Sahbra Markus Surviving The Holocaust Part 4 Escape To Russia

Summary:In this part of Sahbra Markus’s amazing story, she details how she and her family escaped the Warsaw Ghetto to get to Russia. A difficult and harrowing journey. Walking through miles and miles of forest with large packs on their backs that contained their whole life. Only being able to wear the clothes they had on. Layers upon layers which were mostly rags. Having to steal food and what clothes they could along the way. Being told to remember that she was a Jew and also pretend that she wasn’t. Wondering why she was the only child on the boat and so much more. It is an inspiring and compelling story that you are not going to want to miss a minute of.

Episode Transcription

Intro Plays

Ari: Today’s episode is being sponsored by strength to strength a 501 C three nonprofit organization established to bring victims of terrorism together globally in order to share their experiences and move forward with their lives despite the trauma they have been through. If you understand how a single terror attack can affect so many families on such a deep level physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually, strength is strength has taken as their motto survivors healing survivors, recognizing that we are responsible for each other and that those impacted by terrorism by injury or the loss of a loved one deserve no less than our very best. For more information on streng

th strength, please visit www dot s t o s global.org That’s www.stosglobal.org and use code ra pod A Ri P O D Welcome to whispers and bricks. My name is Gary Sherman. I am your host Welcome to part three of Sabra Marcus amazing story from the Holocaust. Please help me welcome Sabra Marcus.

Sahbra: My parents lost track as to how long they were there. You didn’t know what day it was all you need. The only thing you knew is that you somehow unfortunately woke up again. Which means now you have to get to know you have to find water. You will come up and you keep saying God river notional love What have I done for you to punish me like this? Today when I say it, I’m thinking of Silla Malayan. I’m thinking of his good friend heavier. Why are you punishing me like this? What have I done? My parents asked that every day. And that particular day. A man that’s been searching for my mother in the ghetto. For weeks upon weeks, upon weeks, had promised himself that he will not die of any cause. Unless he spoke to my mother first. She finally found my parents. It was a mental decision. A man that came to Warsaw in peril of his life and got put into the ghetto. To complete his mission. The man had a mission. He wouldn’t dare die till he took care of it

the void on there. My mother’s name was the door. Deborah royler We need to talk. I have to tell you. Your mama told me to come. May she rest in peace. Mama rest in peace. My my spa pain. We had letters not all that long ago. What do you mean? He says I I made a mistake. I have to tell you a story. Can I please listen? Give me some water. I have to tell you a story. Give me some water. You have read? I didn’t eat in three days. You have read maybe a small piece not much just a little piece please.

Papa ran away came back with a packet with food, different types of food and a piece of fruit. Gave him a bottle of water to eat to drink as much as he wanted They found a hallway with no one in it. And they said on the stairs. And he said, You know, one day, it was a Friday, just before Shabbat. And then your brother Aaron, he said that he will help the rabbi and the rabbi said that he really wasn’t feeling all that well. And could he take care of this himself without help? Or should he send him one of the boys from the fader and younger? And Alice said, no, no, no. Erin said, I will be happy to just do the whole thing by myself. Don’t Don’t worry about it. He needed to close up the show. Because she has to go home. He has to take us his bat. He has to change clothes, he has to get ready for Shabbat. Come evening. sapless will be starting. And he has to be there and he has to be ready. His mama oh my gosh, as his father, you know, they would expect him to be he never remembered that Papa was already dead. He never remembered that Shabbat would usually be without him. But I am jumping a little ahead of myself on this show that none of the last he was going to have this proper. One of the last he was hurrying. And he was hurting. And only kept thinking of how wonderful it will be as soon as he gets home. Because he see when he gets home to have a bath. Who runs fresh, roving. The house will be full of big bouquets of flowers everywhere in every room in the hallway. And the dining room table. And the dining room table will have beautiful sauces, Crystal vases are those gorgeous. The table will be sad for numerous people way more than the family because you never knew who grandpa would bring from shore. They were always traveling salesman and all sorts of travelers. And of course, they had nowhere to go. And there were no hotels with kosher food. And so the people in the community would each take one of those travelers to their home. And they would spend there till the end of Shabbat and that Saturday night. They would join the family for the dinner. And then he could see in his mind’s eye, his mama standing at the head of the table, lighting the candles for Shabbat. Before she looked them, she looked at everyone at the table. All the guests Papa could have brought two or three or five guests to the Shabbat table. They were all very well to do they could afford it. And they had several rooms set aside for possible visitors. And she would not her head to each one of the visitors smile to her husband, turn to her children and smile and now to them to welcome them to the table. She would light the candles and then she would bring the light of the canvas to her face three times. When she finished the prayer for the candles, she stayed asking God for peace, prosperity, health, anyone in the community that needed some help to make sure that the community and her own family would step forward.

The table was so beautiful and the food was magnificent. And he was looking forward to this beautiful evening as he did average But he was rushing and rushing in the synagogue. He had to put away chairs they had to move benches. Oh, there were so many people are coming tonight for the services. And they had to add more benches and and that they had to add more benches. And then they had to add more chairs. And the pulpit wasn’t so straight and the books weren’t so strict. So he had to go and do that. So it was taking longer and longer. And he was getting frustrated because he really needed to get out. He heard noise outside. Something unusual because I mean, in that town. Yes, people had trucks, people had other all sorts of other vehicles, that many motorcycles. Why would there be motorcycles in the street right outside of the shore, motorcycles. He already had started closing the shutters. But there was two windows still open. And so he looked over and looked outside. And he could see and they could see that he’s there.

And he could see people military garments, motorcycles, jeeps, trucks. Jelle. And he realized that he was understanding some of their words and so he realized they were Germans.

And then he saw the pattern guides the swastika cooking the armed cross. And then two of them yelled, he see him? I see him and enough to say Yeah, bring him house. Bring him out Zophar immediately. He was running in the show trying to find a place to hide. But a whole group of those people have those Nazis ran into the shoe and they grabbed them

there was a post some people during the week would ride horses instead of buggies and walking so there was a post there was a post he took out outside and tied him to that post.

And he said to himself, well since we speak the same language Why not speak them? So those muscles in English Why are you doing this? Valli’s John, because I can said one of them. I can

the reason I’m going to be able to give you phenomenal details is because a Jew and a non Jew in two different spot. Caregivers caretakers. One of them a summons a Jew will hiding outside they were planning on going into help Aaron to finish his job. It was taking too long. But they miss it. They were too late errorlog was tied up to that post. The commanding officer gave an order for his soldiers to go inside and bring out all the Torah books, all the scrolls all the Torah that’s to come out and through them at the feet of Aaron. The boy’s biggest dream in life was to be a rabbi. He was going to be one of the most wonderful, brilliant heartwarming speakers. He was going to be the best Rabbi there is an old his Taurus or as he speaks All the Toros at the feet. The officer gives him a book of matches and tells him light him up. Burnden we’re gonna let you go free. You’re going to see, you’ll go home. They’ll go home to your mother and your father. You can go home and you can be free. And you can do some steam. I cannot do that the most? You must. Yeah, Candace. I cannot. Well, then you’re not going home today. And they’re laughing. Erica, this is such a beautiful comedy. This little dude standing there. Doesn’t want to burn the book.

The officer tells his soldiers to remove Aaron’s clothing. They use knives, pocket knives. They tear. They do everything they can to humiliate, to shame and cause him pain because they were pulling and trying to tear at scenes that didn’t want to give when he was nude, is when a new humiliation started with pointing fingers at his genitals laughing at the mutilation of his genitals and then to encourage him to possibly change his mind and actually light a match mice smacking him so they were hitting with sticks and more sticks and more sticks. It didn’t work. He refused. He kept saying no. And then he kept asking. So Zeus must have this. You hope you punish him while doing this I’ve done nothing to you. Why? And he’s saying it to them and yeah, they said they know what he’s saying.

He didn’t need to speak German and they keep laughing No

light the light the match. Burn the books they took his belt with the buckle in the front and they started beating him this time seriously, front and back. And his legs and rivers of lava starting to flow from entire body. And still it wasn’t good enough so one of them came over when a giant says stand smacked his head a few times and then into his abdomen. And then he said nine This is UD Sublett Jewish blood touched his fist the boy started screaming smile slam at the Nihilo Hainault at the don’t know your HUD listen oh Israel, our Lord our God. Our lower does one the summers the two men that were watching this when they heard him say those words. When you when you that the end is near. Then they kept him. They kept him they kept telling. They practically stripped every inch of his skin from his bone. And they kept at they had such a good time. The actual leading commanding officer came over to that scene and shrieked at the other officer that was lower in level from him. What are you doing? We don’t have time for you to play games and murder some little do we have serious war to do leave him alone. No, I want him to burn these damn books. He’s not going to yes he will when is less breaths. And Allah, that sweet future Rabbi which is less breath said smile you say I do my yellow thing I deny aside the sad shell down he was dead they left him there hanging on the post. The jeep and the trucks and the motorcycles started up went under way. The Shammas and that guy when to find a cart. The Shamas took the boy out Allah laid him on the cart on his own coat. He pulled the cart throughout most of the neighborhood Jewish neighborhoods straight to the home of my grandmother for Shabbat he knocked on the door. It wasn’t Shabbat yet. He could not. Unfortunately, having numerous servants and four daughters and nobody came to the door. So grandma had to come to the door. She opened the door and the shamash was Terry carry her dead son covered in blood and dead.

My grandmother looked at her death, the only son you could see that he was violated and terribly brutalized.

There’s only one way to say it and I’m not going to try and be polite. I don’t want to be polite. My grandmother lost her mind. Right standing there and that spot opened the door and they gave her a court so her only baby boy. Grandma’s ISCA may she rest lost her mind. She stood there and shot until her younger daughter, the youngest one Luma blee mela little flower. bloomer came to the door and so so what was going on? She started to shriek and everyone came running they saw what happened and took grandma away from the door. Summer into the rabbi to speak about an immediate funeral which will have to be tomorrow. But you can’t do it to learn because it’s Shabbat. So they have to find a place where to keep him. Then you have to have to people have people sitting there to watch over him. You never leave that person alone, not until barrier

the men kept talking as my mother was going into shock. My father could barely hold on to her. Her body was shaking with violent shaking with fear, anger, agony and broken heart. The man finished up the story saying that the following day. My grandmother Rifka filled her big apron with numerous candles and she As her daughter Armand arm has gone from door to door to door to door to all the Jewish families in the city of Jersey handing out the candle as Goodman said, lightest can do for my own. My only little boy those angels from hell K. A murder that my baby they murdered by this. She did that day after day after day after day until the Nazi trucks came and took her. Unbelievable. to Auschwitz. Her sisters, their husbands, and their two little children per each sister all foamed up in oceans for our dead. Mama had no one. And she survived. If she wanted to know, again, screaming, why did God curse me? Why am I alive? And we are in the Warsaw Ghetto. The poor man knew that what he’s doing to my mother was terrific. But he felt she had to know the truth. As I feel I need to tell you. Their love no believer in truth. Mama hears me. My mother never recuperated from that day, not 100% know. When mama LED candles she whipped. And my brother we lived in Israel at that point. Why? Why is mama crying so terribly? This is a happy day. It’s Shabbat. She should be happy. Four years. I asked Mama, why do you cry? I took her by hand into her bedroom that one Shabbat. I said Mama, you’ve got to tell me Why do you cry? You should be happy at shop dot. It’s the holiest, most wonderful day of the year.

We’re alive. We have to look at the table. He said after years years, it takes six or seven years of begging and begging.

She told me this story. She said I can see. In my mind, I can see my mama. Blessing the Candace smiling at all the strangers they came to eat at our table and blessing us by doing that. And then I look at all hours of the family, all the children and Papa’s smiling back at me when I nod and smile to him. And then I remember that none of them are alive. I remember it’s like no one survived. And then I hate gods. I said you can’t take go. You just sleep candles. I hate a little bit because he shouldn’t have left me. He shouldn’t have allowed me to remain. So what normally he gave the children. He replaced those children. You can’t replace somebody the others. You have three boys Norma. Not just a useless girl. You have three boys, you have three sons. And so again, you must live. You do not give up. There is no capitulation in the Marcus or Bloomberg family. We do not capitulate. We do not give up. We do not give in. Mama. Never. Why are you yelling at me? I said Mama I love you more than life itself. I put my arms around her and she felt so frail. Her belly was shaking, as she was sobbing And I kept speaking to her. But I could see I could see her eyes. She was looking somewhere as if she was communicating with some invisible to me. But she could see all her family she could see her mother she could see her father. She could see Allah. She could see her sisters and brother in law’s and nieces. One of her nieces graduated high school. She was 12 years old shuffler beautiful child cetera. Also, Dad I don’t know how to impress on you that these kind of situations happened. 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of times to so many other people of my Jewish family. I am not an exception. My mama, my papa without exception my mama? Yes,

Ari: one second. Okay, we’ve been listening to sorry. We’ve been listening to several Marcus, tell her a fantastic story. I don’t even know what words to use. But this is the end of part three. We’re going to get onto part four. At a later date. You’ve been listening to whispers in bricks. My name is Ari Schonbrunn. Remember, listen to the whispers avoid the bricks and never give up on your dreams. Bye for now.