in New York City during
April, according to spokesmen for
the Vaad L'Chlzult Ha'Todah
V'Yahadut (Board for Strength-
ening Torah and Judaism, spon-
sored by the Mizrachl Organiza-
tion of America).

Found Hope in Home of Refugee Jeiv
Despite Hunger, Poverty and Filth

By BERNARD ZARITSKY
WAS STANDING outside the
I door of the mess-hall in Shang-
hai, leaning against the wall and
listening to the noises, not bother-
ing to sort, file or index them in
my mind. Standing thus, listening
but not hearing, pondering but
thinking no thoughts, I was sud-
denly confronted by a little man,
who had come, as he explained,
"to do bizness wiz you."
He was thin, bent over, care-
worn, physically exhausted, but
mentally afire. He looked about 55
but (as I discovered later) was
only 33. He had a heavy mop of
brown hair with a silver fringe
around the edge of his head and
his eyes were deep, burning blue.
His weary mouth wore a set of
parentheses on either side of its
lips and he smiled seldomly, but
dazzlingly, as if he had not a care
in the world, or a wife and two
children to feed.
"I vould lige to buy from you
zom food," he stated in heavily
accented English. "Pairhaps zom
mug or bread."
• • •

to King Edward VII and turned
left on the Bund, Champs-Elysees
of Shanghai. Then I saw Hong-
kew. It was separated from the
mother shore by a thin ribbon of
filth and slime, Soochow Creek,
The chief rabbis of Palestine
and hung like a useless append-
A hospitality center for Jewish servicemen stationed In Yokohama
age, like a malignant external
and orthodox rabbinical leaders
has been opened by National Jewish Welfare Board. Chaplain
tumor dragging aimlessly from
from every section of the globe
the body of the seml-modern
Samuel Zaitchik is supervising the center which is similar to those
will attend the congress, spokes-
metropolis.
in
Europe.
Rabbi
Hirsch
Jacob,
center,
is
sponsored by MB
men declared. The first Sabbath
I crossed the Garden Bridge
shown lighting the candles while Chaplain Harry Fraser, 8th
and followed the main road. First
congress to strengthen traditional
Army, left, and Chaplain Max Dahill, look on.
I saw Broadway Mansions — a
Judaism was held in New York
beautiful, modern hotel; across
during 1943.
the street the Astor Hotel—a lit-
tle old and ill kept but still im- about his youth in Poland, his
posing. Then I saw the narrow work as a civil engineer, his mar-
. . . PASSOVER GREETINGS .. .
streets, the filthy hovels, sick and riage, the interruption of their
dying people, concentration camps, lives by the Nazis and their sub-
dirty factories, bombed roads, dis- sequent wanderings toward safety.
figured buildings and the Ward
All the time he spoke it was
road jail.
I looked around for the num- without bitterness, without com-
ber Mr. Franck had given me, plaint. Instead of the traditional
finally found it and entered thru rich foods of the Passover feast,
the door, which hung drunkenly, Mrs. Franck served the meager
miraculously on one hinge. The repast she had been able to scrape
inside of the building was shab- together. She served it joyously,
by, the furniture hand made. The "yom tovdick," as if it were a
interior was one long room sep- meal fit for a king.
arated into compartments by
I asked the Francks how they
A FELLOW JEW
ragged drapes every few yards.
I GAVE HIM some food from
I entered the Franck's "apart- could be so hopeful, how they
the storeroom, some odds and ment." The table was set with a could continue'to laugh and dream
ends from the kitchen and a few white tablecloth (the only one in face of the current plight of
candy bars I had purchased the they had), two heirloom candle- the Jews.
night before for myself. He in- sticks (made of silver with elab-
Mr. Franck smiled: "If there
sisted on paying for the food, but orate designs carved around the
was nothing to hope for we would
I explained that I was not au- bases) which they had managed have been foolish to have kept on
thorized to sell anything, only to to smuggle out of Poland. The
give away the odds and ends silverware was a mixture of odds living. The world has to rehabi-
litate itself, adjust itself. We, the
which couldn't be used for the
and ends.
Jews, are used to waiting. We
rest of the soldiers who ate in
• • •
have faced extermination many
my mess-hall.
times and yet there are some
I spoke to him casually for a CHILD TERRIFIED
MR. FRANCK was sitting in a Jews left.
"Owned and Operated by Detroiters"
while until I found out he was
Jewish. Then I said "Sholom dark corner with Yakob, his
"Empires have fallen, conquer-
young
son,
on
his
knee.
Mrs.
Aleichem" and watched his coun-
TY. 5.6000
ors have died, but there are still
5255 Tillman Ave.
tenance light up and his eyes Franck appeared from behind the Jews. We will get help' from some-
drapes
which
separated
the
"sleep-
sparkle with delight.
one, or we will help ourselves.
Several weeks later I met him ing" segment from the "living" We have done that before, too."
segment.
again. It was the day before
She was wearing a long, blue
Passover and he invited me to
his Seder. Hesitatingly he said: silk dress and a colorful shawl
"Hongkew, where I live, is the was draped round her shoulders.
Jewish Ghetto. It is a section In her ears were two long pendant
filled with dingy tenements, old earings. Her face was thin, her
warehouses and schools that have cheeks a little hollow, her com-
been .turned into barracks. It is plexion swarthy and her forehead
a section filled with barbed wire creased a million times.
In the darkness of the little
enclosures—rows and rows of
long, wooden, decrepit, grey build- room my appearance (in uniform)
must have been grim, too grim
ings.
"There are no windows, only for little Yakob's mind , to en-
gaping holes where panes used to compass, for he just stood in the
be. The walls are only a slat's- corner frozen, terrified—his eyes
width thick, no insulation against wide with misunderstanding.
When he heard his parents greet
the cold coming in and nothing to
me he relaxed a bit and ran sob-
hold the heat going out.
"It is the section for people bing to his mother's arms. Then
with wrecked lives and people I noticed the black circles be-
with too little life left to wreck. neath his eyes, the little stomach
I hope you'll not find it distates- distended from malnutrition, the
forehead beginning to wrinkle pre-
f ul."
maturely.
• • •
• • •
A DYING PEOPLE
PASSOVER MEAL
WE SAT DOWN at the table.
THE FOLLOWING day I set
out for Hongkew. I drove up Instead of reading the story of
Bubbling Well road, switched off The Exodus, Mr. Franck spoke

Ira Wilson and Sons
Dairy Company

PASSOVER GREETINGS .. .

• With deep gratitude in our hearts
• With 'hopeful prayers on our lips
• With thanks for the opportunities in America.

THE UNITED DAIRIES

.1,

PASSOVER GREETINGS

•

DENT-KRAFT DENTAL
LABORATORY

Ted Glass - Dayid Weinberg

MACCABEES BLDG.

S

Passover Greetings

— from —

P REMIER
FOOD
P RODUCTS

1951 E. FERRY
PL. 1600

Wishes to express their
appreciation for the loya
patronage of the many
thousands of Jewish
customers we have
been privileged
to serve
and
extend our sincerest wishes for
HEALTH, HAPPINESS
and SECURITY

May Yours Be a
Very Joyous Passover

UNITED DAIRIES. Inc.

4055 PURITAN

UNiversity 1.2800

