My Father - R' MENACHEM MENDEL HAMER (d. 11th of Tishrei Motzei Yom Kippur, 1987, U.S.)

ben R' CHAIM YEHUDA HaLevi HAMER (Nowy Sacz) and LIBE BAUMAN (Nowy Sacz). R' Mendel was born and raised in Alt Sanz (Stary Sacz).

In 1939, at the tender age of 16, while learning at the yeshiva, he suddenly noticed his father entering the building. His father had come to take the two oldest sons out of Poland, as war was about to break out, and there was concern that the boys would be drafted. His father was accompanied by his own two brothers who were in their 20s and unmarried.

R' Mendel, though very young, became fearful and wanted to join the five men. Instead, he was told by his father to hurry home to his mother and younger siblings.

Although he had always been a very obedient and quiet boy, R' Mendel felt the need to follow them. Shortly, his two brothers realized he was trailing them. They threw pebbles in his direction to dissuade him. It was then that he decided to pretend to turn back, then hid behind bushes and sheds, thereby following them throughout the journey at a cautious distance.

Late at night, while the five men rested, R' Mendel appeared before them. Shocked, not only by his unusual behavior, but that he had managed to walk so many miles, and through rough terrain, they grew quiet. For he had always been a frail boy and would easily fall ill. Sensing there had to be a deeper meaning to his son's behavior, R' Mendel's father mentioned this to the others. Interestingly enough, during the remaining part of their long and arduous journey, R' Mendel reverted back to his delicate state. His two older brothers and two uncles took turns carrying him.

In 1946, seven long years later, the impact of what had transpired on that memorable day in 1939 became painfuly clear. Contact had been lost over the years during their stay in Siberia, and so they did not know of the extent of the destruction the Holocaust had visited upon the Jews throughout Europe.

When they returned to their hometown, excited and eager, anticipating to be welcomed home by their loving family, they discovered the horrifying facts: Their father and oldest brother who had returned home several weeks after escorting the others, had been murdered along with their mother and three younger siblings (the youngest being only 11 years old).

Nearly one hundred of their relatives died during the Holocaust. Only R' Mendel, one older brother, and one uncle R' Ephraim (d. 19th of Teves 1953, Israel) had survived. The other uncle R' Yosef Hamer (d. 3rd of Av 1940s Siberia) ben R' Moshe Hamer had died in Siberia after numerous imprisonments due his refusal to work on Shabbos.

Whenever R' Mendel recalled those difficult times, he would grow silent, unable to explain the changes in his character and physical strength on that memorable day. He would sigh, then simply say that G-d had wanted him to survive, and so he had.

R' Mendel was a soft, kind, and warm man who wore his heart on his sleeve, easily touching those he met with his ever-present smile. While working in his shoe store during the 1960s-1980s, he discreetly gave away money and shoes to many, many families who were in need. Oftentimes, he personally brought the shoes to their homes. He studied Torah each and every evening until he fell ill and passed away.

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My Paternal Great-Great Grandfather R' Moshe Hamer b. 1830s - d. 25th Shevat 1930s, Sacz. He lived to a ripe old age of well over 100 years old.

My father spent many a Shabbos at R' Moshe's home as a young boy. R' Moshe lived in Nowy Sanz and had the honor of being close with the Sanzer Rav during the 19th century. R' Moshe died sometime during the 1930's. His daughter, Frimit Hamer married a distant cousin who happened to have the exact name as her father, Moshe Hamer. Frimit and her husband Moshe were the parents of my father's father, Chaim Yehuda Hamer.

My Paternal Grandfather - R' CHAIM YEHUDA HAMER (b. 1890s - d. 4th of Elul 1942) ben R' MOSHE HaLevi HAMER of Sanz/Sacz (d. 2nd of Iyar) and FRIMIT HAMER (d. 25th of Tammuz). My father's father, R' Chaim Yehuda Hamer, was the son of Frimit Hamer and R' Moshe Hamer who was the son of R' Meir Ezra Hamer (d. 2nd of Nisan). R' Chaim Yehuda was a very quiet, gentle man. He had been in business with his brothers, but gave it up due to poor health when he was still very young. Instead, he sat and learned Torah.

During the Holocaust, as the shtetl of Alt-Sacz was in the midst of being cleansed of all Jews, R' Chaim was placed on a wagon filled with the elderly and sick. He was shot in a forest along with several hundred other Jews, then buried in a mass grave. His wife Libe and 4 of their 6 children were killed in a concentration camp a week-and-a-half later. His children's names were: Meir Ezra (who had originally journeyed to Siberia, but returned to Poland shortly because he worried about his parents and younger siblings), Avraham, Shimon, and Frimit (age 11). R' Chaim Yehuda's siblings were: Yosef (d. 3rd of Av 1940s Siberia), Ephraim (d. 19th of Teves 1953 Israel), and Binyamin (d. 1942).

Libe was born in Neu Sanz (Nowy Sacz), and lived in Alt-Sanz (Stary Sacz) Poland. When she married R' Chaim Yehuda Hamer, she immediately took his two orphaned younger brothers into her home. Those two young boys grew up and later went to Siberia (see story above about R' Mendel Hamer). On Shabbos, the women in Alt-Sanz came to Libe's home to listen to her recite the Tzena Rena. She was murdered along with her husband, and 4 of their 6 children during the Holocaust. Libe's father R' Yekusiel was killed in Tishrei many years prior to the holocaust. Her mother Sara Hinda was the daughter of R' Mendel. Libe's siblings were: Mendel (d. 1942), and Raizel who married Pinchus. Raizel, Pinchus, and their children died in the Holocaust in 1942.

ben R' YITZCHOK SHMUEL HaLevi LANDAU of Sanok and BLIMA. R' Asher Lemel was ben-achar-ben a direct descendant of the Noda B'Yehuda. He had a small business in Hamburg but spent most of his time studying the Torah. He and the family lived on Brunenstrasse. He was very close with Chief Rabbi Yosef Carlebach and often reviewed the latter's speeches prior to the lectures. My mother and her siblings went to the school at 17 Palmaille. Her siblings then went on to higher grades at 35 Carolinenstrasse (Karolinenstrasse).

Weeks prior to Kistalnacht, the deportation of Jews of Polish nationality occurred. Friday, October 10th, 1938, a knock at the door of my maternal grandparents home changed their lives forever. Informed that they had only a few hours to pack their belongings and leave with thousands of other from Hamburg, Germany, R' Asher Lemel immediately filled a suitcase with seforim. He removed nearly all of them when his wife, my grandmother, Chaya, expressed concern about the heavy suitcase and that they could not determine when they would return and needed warm clothes for the coming winter. They traveled by train over the German-Polish border to await their fate outside the Polish town of Zbaszyn (pronounced: Sponsheen). Many weeks went by as they and thousands of others remained on the German-Polish border, hungry and cold, while Poland refusing to allow entry. This happened nearly 1 year prior to the Holocaust!

In 1946, eight long years later, R' Asher Lemel and the family returned to Germany. Although they had begun to apply for entrance to the USA in 1933, due to the quoto system they were not allowed entry until December 1949. R' Asher Lemel passed away seven months later.

NOTE: My grandfather's cousin, Dr. Leib Landau of Przemysl served as one of the defense attorneys in the blood-libel case of 1924, where a young university student, a Jew named Steiger, had been falsely accused in the attempted assassination of President Stanislaw Wojciechowski of Poland. A bomb had been tossed at the president's carriage, and Steiger was sentenced to death without trial. A turn of events brought the case to court. The historic case received masssive attention for its blatant anti-Semitism. STEIGER'S PROCESS (Steiger's Trial) had four judges preciding over the case, while Steiger had six defense attorneys. Miraculously, Steiger was acquitted.

In December 1939, Attorney Leib Landau was on a mission to help save Jews, but was caught and murdered together with his family. Earlier, his wife generously handed over the keys to their summer home to my grandfather so the family would have a place to live during their stay in Poland in 1939.

Breindel Szerel and R' Pinchus - Hamburg, Germany 1930

R' Pinchus arrived in Germany from Poland during the early 1900's (approx 1908) with his wife and young family. He met his close friend Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt who encouraged him to remain in Germany rather than move on to the U.S. because religious life was difficult there. R' Pinchas settled on General-Litzmann Strasse in Altona, Hamburg. He built a synagogue on Adolfehoff Strasse know as the "Poylisher Shtiebel". He was rav of the shul until October 1938 when all Polish Jews were expelled.

R' Pinchas hosted and donated large funds to R' Meir Shapiro of Lublin (the Chochmei Lublin) when the latter arrived for a visit. R' Pinchus also accompanied R' Meir Shapiro to collect donations. R' Meir Shapiro returned to Poland and soon after built the Yeshivas Chochmei Lublin. Many other great leaders stayed at the home of R' Pinchus. R' Pinchus was very close with the Bobover Rebbe - Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam. They spent time together at a health resort whenever the Bobover Rabbi needed a rest. It had been R' Halberstam who'd advised R' Pinchus to leave Poland.

Of the 10 children R' Pinchus and his wife Breindel Szerel had, 4 sons were murdered during the Holocaust along with Breindel Szerel. R' Pinchus passed away in 1939 in Poland due to an illness just at the start of the Holocaust and was spared the horrors of the war. Their daughter Chaya, who was my grandmother, survived with her husband R' Asher Lemel Landau and their 3 children.

Chaya was a true Eishes Chayil. Though she was a quiet person, she made several momentous decisions during the Holocaust that ulimately, with G-d's blessings, saved her family from harm. Chaya's husband R' Asher Lemel Landau died in 1950 in the U.S.; Chaya had intended to be buried in a different cemetery, yet in 1984, shortly before her death, she expressed a desire to be buried beside her husband. Amazingly, 34 years after her husband's death, when the family went to purchase a burial plot for her, one empty place remained directly in front of her husband's. And so, Chaya had her last wish fulfilled. Chaya loved giving tzedaka (charity) and donated whatever monies she could to Israel and to those who were in need. She was a lifetime member of the Mizrachi and proudly attended the society meetings.

This is difficult to write because my aunt Toni, my very peaceful, content, and full-of-life aunt, passed away rather suddenly on Chol Hamoed Pesach.

Toni's enthusiasm for life, and her deep love of people, was so amazing and so beautiful and so very rare.

She had a personal motto that she felt encompassed all one required to serve G-d. She would say: "You have to always ask yourself, IS HASHEM PROUD OF ME? HAVE I MADE HASHEM PROUD?" She asked herself those questions all the time, and she most certainly achieved it.

Her joy was a constant, and it had a profound affect on everyone who met her or knew her. Just seeing her, gave one an immediate high. Just speaking with her, made one's day.

There are so many wonderful memories: Her ecstatic Helllooo !! Hiiiii !! Her world of music, in which she excelled; playing the piano as a young child at concerts; over 40 years of private lessons to students who adored her; her laughter; her vast knowledge of nutrition and her willingness to share it; her super-positive attitude and love for her family.

These memories along with so many other wonderful recollections, and the lively conversations I had with her, will bring a smile to my face and a teardrop deep within my heart whenever I pause to think of her, forever more.