MAIN TALKING POINTS OF THE LESSON
- A. While the world had to resettle hundreds of thousands of non-Jewish refugees in Europe after World War II, most of these people could be relocated to their lands of origin. But for the Jews trying to return to their homes, they found that either their homes had been destroyed by the Nazis and others, or the Jewish homes were now occupied by the non-Jewish locals who would not relinquish them. As a result, the Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees had no place to go. Furthermore, almost no country in the world wanted to take them in, with tough immigration policies.
- B. When the survivors returned to their hometowns, most suffered beatings or even worse by the local population, either because the locals were loathe to relinquish Jewish property that they now lived in, or they simply did not want the Jews in their community. Thus, even knowing how much the Jews suffered and died in the concentration camps, European non-Jews still conducted pogroms AFTER the Holocaust. This was most pronounced in Poland, home of the largest concentration camps, where more Jews were murdered than in any other country.
- C. After witnessing this phenomenon most strikingly in Poland, almost every one of the 350,000 Polish survivors concluded that Poland was no longer a place for a Jew to live, and almost all tried to get to Palestine, which helped increase Jewish population there (for those who made it in) and also increased pressure to create a Jewish state.
MORAL DILEMMA
You have survived the Treblinka concentration camp and have made it back to your Polish village without your family who were all murdered by the Nazis. You find your house, but it is occupied by Polish neighbors who moved in after you were taken away. You know that if you try to reclaim what is rightfully yours, there is a strong possibility that these people will not only resist you, but may also beat you up or even shoot you. On the other hand, you really have no place else to go and it IS your home, and you could probably reclaim it through legal channels, although it may take a very long time while your life might be in danger. Should you risk the possible danger in trying to reclaim your home or abandon this village and begin your life again elsewhere, such as Palestine? List the reasons why you should stay and fight for what is yours. Then list the reasons why it is just not worth the risk. What did you decide and why?
For further information, analysis, web sites and study by teacher and or student on this topic, please refer to the Data Disk of Episode 6 Educators’ Guide. Feel free to contact
Rabbi Dr. Nachum Amsel for any questions or issues Nachum@jewishdestiny.com or phone 212-444-1656 – (note time difference to Israel when calling.)