"How My Mother, a 27-Year-Old with 5 Children, Saved Her Family from the Nazis": An Emotional Interview

"I have a very deep concern that as the generation of Holocaust survivors diminishes, the memory of this historical event will fade," shares Rebecca (Lehav) Sandak with worry. Rebecca, a Holocaust survivor now in her 80s, says that even today, nearly 80 years after the outbreak of World War II, "sane humanity is unable to grasp the magnitude of the catastrophe that befell our people." Rebecca suggests that people should primarily listen to the personal testimonies of Holocaust survivors.

Rebecca currently resides in Tiberias, the city she moved to in the 1950s. Over the years, she built a family and worked at the government water authority. Until her retirement in 2001, Rebecca was responsible for setting and measuring the level of Lake Kinneret. "I was born to grandparents who were very religious, even before the war," Rebecca shares her personal story, "I didn't have the privilege to know them except from pictures. My parents were also religious, and throughout the entire war, they zealously observed all the Jewish holidays, including the fasts, although we were effectively fasting all the time. They instilled in us the necessity to hold on to Judaism and its values. I absorbed everything."

On the brink of war, the Sandak family in 1939 in front of the house her father built in Osova (Photo: Private Album)

"A 10-Year Journey of Wandering"

The Sandak family settled in Poland, in the municipality of Wlodawa, on the banks of the Western Bug River. "We ascended to Israel with the remnants of the escape," she recalls, "We managed to flee on the eve of the war's outbreak. We crossed the Bug River and embarked on a decade-long journey of wandering. Those who did not flee were sent to 'Sobibor.' We did not know what became of the Jews and found ourselves in the forests, with the sounds of bombing planes above us. Our escape was thanks to my mother, Hania, of blessed memory, a young woman of 27 at the time, with 5 children, who showed assertiveness and took responsibility. On the Ukrainian side, the Soviets awaited us and deported us to Siberia, where the men worked in lumber chopping at minus 42 degrees or in coal mines.

The Sandak family before the war (Photo: Private Album)

Women were also taken to work in a sewing shop, and the children were closed in a kind of enclosure, where we froze from the cold. My mother organized several women to write a petition to President Stalin demanding the return of the men. Shortly thereafter, leaflets were dropped from the air announcing that "the men are coming home."

Rebecca remembers the hard feeling of hunger. "From Siberia, we continued to Uzbekistan, with much of the journey on a carriage, much like Tevye the milkman. I became blind, and from hunger, we swelled up. My late father Nachman, who was a shoemaker, began repairing shoes for the locals, and in return, we received flour which helped us survive. Thanks to a local grandmother's remedy, recommending to make compresses with urine, my eyesight returned.

The Sandak family wandered until they ascended to the land of Israel. Rebecca arrived at the age of 12. "I wanted to work to help support the family. I didn't experience childhood, I always felt like an adult inside. I found a job at JNF at the age of 14. I worked in the technical department in mapping and measurements, carried out in the framework of establishing small settlements in the Western Galilee." After 6 years, JNF offices were moved to the Kiryat area, "The next day, I found work at the government water authority as the area coordinator for Kinneret."

Rebecca has 3 children - 2 sons and a daughter who returned to religious observance. Her youngest son, Shay Lahav, is a co-founder of the band 'Dr. Kasper's Rabbit Show.' Her eldest son, Ofer, is a professor of astronomy and a space researcher. "It is a great satisfaction to see how the Kinneret fills up, with new trails blending in with the existing waters." Today, Rebecca volunteers at the water authority, the Poriya Hospital, and the National Insurance Institute. About two years ago, she received the title of 'Distinguished Citizen of Tiberias' for her work and volunteerism.

"I participated for many years in the measurements of water allocation to the Kingdom of Jordan at the Yarmouk," she recalls, "Even before the peace agreement with Jordan, we went to their side and made measurements. The Jordanians would come with a large delegation, while we numbered 4 or 5 people. According to the measurements, we made the water distribution, and I remember that if there was no agreement on the measurement, the Jordanians would say: 'what Rebecca says.' Besides this, in regular work, we made continuous measurements that determined the water balance in Kinneret. Based on the data - we set the level."

Morning clouds March 2019 with Kinneret in the background (Photo: Private Album)

Kinneret Highs and Lows - "The Eyes of the Nation"

After 5 dry years, the rains of the current winter have contributed to a water level rise of over 3 meters. Rebecca: "I remember her beautiful days. For example, in the winter of 1991-1992, the Tiberias promenade was flooded, waters reached a height of 6 meters. The Degania dam was opened, releasing about a million cubic meters of water. The Kinneret was at its peak. The Kinneret is the eyes of the nation, it quenched our thirst although even in good times, only a third of the consumption was drawn from it, today it's a tourism site, just preserve it." Every day, Rebecca documents the Kinneret through photographs from different angles. "There is no place this beautiful in the world," she declares, "The Kinneret will remain in my heart, even if I'm not at the water authority, I can't do without it."

Flooding at Nahal Amud. Rebecca during her days at the water authority (Photo: Private Album)

Was there a concern that the Kinneret would evaporate during the drought years?

"Even if the Kinneret doesn't fill with water - there's no possibility that it will evaporate, it will simply become a smaller lake. Although I'm not a prophet, the Kinneret will remain forever; there are underground springs, and besides, it rains. For example, in '92 we swept the nation, it was historic, thousands came to see the Kinneret flooding. We had to stay until late hours, in the Degania Kibbutz area, and when Mekorot opened the dam, it was coordinated. We measured how many centimeters were released late at night, in the freezing cold. In April 2003 there was a very large flood, we worked at the Yarmouk with the Jordanians, and the stream swept the measuring device with great force."

Rebecca enters her ninth decade but doesn't stop. She volunteers 5 days a week. "Age is not a function," she states, "I feel young, and I greatly enjoy volunteering and interacting with the public. When I started volunteering at the National Insurance, I discovered that my mission is to work with people. I listen to people, as they testify about me, and indeed those who come to me open their hearts. They share their difficult problems with me. It's a relief. Volunteering holds a high dimension in my life, when I help someone and there's an echo back, I'm happy."

How do you feel when you hear Holocaust deniers and witness the global wave of anti-Semitism?

"Sane humanity cannot internalize the magnitude of the disaster that befell our nation, perhaps that's the reason for denial. They don't understand how the surviving people stood up and raised their heads. We survivors were gathered together for revival, rebuilding, and growth anew. How can anyone believe we went through that? Every generation groups rise who don't like us as Jews. We are a people with a certain genius. Incitement combined with negative education and envy - leads to this. It brings drift and mutual influence. After all, most of humanity behaves in herd-like ways. All it takes is one admired figure, and others follow. They live in the moment, not thinking about what they do."

Rebecca's heavy fear is that the generation of Holocaust survivors is gradually disappearing. "Life flows forward, and what we've been through is very difficult," she says with sadness, "The memory of the Holocaust will speak less to future generations. Because the first generation is gradually disappearing, the Holocaust may become a historical story, it won't pinch the heart - and that worries me. Unfortunately, it's a natural process in the spectrum of life."

What can be done?

"The education system needs to do fewer delegations to Poland to see the camps. This way, we'll never touch the souls of the young, and we also can't demand that they feel or let them feel guilty because they're not identifying. In addition to compulsory education, I would suggest frequent meetings between students and the remnants of the survivors, preparing recorded material and listening to their life stories. Perhaps this will be preserved for future generations. When they hear the survivors' voices – it will touch them personally. In the past, I was asked, by high school graduates, to tell the story; they wrote and recorded, and I felt they empathized emotionally. It's much more powerful and strong compared to delegations to Poland.

"Home meetings in nursing homes should be activated, documenting the survival stories of each survivor. I am very concerned that the memory of the Holocaust will fade. It's true that the younger generations have the right to live and worry about their future, but there's no future without a past, and the past is loaded and difficult and must not fade. Most Holocaust survivors are waiting to tell their story - it gives them a taste for life. The loneliness strikes Jews who survived Auschwitz. Once they were closed off and didn't tell, but they live on borrowed time and they want it to be known what they went through; it is a first-rate historical and educational mission."

The Song He Dedicated to His Mother – Based on Her Childhood Story

Composer Shay Lahav, Rebecca's son, released with Ran Golani from the fog ensemble a song he wrote in English called When She Cries, with lyrics based on his mother's childhood story. Shay: "The song is based on my mother's childhood story. She was a refugee, practically wandered throughout the entire Holocaust, and even when the war ended, she and her family were in a displaced persons camp in Germany. She had an unusual childhood, and only in recent years has she spoken about it. Actually, everything we heard at home was from my late grandmother. My mom preferred to embrace an Israeli identity, and only recently has she opened up more and began to share her story, so when she heard the song, she was very moved. On the album cover, I put pictures of my mom, and then we understood that this song speaks to all refugee children everywhere, whose childhood was taken from them."