Community Corner

Survivor Helps West Hempstead Remember Holocaust Victims

Philip Bialowitz recounts his escape from a Sobibor death camp at JCC of West Hempstead on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Hours before the world learned of the death of Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader responsible for the deaths of 2,700 Americans, hundreds of local residents gathered in West Hempstead to honor the victims of another notorious mass murderer - Adolf Hitler.

To commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and the six million Jewish men, woman and children who lost their lives during the genocide between 1933 and 1945, a special ceremony was held Sunday night at the

Members from the Jewish Centers of Elmont, Valley Stream and Rosedale joined in as well, lighting candles, singing songs and reciting prayers with their comrades in West Hempstead. The highlight of the evening though was listening to the eyewitness account of the atrocities that happened during the Holocaust from Philip Bialowitz, one of eight living survivors of the Sobibor death camp.

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Bialowitz, author of A Promise at Sobibor: A Jewish Boy's Story of Revolt and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland, shared the heart-wrenching experiences he lived through watching his family, friends and other fellow human beings perish around him.

"By age 14, my parents and one sister had already been murdered and I had escaped death several times," he told his captivated audience inside the shul. He even spoke of a time he was placed before a firing squad and had to play dead, hiding underneath lifeless bodies before fleeing the scene.

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When he and what remained of his family were eventually captured by the Nazis, he recalled thinking, "Atleast if they kill me it willl be the end and I will have some peace." But at the same, he said, "I was a teenager and I wanted to live."

That desire to fight for his life was not the only thing that motivated Bialowitz to survive the hell he would soon endure upon arriving at the death camp of Sobibor in Poland, which at the time was occupied by Germans.*

He had many heroes along the way, including his brother, who convinced the Nazis to put them both to work, instead of exterminating them as they did the rest of their family.

"He told them he was a pharmacist and I was his assistant," Bialowitz said. "We said goodbye to our two sisters for the very last time and my niece, who was only 7 years old."

While spared from the gas chambers, Bialowitz and his brother spent their deaths escorting others to their deaths. As throngs of Jewish people arrived by train to Sobibor, Bialowitz was charged with helping them with their bags, cutting their hair and directing them to the gas chambers. They offered him tips for the help with their luggage, the ladies asked that he not trim their locks too short and they followed obediently to the "showers," all the while ignorant of the fate that awaited them, according to Bialowitz. Many even wrote postcards upon their arrival at the camp to let relatives know that they were staying at a safe place, or so they had thought.

"Day after day it went on like this for six months at Sobibor," Bialowitz said. 

When he could, he would help the prisoners, sneaking them food, and often he was beaten, whipped and forced to watch his friends executed. In one instant, he stole a bag of groceries for one of his friends, but when the Nazis found the food, his friend took all the fault. The brave gesture cost him his life.

"My friend gave his life for me," Bialowitz said. "He was only a teenager but he was a hero in the truest sense of the word."

Others in Bialowitz position committed suicide, but he said he lived for the chance to one day stand up to the Nazis and make them answer for the atrocities they committed.

His chance came in September 1943, when Alexander Pechersky, a lieutenant in the Red Army, and other POWs arrived at Sobibor. Just 22 days later, he led a group which included Bialowitz and his brother, in a rebellion.

"Our goal was to develop an escape plan for all 600 prisoners in the camp," Bialowitz said. "Leave no one behind."

The two-phase plan called for the rebels to quietly take out key German soldiers in the camp, escorting them in small groups to a building with the promise of quality coats, boots and other goods stolen from the prisoners. 

"Once inside we used knives and axes to kill the guards," he said. "We cut telephone and electric lines so the Nazis couldn't call for reinforcements."

Then, armed with guns, knives and axes, Pechersky cried out to the hundreds of prisoners, "Brothers the moment of our destiny has come. Let us rise and destroy this place....If anyone survives, bear witness to what happened here! Tell the world about this place!”

Only a third of the 600 prisoners actually made it out of the camp. Bialowitz made it over the barb wire (He still has the scar where his finger was sliced on the fence.) and then crept across the minefield by making a tactical decision to keep close to the nearby buildings, assuming the Nazis would not put explosives in close proximity to their structures. He then escaped into the thick forest with his comrades.

"This was not the last stop in our journey to freedom," he said.

Of the 200 Jews who made it to the forest, only 42 would survive till the end of the war. Bialowitz was fortunate to find a Polish family who allowed him to hideout in their barn.

"They risked their lives to hide me," he said, once again praising the heroics of others. "I owe my life to many people, especially the masterminds of the unbelievable plot that gave hundreds including me a second chance to live."

Bialowitz has since dedicated his life to embodying the rally cry of his leader, repeating Pechersky's message of "If anyone survives, bear witness to what happened here! Tell the world about this place!”

Over the past 20 years, he has lectured frequently to audiences around the world, testified at several war crimes trials, and published his memoir in both Polish and English, which is being developed into a curriculum for Polish schools by the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. In 2008, Bialowitz was also interviewed extensively for the documentary, Hidden Holocaust at Sobibór.

Of the estimated 250,000 people who perished between 1942 and 1943 at Sobibor, Bialowitz is now one of eight living survivors.

"You are the ones who will carry the torch of remembrance long after I and the other survivors have gone," Bialowitz told his audience, addressing the young people specifically.

He also left the congregation with his own rally cry, asking them to urge today's leaders to condemn any acts of injustice and violence in the world, no matter where, as he listed recent examples.

"I and my other survivors will always feel we were abandoned in our time of need," he said. "We need to preserve the lives of our fellow human beings...I ask, have you continued to embody the courage and humanity of the brave fighters of Sobibor?"

Bialowitz's story had an impact on atleast one West Hempstead teen. Elias Strober-Horowitz, 17, said, "It's an amazing story, but also a call to action.

"We keep repeating, 'Never again, never again,' but these horrible things are still happening," he added.

Rabbi Art Vernon was impressed by Bialowitz's "powerful" account, as well as the turnout for the program. He explained that the JCC of West Hempstead has been holding this event for decades but this is the first time they joined together with neighboring Jewish Centers.

"It demonstrates that when we cooperate we can achieve more," he said. 

Rabbi Leslie Ungar of Yeshiva Bnei Torah travelled from Far Rockaway for the event.

Ungar tried to place himself in Bialowitz's shoes. 

"I don't think I would have had the intestinal fortitude to see my family destroyed an go on," he said. "It takes an amazing person with courage and dedication to let the world know the atrocities the Germans inflicted on so many innocent people."

To learn more about Bialowitz's story visit his Web site or to find out about upcoming events at the JCC of West Hempstead.


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