Jack Eisner, photo by Beth Sarafraz
Alexandra Gibson and Lauren Jordan are the granddaughters of the late Jack Eisner, whose memoir, The Survivor of the Holocaust, first published in 1980, has been re-released. Eisner (1925-2003) was a Holocaust survivor who came to the United States at age 22 and created a successful import-export company.
Q: Why is your grandfather’s memoir being re-released this year?
A: The passing down of stories is one of the most important elements of Jewish tradition. The Jewish people preserve our stories by telling and retelling them around the Passover table, as part of the synagogue service, and in Hebrew school. Now that we both have young daughters, we feel an acute responsibility to make sure our grandfather’s story lives on with this new generation.
As more time passes since the Holocaust, and fewer survivors are alive to share their experiences firsthand, it’s natural that the younger generations are more emotionally disconnected from these events. At best, many young people are unfamiliar with the tragedy on a personal level, and at worst the world is becoming more and more antisemitic.
It is critical that the stories of those Jews be told and retold, if nothing else, to impress upon future generations the destructive power not merely of antisemitism but of human evil.
Q: How much did you know about his experiences when you were children?
A: Long before we read his book, our grandfather filled our childhood with stories from his past nearly anytime we were together.
There’s the story of the miraculous reunion on a train platform in Germany, where our grandfather and his mother, each believing the other had perished in a concentration camp, were shocked to find each other alive.
Or, there’s the story about how he would enthusiastically raise his hand anytime a Nazi guard sought out a given skill set—carpenter, tailor, musician, builder—despite his inexperience, just to make himself indispensable and avoid death.
He shared his stories most often at the dinner table surrounded by his family and friends. Each prayer or song would remind him of some part of his prewar life, his family’s experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto, or his liberation from the death march from Flossenburg (the last camp that he was in). The conversation would usually build to him sharing his beliefs in the role antisemitism plays in the past and present experience of the Jews.
Q: The writer Irving Howe said of your grandfather’s book, “There is something overwhelming, indeed terrifying, in trying to respond to the experience of this Jewish boy, Jack Eisner, characterized by the insuppressible will to live.” What do you think of that description?
A: As a survivor, our grandfather carried the undeniable proof that self-determination could overcome unimaginable adversity. Although he did not believe that his survival meant that his will was stronger than those who did not survive, he continued to use that strength after the war to build a new family and life.
Even at the very end, when he faced cancer, that same fighting spirit resurfaced. He didn't just accept the diagnosis; he prepared for battle. He spoke about fighting the illness the same way he fought the Nazis – with strategy, grit, and an almost unbelievable conviction that he could win again. He genuinely believed his will, the same will that got him through the camps, could conquer this final enemy.
Q: Especially given the rise in antisemitism, what do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: Regrettably, the retelling of this story is more urgent today than at perhaps any other time since World War II. As granddaughters of two survivors, we often find ourselves exchanging horrifying headlines, feeling a sense of helplessness in the face of a total lack of Holocaust education among younger generations.
In February 2024, the Anti-Defamation League published the results of a survey on antisemitic attitudes in the United States. The survey results are disheartening: of the 4,143 Americans surveyed, the youngest cohorts among them show the highest rates of antisemitic prejudice.
It's unfathomable to read that 60 percent of Gen Z believe in Holocaust conspiracy theories, or that there has been a staggering 1,100 percent increase in antisemitism across the globe in just the past year.
As recent history’s most horrific example of anti-Jewish hostility (and those who survived it) recede further from memory, all that remains will be their stories. They're not just tales of the past; they're stark reminders of the very real atrocities that occurred, urging younger generations to confront history's truths and prevent such horrors from happening again.
Q: What do you see as your grandfather’s legacy today?
A: In his later life, our grandfather directed his energy towards his ultimate mission: educate the next generation and ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust would never be forgotten or repeated.
In addition to writing his memoir, he adapted his story into both a Broadway play and motion picture film. He helped found the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization, one of the first Holocaust survivors’ groups, established the Holocaust Survivors Memorial Foundation, and donated to universities in an effort to educate the next generation about the Holocaust and antisemitism.
To commemorate the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by Nazis, he installed a memorial at the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw. Furthermore, he helped to organize the first concert at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II and the Chief Rabbi of Rome to honor the victims of the Holocaust.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment