A year ago, Justin Fladd, Newark High School Global Studies 10 teacher invited Dave Reckess, grandson of Holocaust survivor Sarah Tuller to speak to NHS sophomores who are taught each year about one of the most unthinkable chapters in human history.
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Executive director of 3GNY Descendants of Holocaust survivors, Reckess’ presentations included photos and videos of his grandmother telling her compelling stories to about 160 Global 10 students at NHS.
It didn’t disappoint. They were riveting and students were both respectful and engaged including during the question and answer sessions that followed his talks. The impact on the Global 10 students was so meaningful that Fladd asked Reckess to speak to both he and Benjamin Hintz’s Global 10 students this year
And once again, Reckess did not disappoint. Fladd said the 150 students who heard his presentations were both engaged and moved by them.
NHS Principal Kelly A. Zielke and Assistant Principal Joe Canori were very pleased students had the opportunity to hear Reckess.
“I want to thank Mr. Fladd for organizing this event and to our social studies staff for supporting this experience for our students. It is a powerful opportunity for our students to connect their learning to actual experiences, as shared by a relative of a Holocaust survivor.”
“First and foremost, a huge thank you to Mr. Fladd for arranging to have the guest speaker Mr. Dave Reckess for speaking to our students again this year. Mr. Reckess’ historic story, from the perspective of his grandmother who spent time in a Polish concentration camp, was an outstanding opportunity for our students to gain deeper knowledge about what humanity was like during that era of time. I was proud to see how attentive and engaged our students were with their questions during the presentation.”
Here’s the essence of the compelling story Reckess shared.
While all four of his Jewish grandparents were sent to concentration camps, all four miraculously survived. So his presentations focused primarily on his maternal grandmother whose maiden name was Sarah Feldzamen. He enduringly refers to her as “Bubi” Sarah, since “Bubi” is Yiddish for grandmother.
Born in 1922 in Lublin, Poland, life for Sarah changed over her childhood years but took a dramatic turn in her teens when harsh restrictions, she thought would only being imposed on Jewish people in Germany, were placed on Jewish citizens in Poland. They had to wear yellow armbands to identify themselves. Demeaning, antisemitic signs went up all over the town. Kids who were once her friends, would throw stones at her. At 16, she could no longer attend school because Jews were not allowed. Strict curfews had to be adhered to. Jewish families, now forced to live in apartment buildings called ghettos had to pay Nazi soldiers money. They had to keep their shops and businesses, that few townspeople would no longer frequent, open so Nazi soldiers could come in and take whatever they wanted to.
At night, Nazi soldiers would order certain segments of Jews in Lublin to immediately leave their apartments and board trucks headed for concentration camps. Many of Sarah’s friends gradually disappeared. Her brother, who tried to evade this fate, attempted to flee to Russia, but was captured, imprisoned and was killed in captivity.
At 19, Jewish men and boys of Lublin were forced to build a concentration camp in nearly Majdanek, which all the remaining Jews in the community were forced to live in once it was completed.
“The Nazis treated us like dogs, actually not even dogs, more like stray dogs. They took away our dignity. They dehumanized us. I knew that even though I was treated terribly, I just had to go on living and that helped me survive,” Tuller shared on a video made several years ago.
Miraculously, not long after they arrived at Majdanek, a Nazi guard told Sarah’s boyfriend, Yehuda, who had come to the camp with his ailing mother, that some people could try to escape at midnight. He said he would open the gate, look the other way and let people escape. But in three minutes, he would release his 7 dogs to chase after them.
Reckess said his grandmother and family often wondered if perhaps there would be a world worth living in when the war was over.
In the spring of 1945, the Russian Army reached Warsaw and freed it from the Nazis.
Before that, Sarah’s family, because they had no idea of what had happened to so many Jews, wondered if they were the only ones left and how it would be for them when they re-emerged into the world. Once freed, they returned to their home city of Lublin where the family searched for anyone they knew that managed to survive. They found a friend of her older brother named Sasha Tuller who had fled to Russia in the beginning of the war. He was the only member of his family to survive. Sarah and he became close and soon married. And then, along with her parents, they moved to New York City where as immigrants they created a new life. They had three children and ran a successful fabric shop in Brooklyn and had many good years together.
Sasha Tuller died in 1985. Years later, Sarah met and married Morris Golub, who encouraged her to talk about her experiences and chronicled them into a 70-page history manuscript which Reckess and his family treasure and can be seen in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.. Golub died in 2016. Sarah died three years later at age 97, not long after she had shared her story, for the umpteenth time publicly, this time to some 5th and 6th graders at their school.
Daunting memories of the Holocaust and its impact on her family and so many others she knew and loved, didn’t permanently scar Sarah. She lived a full productive life. Her obituary says it best: “Through it all, Sarah lived her life with abundant energy, honesty and determination. She was spunky, big-hearted, and left an indelible impression on everyone she met. She taught us that life is not always fair. But while we are here and living, we should make the most of it. She showed us how to enjoy life and treat each day as a marvelous gift.”
That’s why Reckess is carrying on her legacy with his work with 3GNY, an educational non-profit organization founded by grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. On its website, its mission is clearly delineated: “As a living link, we preserve the legacies and the lessons of the Holocaust. Our mission is to educate diverse communities about the perils of intolerance and to provide a supportive forum for the descendants of survivors.
“We feel a deep commitment to know and tell our family stories, and to place them within the greater context of the Holocaust. 3GNY also raises awareness about human rights issues and genocide – past and present.”
“Hearing Dave speak about his grandmother's time during WWII makes the lessons we teach more real, emotional, and upfront for the students at NHS. To put a name and face to the events of the Holocaust allows students to feel the impact hate and intolerance can have on human beings,” Fladd said. “I am honored and privileged to teach in a school district that supports the mission and values of 3GNY and we always look forward to bringing a speaker from this organization back to NHS.”
Hintz, a first year Global Studies 10 teacher at NHS, echoed Fladd’s sentiments.
“My students often express to me their struggles to make a connection to the content. Mr. Reckess' presentation brought the Holocaust to life. Through the story of Bubi Sarah, faculty, staff, and students gained a deeper understanding of the suffering and atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust. Furthermore, we all realized that we have a role to play in our society to end hate and discrimination everywhere."
And what did students think? Her are a few of their reflections:
Olivia Demer: "The presentation made me feel empowered to fight whatever comes my way. The presentation was important because it opened our eyes to how blessed we are for the lives we have and to encourage kids to fight hate."
Sakurako Weigand: "I think it's important to hear presentations like this because then everyone can understand what others go through from their actions, and prevent what happened in the past to not happen in the future."
Amira Blount: "The presentation made me feel shock and empathy. It's a deeply impactful and emotional subject that can leave a lasting impression on people."
Kalyn Norton: "This presentation is important to hear because we should not repeat history. It also made me see the value of the little things in life. People need to be educated in past events and learn the importance of the past."
Avé Ellis: "I learned that even when things are hard you have to keep going. I also learned what life was like for Jewish families that lived in hiding during WWII."
“Along with the impact it had on student learning during our WWII unit, I wanted to bring Mr. Reckess back because his organization helped support my teachings on the "Pyramid of Hate," Fladd said. “A couple of weeks ago we took a hard uncomfortable look at the "Pyramid of Hate" which allowed my students to have an in-depth discussion to try and think about how a teenager could help halt hate in this world. Students came up with some great ways for teenagers today to try and stop hate and their efforts can be seen in a display case (see bottom photo at right) outside of room 186 in Newark High School.
And finally, Fladd is sharing this piece of area history:
“Newark (along with Marion, Clyde, Sodus) was where German and Italian POW (prisoners of war) camps were established during WWII. In Newark, the location of the camp is right where the Alex Eligh Community Center stands today on East Avenue,” Fladd said.
“It was actually where Newark High School was until it was demolished and rebuilt where it stands today. The POW camp existed from 1944-1946 where around 200 German POWs lived and 6 days a week were bussed to local farms and factories to work.
“Five thousand men enlisted to join the military during WWII from Wayne County, so the towns needed labor from the POW camps for the farms and factories.
“Twenty seven of those Newark men who enlisted made the ultimate sacrifice and never returned home.”
At left is a picture of the Newark POW camp. Also below is a link to an article from the Finger Lakes Times about the POW camps.