A Jewish Journey

Surviving and Thriving in Poland, Israel, and the United States

Sam Ron, Caren Schnur Neile

• Publisher: Hamilton Books
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9780761880127
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies

A Jewish Journey is the memoir of Sam Ron, born Shmuel Rakowski in Kazimierza-Wielka, a tiny village, or shtetl, near Krakow, Poland, in 1924, which was overtaken by the Nazis in 1939. As opposed to other Holocaust memoirs, the book takes the form of a Q&A with students who have met him to hear his story, underscoring the importance of Holocaust education not only for Sam himself, but also for all those who will never have the opportunity to meet a survivor. It is written in a novelistic form, in order to touch the heart as well as the mind.
Ron is one of the oldest living survivors of the Nazi death camps. After the war, he worked for Bericha, an organization that resettled in the Land of Israel orphaned refugees from Europe. He also served in the Haganah fighting force and was what is known as a chalutz, an early settler before the founding of the State of Israel, where he helped found a settlement and served as a soldier in the Haganah, the precursor to the Israel Defense Forces. He subsequently immigrated to the U.S. and was a successful land developer in Akron and Canton, Ohio. Now Sam lives in Boca Raton, Florida, and continues what he has done for over half a century: educating young and old about his experiences of the momentous historical events in which he has taken part. Along with his acclaimed work as a volunteer educator, until 2019, Sam Ron was a regular volunteer for the March of the Living, a longstanding educational program that takes students and adults to Poland and Israel to visit many of the same places where he survived—and thrived.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Timeline
• The Talk
• The Questions and Answers
• What Was It Like for You as a Boy in Poland?
• Can You Describe the Time Leading Up to War?
• How Did War Come to Your Town?
• What Was the Beginning of the German Occupation Like for You?
• What Made Your Family Go into Hiding?
• How Did It Feel to Be in Hiding?
• What Was Happening in Your Town While You Were in Hiding?
• What Was It Like Getting to the Krakow Ghetto?
• Can You Describe Life in the Ghetto?
• How Was Life for You at Plaszow?
• How Did You Get to Pionki?
• How Did You Leave Pionki and Where Did You Go?
• What Was It Like Getting to Sachsenhausen?
• What Happened at Glowen?
• What Led to the Death March?
• What Were the First Few Days of Liberation Like?
• What Happened When You Got Back to Poland?
• What Did You Do for Bericha?
• How Did You Get to the Land of Israel?
• How Were You Wounded?
• Could You Talk About Bilha?
• What Did You Do After the Israeli War of Independence?
• What Happened to Your Parents Directly After Liberation?
• Could You Talk About Coming to America?
• Did You Encounter Anti-Semitism in the U.S. After the War?
• What Was It Like Being an Immigrant to the U.S. at That Time?
• How Was Your First Visit Back to Your Hometown?
• Could You Talk More About Getting Involved in Holocaust Education?
• What Made You Go Back to Poland in 1989?
• How Was It Reuniting with the Man Whose Family Hid You during the War?
• How Did You Feel Going Back to Kazimierza Wielka the Second Time?
• What Was Your Experience with March of the Living?
• What Have You Done Recently to Educate the Public About the Holocaust?
• What Is Your Relationship Now with Your Hometown?
• Have You Ever Been Uncomfortable Speaking Out?
• What Is Your Proudest Achievement?
• What Do You Think Sustained You during Your Darkest Days?
• Afterword
• ‌‌Glossary of Yiddish and Hebrew Terms‌‌‌‌
• About the Author