These woven leather shoes may be one of the tiniest exhibits ever added to the collection of any Holocaust museum anywhere in the world.
Scarcely half an inch long, this treasured little keepsake was recently donated to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Southern Poland.
Batsheva Dagan, a 90-year-old Polish-born Israeli woman, made the donation a few months ago.
Seventy-eight years ago she received the charm-like keepsake as a secret gift from a woman whose name she does not know, but whose face and “sad eyes” she cannot forget.
Batsheva was only 12 years old when she arrived at Auschwitz — shivering, alone, and terrified.
Soon after her arrival, she encountered a German Jewish inmate who told her she reminded her of her own daughter, from whom she’d been separated, missed desperately, and now feared she would never see again.
One day this woman quietly moved to Batsheva’s side and pressed the tiny woven slippers into her hands. She then quietly spoke six words into Batsheva’s ear, then hurried away. Batsheva never saw the woman again.
“May they carry you to freedom,” she’d whispered.
Risking severe punishment or death, Batsheva kept the little keepsake for the remainder of her captivity, hiding it in her clothing with a tiny safety pin she’d found, or in her straw mattress.
She carried the keepsake for two grueling years — from Auschwitz to Ravensbrück and then on to Malchow as the Nazis retreated before advancing Russian armies.
Finally, on May 2, 1945, a nearly starved Batsheva and other surviving inmates were liberated by the British army.
Not long afterward, she moved to the land that would soon become the newborn miracle nation of Israel.
Her little keepsake shoes had somehow carried her to freedom, just as that nameless, heartbroken mother had wished in that whispered blessing.
Important Milestones
Yesterday, May 2nd, marked 71 years to the day since Batsheva walked out through the gates of Malchow concentration camp and toward a life of freedom in Israel.
As it turns out, three days later, May 5, marks Israel's Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day for people all over the world — especially the Jewish People.
I write today to share an important thought about extraordinary people like Batsheva, and then to ask for a favor.
This is very important, so please stay with me.
You see, Batsheva lived to see her 90th birthday. How many more she’ll see we cannot say, but we do know that at that age, each birthday is precious.
Today there are fewer than 180,000 Holocaust survivors like Batsheva living in Israel. All, like Batsheva, are quite elderly. Sadly, roughly one of these amazing individuals dies each hour!
What is worse, a 2014 study in Israel revealed a shocking reality . . .
One in four Holocaust survivors in Israel lives below the poverty line, and one in three lives alone. The tragic fact is, poverty, loneliness, and pain plague many of Israel’s heroic Holocaust survivors.
More than 10,000 living Holocaust victims in Israel have no living family members at all. They are utterly alone. In Israel, they even have a name for these forgotten people.
They call them “lone survivors.”
This is simply wrong. Heartbreakingly wrong. These needs MUST be addressed.
That’s why we launched an ambitious program a while back with several of our partners in Israel to provide desperately needed care (dental, vision, and other needs) to as many Holocaust survivors as our budgets will allow. Why?
Here at Jewish Voice, we simply can’t stand idly by and do nothing while these special Jewish People suffer. I don’t believe you’re willing to let that happen either.
As I write these words, too many remarkable survivors of Nazi horrors will enter Holocaust Remembrance Day facing:
• Unnecessary pain from untreated dental problems. • Needless anxiety about failing vision. • Chronic loneliness and isolation. • Lack of funds to purchase needed food and other essentials.
But we have a plan to help them. Indeed some help is already being delivered. But we can do more. We MUST do more.
Holocaust Survivors: How You Can Support the Remaining Few
I’m counting on your proven heart for the Jewish People and your desire to see their eyes opened to the love and reality of Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah.This is why I need to hear from you today.
A gift of $175 can typically provide for the most urgent comfort needs of one impoverished Holocaust survivor. (A gift of just $35 combined with those of four others can have the same impact!)
In most cases, a gift of $525 can absolutely transform the life quality of THREE such special people.
Will you become a Holocaust survivor supporter and give a Holocaust Remembrance Day gift in support of this and other outreaches of Jewish Voice?
In other words, will you make some comfort and care possible for someone who needs it so very badly?
If so, I have some special gifts I’d like to send your way as tokens of our sincere thanks.
Both will give you a deeper understanding of why Israel and the Jewish People are so often the targets of hate and oppression — and why there is a great blessing in supporting and praying for them.
If so, I’d also love to send you our new and exciting Teachings of the Torah Bible resource.
This beautiful collection of the first five books of the Bible is bound in soft leatherette, filled with fascinating Hebrew word studies, along with insightful study notes and illuminating commentary on the rich books of Moses.
In addition to the other resources mentioned above, I’d love to send you two faithful reproductions of 17th century Megillat Scripture scrolls — containing the books of Esther and Ruth.
As you share generously today, please know that you are a vital part of extending help and comfort to the poorest of Israel’s frail, elderly Holocaust victims — many of whom have nowhere else to turn.
A tiny keepsake pair of shoes carried a girl named Batsheva to freedom in Israel more than seven decades ago. Today many of her fellow survivors need our compassionate help.
Let’s be there for them. Thank you for hearing my heart and responding generously.
