8 | JANUARY 12 • 2023
A
s Jews around the
world celebrated
and observed the
miraculous Festival of Lights
last month, my family found
ourselves in a period of
mourning.
Days before Chanukah,
my 88-year-old Holocaust-
surviving uncle Jack Gun
passed away peacefully in his
sleep. He lived a long life. A
remarkable life. A life where
he bore witness to such
atrocities and horrors that
there are actually groups of
people today who deny this
period of history could have
ever happened.
Call it sick. Call it
deranged. Call it twisted.
Call it what it is. Call it
antisemitism. Because it is.
Forced from their home in
Poland, my grandfather (my
hero) was an 18-year-old boy,
suddenly solely responsible
for his 8-year-old brother
(my uncle) during the war.
They were split from their
parents and sister — two boys
on the run. They hid between
tall haystacks on a farm
during summers, afraid to
make a move, itch or sound
— fearful to be discovered by
Nazis.
They hid in wooded forests
and between tree branches
during the fall. At one
point, a heroic non-Jewish
farmer dug them a hole in
the ground, deep enough to
hide in for a period of four
months during winter. They
were two boys in hiding and
fighting for their lives.
Hidden children of
the Holocaust — a most
incredible and admirable
club that no one ever asked
to join — yet a unique,
brave bond of brotherhood
and sisterhood among these
heroic Jewish souls.
They hid, they fought, they
survived.
They survived for us. For
my mom and her siblings.
For my sisters and for my
cousins. For my daughters
and their cousins. And
eventually for all of their
children, too.
My uncle and my
grandparents survived so
we could live in a country
like America with religious
freedom.
So, as we are accustomed
to celebrating Chanukah
and lighting candles, I can’t
help but feel like our family’s
menorah has lost a bit of its
spark.
Yet I know the holiday
candles will shine bright year
after year and for generations
to come if we all vow to never
forget.
“Never be a bystander,” my
Uncle Jack taught us, and he
reiterated that phrase over
and over. Never forget the
courage of Jack Gun and my
grandparents, Manya and
Anszel Gun, and millions
of others. Never forget their
stories. Never forget their
bravery or fear. Never forget
their pictures. Never forget
the families behind the faces
in those pictures. Never
forget.
We must promise to
continue connecting and
educating others … and we
certainly need a community
willing and ready to listen.
We need partnership and
we need allies. We need
peace.
It’s this message that will
allow us to keep lighting
candles in honor of the brave
generations before us.
We’ll light the candles with
a promise to do our part and
to not be bystanders. And
we’ll light the candles as we
retell their story, with hopes
for a brighter future.
Adan Miller is a member of the
Cleveland Jewish Publication
Company Board of Directors. This
story was originally published in the
Cleveland Jewish News.
essay
Keep Lights Burning for
Holocaust Survivors
PURELY COMMENTARY
Year In Review
I am sure I am not the only
reader who was particularly
impressed with the Dec.
29 issue of the Jewish News
featuring the Year in Review
and In Memoriam. What a
year it was indeed.
The range of the Jewish
News has become consis-
tently impressive. Nearly
every issue has included
political commentary,
community news, arts and
entertainment information,
sports coverage, recipes,
children’s entertainment,
and helpful directories along
with profound essays offer-
ing spiritual enlightenment.
And, of course, I peruse the
obituaries.
There are some who
would argue that what was
formerly a Jewish newspa-
per has become more of a
magazine. I applaud this
transition and look forward
to each week’s cover story.
Of course, it helps that our
Detroit Jewish community is
consistently newsworthy!
— Edie Broida
West Bloomfield
Stick Together
“Alle yidden mus tzuzamen
schtechen.
”
“
All Jews must stick
together.”
As a very young child,
during and after World War
II, I overheard this Yiddish
phrase spoken by my grand-
parents and older relatives.
Jonathan Greenblatt
eloquently details its impor-
tance today in “In Fighting
Antisemitism, Jews Can Be
Our Own Worst Enemies.
We Shouldn’t Be.” (Dec. 29,
page 4).
— Marsha Lynn
Via the Web
letters
ADAM MILLER
Anszel Gun, Adam
Miller and Jack Gun