) ,t-ttictordinary. alive. This was the 1950s and the smuggler of Jews, a defier of the S.S. Holocaust was not openly dis- and the Nazis all at once. One's first cussed," she said. steps are always small: I had begun by Like many other survivors of her hiding food under a fence. generation, she was ashamed of what Opdyke eventually took a gigantic she had been through, "ashamed," she leap by hiding her entire household staff of 12 Jews, workers brought in from a nearby concentration camp. As she served food to S.S. officers, she kept a constant vigil for any news about plans for the Jews in the camp. One day she overheard an officer say that there would be an action" in the camp in the next day or two. Survivors were not likely. But Irene Gut Opdyke was about to challenge those odds. That night she hid her Jewish friends in a tunnel behind the bathroom of the major's home until she could settle them into the basement of his new villa. She kept them alive in that basement for more than a year, and when her employer found out about her ruse, he agreed to allow everyone to stay if Irene would become his mistress. She did and to this day has no regrets about WITH tE0104ttittrt ARMS1'A.0111 her decision. "God put me in the right place at the right time," she said. "I did it because it was the right thing to do." Her crisis of faith actu- ally occurred much earlier in the war. "At first," she said, "I accused God of doing these terrible things and I stopped believing. But then I real- ized that God gave us free will. This was particularly true in my case." Opdyke eventually immigrated to the United States and worked in New York City's garment district before settling in Southern California. " I didn't know a word of English. I was trying to learn and I was very concerned about staying )3 " 175 MERRILL STREET BIRMINGHAM, MI 248-644-6506 FAX 248-644-3632 Complimentary Valet Parking Available at the Townsend Hotel Entrance for our Bakery Customers Exclusively! .......0...m.,- Open 7 Days Lunch and Dinner Raw Juice Bar and American Dining Now N ow Serving Wines, Beer and Spirits r LATHRUP VILLAGE 27060 Evergreen at 1-696 & 11 Mile Rd. In Lathrup Landing (248) 559-9099 WEST BLOOMFIELD 6123 Haggerty North of Maple Bloomfield Avenue Shoppes (248) 668-1800 L 5% Buy One Entree 1 Get Second Entree Equal or Greater Value F 25% OFF • Dine in only • With Coupon • 1 Coupon per Couple • Not Valid With Other Offers JN Expires 12-31-99 • CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS •e. L— -f=1- FR C 1=3 ITALIAN CHOPHOUSE FINE CUISINE IN A RELAXED, CONTEMPORARY SETTING. Featuring fine traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine as well as prime Steaks, Chops, Veal, Fish and Seafood. Traditions and quality continue...Private dining & catering available. "AN ART IN EATING WELL" 2 1 /2 miles east of The Somerset Collection on Big Beaver Road phone 9/24 1999 98 Detroit Jewish News 248-680-0066 SINCE 1920 THE TRADITION CONTINUES Opdyke plants an olive tree on the Avenue of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.