Chaplain Who 'Disobeyed Orders' Is a Hero to the Survivors of Radom
BY CHARLOTTE HYAMS
A jeep barreled along the Auto-
bahn one spring day 20 years ago.
War had ceased less than a month
before, and the young Army chap-
lain was on his way from Stutt-
gart to conduct services for Jew-
ish personnel in the 100th Infan-
try Division.
Capt. Herbert Eskin turned to
watch a convoy of some 10 trucks
pass in the opposite direction.
He realized with a start that its
passengers were not dressed in
combat fatigues but in the garb
of the Nazi concentration camp.
He stopped the convoy. When
they saw the insignia of the chap-
laincy, the 10 Commandments, on
his helmet, the emaciated ghosts
gathered around with wonder and
gripped his hands.
Chaplain Eskin was the first
rabbi to greet the 200 survivors of
Radom, Poland.
Last weekend, the Detroiter,
now a lieutenant colonel in the
Reserves, joined the Radomer
societies from many cities at
their 12th international conven-
tion here. It also was the fifth
anniversary of the Detroit Rad-
omer group, and in honor of the
occasion, they. were dedicating a
monument to the 30,000 Jewish
martyrs of Radom at Hebrew
Memorial Park.
Rabbi Eskin is not the only
honorary Radomer member. Louis
Levitan, director of the Israel
Bond office in Detroit, is a vice
president and holds dual rights to
membership. After Rabbi Eskin had
left his post with the survivors at
Stuttgart Levitan was sent in by
the United Nations Relief Works
Agency to - help the displaced per-
sons. He met his wife, Marie, a
Radom survivor, while stationed
there.
But it is for Rabbi Eskin they
have named a street in Stuttgart
—Eskinstrasse. And there is a
Jewish center—Eskin House—at
No. 26 Reinsburgerstrasse• In that
lies a story, too.
Col. Eskin well remembers the
two months of chaos at the end
of the war when he came to know
his "flock." They had only recent-
ly been liberated by the French
army at Vaihingen en Enz when
he met them on the way to Stutt-
gart.
Among the several thousand
DPs he was servicing in four
camps was this remnant of 200
out of Radom. They had once been
part of a proud Jewish community
of 30,000.
Where would they go? Where
would they stay? Chaplain Eskin
led them to the Jewish center
he had prepared, and promptly
began to disobey Army orders
by asking his Jewish officers to
help with the DPs. On two hours'
notice, the German residents
were ordered out of a block of
apartments, and the survivors
were given a place to stay.
(When asked if his actions
weren't a little rash, Rabbi Eskin
reasons that the buildings once be-
longed to Jews, and they had been
taken overby the Gestapo. Fair is
fair.) .
Rabbi Eskin had no time to
fight through red tape. The sur-
vivors had starved long enough.
"We used to go out at 2 a.m., I
and two officers from New York
—God bless them—and got food
and clothing in the village. We
posted Jewish men to guard the
vehicles, and we would load them
up from the Germans' private
stores. Especially cheese. You
should have seen those 100-pound
cheeses. We were just like the
Purple Gang."
But there was more. "Every
Saturday or Sunday the Jewish
Brigade would pass through, de-
livering supplies to the British.
I'd forge passports and load my
people onto the trucks going into
Italy." What about the Italian
eagle emblem required on the
passport? "I copied them from an
American 50-cent-piece. The Itali-
an guards never caught on."
The survivors' first Rosh Hash-
anah was a memorable one. But
little did they know what their
rabbi had gone through to acquire
a "synagogue." The improvised syn-
agogue happened to be the magnif-
icent Stuttgart Opera house, and
true to the Wagnerian German
spirit, there was an opera sched-
uled that night.
"I' had to have a large place,"
Society of the Untal States and
may, sang "Es Brent" and the
Canada, from Israel and Mel- "Partisaner Lied. Among those
mourne, Australia, participated in who spoke were Julius Allen, De-
the unveiling of a monument to troit Water Board commissioner
the 30,000 martyrs of RadoM and and vice president of Ades Sha-
vicinity Monday at the Hebrew lom, representing the mayor's
said Rabbi Eskin. "I anticipated
Memorial Park cemetery, on a
office; Benjamin Laikin, repre-
from 2,000 to 3,000 persons.
site donated by Chesed Shel Emes.
senting the Jewish Community
Someone suggested a bombed-
Representatives of the mayor's Council; and Louis Levine, for
out camp, but I refused. I wasn't
office, the Jewish Community Chesed Shel Ernes. There were
going to have these poor.. people
Council and officers and members also messages from each of the
celebrate their first New Year of various Jewish organizations
visiting delegations; and from
in freedom in a bombed-out
Jacob Lemberger of the Jewish
also took part in the ceremony.
camp."
National Fund.
Emma Schaver, who was the
Once again he disobeyed orders.
first American Jewish artist to
Major addresses were delivered
Permitted to hold the first night's sing for the liberated survivors
service in the opera house, he in- in- their camp at Stuttgert, Ger- by Rabbi Charles Rosenzweig,
president of The Shaarit Haplay-
sisted on having the second night,
tah, and by Col. Herbert Eskin, the
as well. Rabbi Eskin posted 200
first Jewish chaplin to meet and
Jewish men with rifles around the
aid the Radomes survivors.
opera house—just so there would
Cantor Moses Rontel of Chicago,
be no misunderstanding.
originally from Radom, chanted
It proved to be effective. He
the "El Mole Rachemin" and
held Yom Kippur services there,
kaddish. Six candles were lit in
too. "I could see a court martial
memory of the 6,000,000 victims of
in store for me," he said.
the Nazi holocaust. The monu-
Sure enough, the chaplain was
ment was unveiled by Jack Dia-
brought before the commanding
mond of Miami, honorary presi-
officer, General Wilbur Burress.
dent, and by Henry Berger of New
A list of charges "as long as my
York, president of the United
arm" was read off.
Radomer Relief of the United
"Sir," said Rabbi Eskin, "I
States and Canada. Oscar Gold-
can't turn my back to my people
berg is president of the Detroit
If it is your desire, I'd be better
group.
off transferred to France (I had
been with my division three
years). but I can't let these people
d own."
The general offered him a cigar-
ette. "I would have done the same
thing," he said quietly. "Keep up
the good work, and I'll keep one
eye shut."
* *
A portion of the monument
British Rabbinate OKs
Dr. Herzog Nomination
LONDON (JTA) — The British
Chief Rabbinate Conference un-
animously endorsed the nomina-
tion by the Chief Rabbinate Com-
mittee of Dr. Jacob Herzog, deputy
director general of Israel's foreign
ministry, as chief rabbi of the
United Hebrew Congregations of
the British Commonwealth.
Dr. Herzog; who succeeds chief
rabbi Israel Brodie, who is retir-
ing, accepted the nomination last
week when a delegation of .the
Chief Rabbinate Committee called
on him in Jerusalem.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
10—Friday, June 4, 1965
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BUYING A CHEVY?
Delegates Unveil
Memorial to Dead
Several hundred members and
friends of the Radomer Mutual
Society of Detroit, delegates from
other groups of the United Radomer
Bnai Zion to Hold
National Parley
• NEW YORK —Meyer Feldman,
counsel and adviser to the late
President John F. Kennedy and
to President Lyndon B. Johnson,
will head the speakers at the 58th
annual national convention of
Bnai Zion, the American fratern-
al Zionist organization June 10-13
at Kutsher's Country Club, Mont-
icello, N.Y.
Feldman will speak at the June
12 dinner session, at which Jus-
tice Arthur Markewich of the
New York State Supreme Court
will be guest of honor. Justice
Markewich served for several
years as national president of
Bnai Zion and now is a trustee.
He has long 'been identified with
judicial, civic and fraternal af-
fairs in New York State:
Rev. John Stanley Grauel,
Methodist minister who served
with the Haganah during Israel's
fight for independence and par-
ticipated in the historic "Battle
of The Exodus," will speak at the
opening session of the conven-
tion Thursday night.
Edward Sharf, national presi-
dent of Bnai Zion, will give a re-
port indicating substantial in-
crease in Bnai Zion's affiliated
coast-to-coast membership during
the past year.
The convention, which will be
attended by 500 delegates and
guests from all parts of the na-
tion, will hold a special "Bill of
Rights Session," at which the re-
cipient of the 1965 annual Bill of
Rights Award of Bnai Zion will
be formally announced by Shall.
Rep. Abraham J. Multer, Demo-
crat of New York, who is a na-
tional vice president of Bnai
Zion, will speak.
Bombay Jews Elect Head
BOMBAY . (JTA) — H. Cyno-
wicz was elected president and
M. A. Moses chairman of the Cen-
tral Jewish Board of Bombay, the
representative body of Indian
Jewry. The election of Cynowicz
was named with great satisfaction
because he is considered a uni-
fying factor among the sections
and groups within Indian Jewry.
SEE
dedicated in memory of the
30,000 martyrs of Radom, Po-
land, was unveiled Monday at
Hebrew Memorial Park by the
Radomer Mutual Society of De-
troit. The large monument, bear-
ing the names of the deceased,
is inscribed in Hebrew, Yiddish
and English.
JOHNNY LEBOW
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