Nostalgia for the shtetl

Holocaust survivors sculpt their memories.

AUGUST 25, 2016 19:34

In a Europe ravaged by the Holocaust, Jews identified each other by a code word: amcha –The People.

When the Israeli supportive association for survivors was established in 1987, it was natural to name it with that word.

The Amcha association for the mental and social well-being of Holocaust survivors has 14 branches in Israel and currently serves nearly 20,000 individuals.

Staffed by professionals and volunteers, Amcha offers psychological support, community outreach, social casework, home visits, Holocaust documentation and inter-generational programming.

The Jews who lived in eastern Europe before the Nazi horror changed everything are old now – even those who were children then. But their memories of home and daily life in the shtetl, the small towns and villages of Eastern Europe where many Jews lived out their days – are as close to them as yesterday. I was invited to view a group exhibit of sculptures created by the ladies of Amcha’s branch in Petah Tikva. The theme: Remembering the Shtetl.

Betty Wachsstock Schonfeld, a Belgian- born sculptor who has exhibited in Belgium, France, Holland, Panama, the US and Israel, has taught art at the branch for 15 years.

“My Amcha students come to class without any previous experience in art. Some of them had to be persuaded to try it out. But they have created amazing works. I organize group exhibits every two years, which gives them a goal to work toward. Some of the works you see at this exhibit were made by two students together; some are very individual.

“Every one of my students has gone through the camps and experienced unspeakable horrors. But they’re so optimistic and forward-looking. Even among themselves, they don’t discuss the past much. Let’s live in the present, they tell me. The past is done, and this is now. When they were thinking of a theme for this year’s exhibit, they wanted something that touched on the past but not directly involving the Holocaust. They chose to portray normal, everyday life in the shtetls of their youth.”

Arriving at the stately cultural center in Petah Tikva, I was immediately drawn to the table where there were dozens of little vignettes in clay. The figures seem crude at first, but are expressive beyond anything I had expected.

Here the stern cheder teacher stands, his young pupils gathered around a table. The class bad boy sits off to one side, the most mischievous look on his face. There a weary water- carrier stands in front of the well, gathering strength for his next trip balancing heavy buckets of water on his shoulders. A little further, a violin player busks for coins. A shawled woman sells bagels, the chewy rings drawn through her wrist. Two yeshiva students sit in a chevrusa (study partnership) in front of their text. A shoemaker, a shy bride and groom, a dressmaker, three dancing hassidim.

A woman lights the Shabbat candles. Another woman, her hair hidden under a fashionable snood, takes her three little ones out for a walk. The older ones cling to the baby carriage where the youngest sits, looking disgruntled.

All the facets of shtetl life are there: the shul, the Torah students, the artisans and laborers. As I peered into the little scenarios, I understood that the scenes and people represented are exact memories of the artists’ lives in pre-World War II Eastern Europe. How many times had the artist witnessed the wagon driver transporting fresh vegetables to the town market? The large-nosed woman lighting candles, was she the artist’s mother? The humble dressmaker with her measuring tape, did she cut out new clothes for a little girl who would survive the war and leave the shtetl behind? The ladies who so lovingly brought the vanished shtetl back to life are well-dressed, well-coiffed, smiling women. They accept the kudos of their families and friends graciously.

They’re pleased with their artistic efforts, and why shouldn’t they be? They not only came through and began new lives, they created vivid copies of their personal memories to share with the rest of us.

Petah Tikva is home to more than 3,000 Holocaust survivors. Forty streets in the town are named after people who perished. Several schools made a project for the children to visit each of those streets, research who the person was for whom it was named, and write about their lives and fates.

The final project was the publication of a book with the children’s reports.

It’s one way of ensuring that post-Holocaust generations keep alive the memory of the Jews who died in Europe at Hitler’s hand.

This exhibit is another.

Betty Wachsstock Schonfeld’s work can be viewed at: bettywachsstock.weebly.com