Reveal Jewish
Role in Building
Early America
'One Hundred Children' Tells of Heroic Woman's
Struggle in Taking Youths from Poland to Israel:
Anti-Semitic Depravity Threatened Youngsters . Lives
Only a minute part of the
horror of Nazi and Fascist anti-
Semitism has been made known
and is understood either by Jews
and non-Jews, else there might
have been a speedier acknowl-
edgment of the guilt.
That's the. conclusion one
must come to upon reading the
account of the rescue from
Poland, in the post-war years,
of Jewish youths who were
taken to Israel by a brave
woman.
Their story is told in "One
Hundred Children", an excit•
ing drama related by Lena
Kuchler-Silberman, published
by Doubleday.
The author, who now lives in
Israel, is married and has a
child of her. own—an Israeli
Sabra — earned her. Doctorate
from the University of Cracow
before the war. She lost a child
and was separated- from her
husband, who betrayed her and
lived with a German - woman--
perhaps in an effort to save his
own neck when the Nazis came.
Lena Kuchler adopted • the
name of Leontena Relicz, posed
,
as a Christian, took a job as
governess and escaped death
during the war. At the end of
the conflict, when the Russians
entered Poland, she went to the
headquarters of the Jewish
Committee in Cracow, and there
witnessed the plight of the sur-
viving J e w i s h children. It
opened a new career for her.
She- remained to help them and
sacrificed herself in their be-
half—until the time came for
her to take the dangerous road
out of Poland on the way to
Israel.
The children • called her
"Mother." It was a trying
period, healing the sick, strug-
gling to secure food for them,
taking them to the resort city
NEW YORK, .(JTA) — While
of Zakopane where they suf- describing one incident of a came to the aid of their Jewish
no Jews came to this country on
neighbors.
fered from an outburst of Polish woman's greed:
In spite of the need for co- the Mayflower, they were among
Polish anti-Semitism., Now in
"Thus a new commodity
I s r a e 1, those who were
and a new market were cre- operative action in rescuing the earliest settlers, Rabbi Bert-
brought there by Mrs. Kuch-
ated. Surviving Jewish chil- survivors from Nazism, there ram W. Korn, of Philadelphia. an
ler-Silberman still look to her
dren—of whom there were so was a sharp divison between
as to a "mother," share their
few—would now be returned the Zionists and the Communist eminent Jewish historian, de-
joys and sorrows with her
to the Jews for as high a sympathizers, and for the latter clared here. "Among them were
and her husband, invite them
price as the market would it was more important to pioneers who tamed the wilder-
strengthen The Party than to ness, opened the frontiers, ini-
to their :weddings.
bear."
provide .aid for the children as tiated trade, built cities and
The story of this brave wo-
There was the equally disturb- well as the elders. The latter fought for freedom," he em-
man is so dramatic that it mir- ing problem of the children
rors the tragedies of the entire who insisted • upon retaining also entered into a feud against phasized.
The Jewish historian made his
era. The children survived the Catholic loyalties, instilled in the Joint Distribution Commit-
death ,camps. Some of them them when they were baptized tee and prevented Lena Kuch- observations in connection with
were saved in Catholic institu- after being taken into Catholic ler from negotiating for aid -the. announcement of the publica-
tion by the Hebrew Union Col-
tions and many were converted institutions. One instance re- from the JDC.
But in her frantic efforts, lege Press of the first genea-
to Catholicism. Some even re- lated in the book is about a
fused to abandon their new threat by hundreds of Poles to towards the end of the func- logical survey of Jewish families
faith. But in the end the entire . the Jewish children's haven in tions of the home at Zako- who settled in America between
group, after living in France Zakopane. It was the result of pane, she finally contacted Dr. 1654 and 1840. The. volume,
with their "mother" for two the spread of a ritual murder Joseph Schwartz and David which weighs eight pounds, is'
years, landed in the land they libel on a Sunday by one of the Guzik, who directed the JDC entitled "Americans of Jewish
program in Poland at the Descent" and lists 26,000 names.
now call their own.
Jewish children herself, who, time. She received the help The author of the volume, Rabbi
The task was not - accom- while walking with her father, she needed, and some cash, Malcolm H. Stern, of _Norfolk,
plished with ease. After . escap- told . church congregants that which enabled her to plan for spent eight years on his research
ing N a z i anti-Semitism -the she did not recognize him as her escape from Poland with which he conducted for the
youngsters- were tried• in • the her father, that he was a Jew the children and their even- American Jewish Archives.
fires of Polish hatred. Anti- and she a Catholic, and the tual settlement in Israel..
• The volume shows that 15 per
Semites organized to attack this ritual libel spread immediately.
They were helped also by the
children's home in Zakopane, It was only when one of the Vaad Hahatzalah, whose repre- cent of the marriages recorded
1840 were marriages be-
and the youths who fought - as Jewish boys in the home, .bran- sentatives enabled them to get before
tween
Jews
Christians. The
mere children with the parti- dishing a bottle that contained to France. There were difficul- . book is being and
distributed by Uni-
sans in the forests of Poland strawberry jelly, shouted to the ties in crossing from. Poland versity Publishers
of New York.
against the Nazis now were crowd that he had a bomb and into Czechoslovakia. The Czechs
given rifles to shoot at Poles would throw it, that the mob held them up and .threatened to
who were attacking them be- dispersed. The exper ience return them .to. Poland. Lena
cause they were Jews.
among the partisans stood this Kuchler told them that would
"One Hundred Children" is a boy in good stead. The guilty mean certain death for the chil-
deeply moving account of an girl then was separated from dren. She refused to budge and
The bulk of the Jewish com-
,endiess fight for justice. 'The her father and they were later finally she and the youngsters
munity of what was formerly
heartlessness with which Poles reunited—on the condition that got to their safety in France..
treated little children and tried he was not to interfere with het
"One Hundred Children," one the Belgian Congo has now re-
to _make a business of rescuing Catholic praying. Mother Lena of the most moving stories of turned and is attempting to re-
them is as shocking as the adopted a policy of non-inter• rescue and heroism of our time, store its former communal ac-*
tyranny and ruthlessness of the ference with the children's re, was written in Hebrew, pub- tivities, according to a report
Nazis. Poles began to return ligious views that were instilled lished in Israel where the book received by the World Jewish
children they cared for—but for in them during their hiding was a best seller and translated Congress in New York.
The report,' from the congre-
a price. The heroine of this from the Nazis. It is apparent into English by David C. Gross.
book, who so devotedly dedi- that they adopted Jewish loyal-
Each of the case histories in gation in Elisabethville, was
cated -herself to the task of re- ties in the course of their ex- this book would make a novel sent by J. Soriano and J., S.
storing the children to health periences which forced them to in itself. In its entirety, "One Capelluto, president and secre-
and to wholesome living, Wrote, isolate themselves from the rest Hundred Children" is a great tary of the community, respec-
of the community because of drama. It is an indictment of t tively.
the threats to their very lives anti-Semitism, Polish as well as
The two leaders said they are
among the Poles.
Nazi, and is an appeal for the now taking a census of the com-
One related instance is enforcement of the highest hu- munity. Figures show a decrease
about the rescued who com- manitarian ideals. It is a book of about 20 per cent. Prior to
mented that the Poles were that must be read widely in the Belgian withdrawal from the
as brutal as the Nazis in their order that the forces of decency Congo, the Jewish community
anti-Semitism, and this was should be strengthened.
totaled about 2,500 of whom 1,-
countered by the plea -that
000 were in Elisabethville.
—P. S.
Poles,, after all, did rescue so
many of the children in
;en
T
• , • T
"Mother" Lena's group.
The story of post-war Polish
anti-Semitism is appalling. "One
41 M
Hundred Children" tells about
numerous attacks on the Jews,
mentions the Kielce pogrom, an
1;) 1 1P ;1
attack on another Jewish chil-
-
-
dren's center in Rabka. But
there also were•incidents of hu-
mane actions by Poles who
-4
Jews Restoring
•
Congo Activity
Stamp Exhibit Fetes Youth Aliyah,
Henrietta Szold's 100th Anniversary
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A Stamp Is Born
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Philatelic Services is the printing of
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radio regarding the submission of
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by a special' committee. Once the
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for designing the stamps. The artist
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been accepted, the stamps are given
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finished the sheets of stamps • are
subjected to a very careful scrutiny.
Thus the Israeli stamp.is launched. irIt=ci rirrit
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To many it is no more than a tiny
piece of paper but for millions of , 447n1 h13tah;1. nrrn
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people all over the world it is a
window and doorway to the State of
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Ever since the emergence of the
State till today, the Israeli stamp
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for both Israeli and Diaspora Jewry
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Seven-year-Old Gavriel "Gabi" Weiss of Jerusalem, is
shown presenting Deputy Mayor Paul R. Screvane with a
framed exhibit of stamps and first-day -covers issued by Israel
to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Henri-
etta Szold, founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organi-
zation of America. Also included in the exhibit were Israel
stamps issued in recognition of the achievements of Youth
Aliyah, international agency for the rescue, relief and rehabili-
tation in Israel of homeless Jewish children. Looking on is
Mrs. Max M. Meth of Hadassah, United States chairman for
Child's Day for Youth Aliyah, which was observed by procla-
mation of Mayor Robert F. Wagner of New York; Child's
Day for Youth Aliyah is sponsored jointly by Hadassah, Miz-
rachi Women's Organization of America and Pioneer Women.
Hadassah is theofficial representative of Youth Aliyah in the
United States, and Youth Aliyah's largest single financial
supporter in the world.
.
•
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and stamp lovers all over the world.
Translation of Hebrew . column
issued by Brit Ivrit Olamit,
;$ •
is
At
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