To Life!
350TH WINNERS
from page 55
Living The American Dream
Survivor Sonja Feigenbaum's life fueled her grandson's
dedication to Jewish Americanlife.
YITCHOK RADNER
S
he taught me that
one could be a proud
Jew who excelled in
secular areas while being
Torah observant. She taught
me the importance of
"doing" for one's communi-
ty and country. She taught
me to love and appreciate
Mk
what exactly America is and
Yitchok Radner •
stands for.
The person I am writing
about was neither famous nor well known, but she
lived the "American Dream," and she had a tremen-
dous impact on the people around her — her com-
munity and generations to follow.
Her name was Sonja Gliksman Feigenbaum, and
her life in Europe was not easy.
When Sonja was a little girl and went to a public
school in Germany, she received her first exposure to
anti-Semitism. Sonja and her fellow classmates were
instructed to sing anti-Semitic songs, such as "Alle
Juden Schweinen" ("All Jews Are Pigs"). In an effort
to escape the flaunted anti-Semitism, Sonja would
spend many of the school hours of her day taking
refuge either in a forest or in a playground.
Eventually, Sonja's parents withdrew.her from the
school and placed her in a Jewish school.
Various events affected Sonja's life at an early age.
At age 11, Sonja had to witness horrors that no
adult — let alone, an 11-year-old — should have to
witness: the devastating night of Kristallnacht. Sonja
and her family also had to hide in a basement
because the Nazis were hunting her father, Rabbi
Shlomo Gliksman, a brilliant rabbi and advocate of
the Jews who had the "audacity" to sue Julius
Streicher, the editor of the Nazi newspaper Der
Sturmer, for falsification of Jewish texts. Sonja and
her family watched as their Berlin Jewish communi-
ty began to come crashing down as the Nazis struck.
Sonja's father became a rabbi of a New York con-
gregation, and Sonja and her family were fortunate
enough to immigrate to America in 1939 on the last
boat to leave pre-War Europe.
Sonja attended a New York public school. Sonja
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2005
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no longer had to hide to escape school anti-
Semitism; she was in America now, after all. In fact,
soon after her arrival, Sonja entered — and won —
an essay contest about what America meant to her.
One of the thoughts that Sonja included in her
essay was that as a Jew in America, she no longer
had to fear policemen.
A Giving Life Without Fear
A couple of years later, Sonja's father moved his fam-
ily to Cleveland, Ohio. In Cleveland, Sonja won a
scholarship to the Music Settlement by performing
Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude" exceptionally well.
A few years later, Sonja went to college and took
pre-med courses.
At age 18, Sonja married Yossel Feigenbaum. A
year later, Sonja bore the first of seven children.
Yossel and Sonja sent their children to the Hebrew
Academy of Cleveland, where Sonja taught as a
music teacher. When Sonja sent her children to
school early in the morning, she did not have to fear
that they might be forced to the ground, publicly
degraded, or instructed by the teacher to sing anti-
Semitic songs in school. After all, Sonja was in
America now
Sonja possessed a tremendous amount of patriot-
ism. Every year, Sonja wrote, directed and accompa-
nied on the piano original, musical Thanksgiving
plays and Presidents' Day programs for Hebrew
Academy students.
Sonja also worked painstakingly for the Jewish
community of Cleveland. Each year, Sonja volun-
teered at the Young Israel Yom HaAtzmaut break-
fast. Sonja gave concerts for Young Israel programs.
Sonja's children watched those hours of work and
were instilled with the value of involvement in com-
munity and school affairs.
Sonja had the great fortune to be able to watch all
of her children graduate high school, go to college,
attain not only degrees, but advanced degrees, get
married and continue the Jewish tradition.
Sonja took the opportunities that America pre-
sented to her and lived the life that immigrants
yearn to live: the American Dream. In America, one
has the freedom to follow whatever religion he
observes. In America, one is able to live whatever
Sonja Feigenbaum
law-abiding lifestyle one chooses and still be consid-
ered a good citizen. Ainerica.provides the ability to
accomplish one's goals and fulfill one's dreams.
Sonja exemplified the American Dream. Sonja
fled from Germany, where she had to hide from
Nazis and play hooky to escape overt anti-Semitism
in school. In America, Sonja was able to live her life
as a Torah-observant Jew and send her children to
Jewish schools without the fear that her children
would face the prejudice she had once been subject-
ed to. Sonja's dream was to live in a place like
America, and her dream was fulfilled.
So who was Sonja Feigenbaum? Why was she so
important? What exactly was her contribution to
America? I am proud to boast that Sonja
Feigenbaum was my grandmother. I can attest to the
values she instilled in her children and grandchil-
dren.
My grandmother contributed generations of chil-
dren who are patriotic, who work for their commu-
nities and who are proud, Torah-observant Jews. It
is not just the famous people who inspire a crowd
that make America America, but it's the small peo-
ple who make up the crowd that make America
what it is. My grandmother's whole life represented
the fact that America — unlike many other places
and "isms" — lives up to its ideals. My grandmoth-
er's whole life proved that America really is the
"Land of the Free."
So what is the message for me? If my grandmoth-
er, a refugee from Nazi persecution, could come to
this country and establish a beautiful Jewish home,
so can I. .
If my grandmother could come to this country as
an immigrant and raise all her children to be suc-
cessful, intelligent, Americans who remain loyal to
their Jewish beliefs, so can 1.
Just as my grandmother made a point of partici-
pating in community and school activities, so must
I. Most of all, I must always appreciate America for
the haven it is.
Just this past month, my grandmother, Sonja
Feigenbaum, passed away, but I assure you her lega-
cy lives on. ❑
Yitchok Radner of Oak Park is a student at Yeshiva
Gedolah.