Story and Photos by Nancy Varga      

On Friday, May 12th Temple Beth Shalom was privileged to be addressed by Manya Friedman, Holocaust survivor.  As a volunteer at the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, Manya translates documents in her native Polish and German and is a member of the Museum’s speakers Bureau, traveling the country to give her message.

Now age 80, Manya began speaking publicly only seven years ago.  Her physical fitness, bright mind and plucky personality belie her tragic years of age 13 through 19 during the Nazi regime.   Manya came to Puerto Rico to share her personal history of that period in order to remind us of our obligations. During her week here Manya had already spoken to a Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony at Fort Buchanan, an 8^th grade class there, and at the Immigration and Customs’ Enforcement San Juan office.

Speaking personally before the service to President Arnold Gendelman she said to him “I hope you don’t expect me to speak tonight.”  She confessed she was very tired.  Notwithstanding that conversation, Marc Schnitzer, leading the service, gave a formal introduction of Manya.  Hearing that, she rose, walked to the bema, and in a strong voice told her story for the third time that day.

Normally the Museum only permits speakers to give their story once a day, and they provide an escort for each trip. Manya and her escort, Ellen Blalock, Volunteer Coordinator at the Holocause Memorial Museum, generously spent another hour during the oneg sharing her work and her life with us.  

You can read Manya’s story below and click on this link to read the story of Manya's Ring.

Manya was born in Chmielnik, a small Polish town that had a Jewish community dating back to the 16th century. Her father owned a furniture shop and her mother took care of the home. Manya had two younger brothers, David and Mordechai, and was surrounded by many close relatives. She attended both public and Hebrew schools and had many friends.

1933-39: In 1938 Manya's family moved to Sosnowiec, a larger city located near the German border. There she had her first experience with antisemitism. Signs appeared urging Polish citizens to boycott Jewish businesses. The following year, German troops invaded Poland. On September 4, 1939, at 2 p.m., Sosnowiec was occupied. That same day, local Jews, including Manya's father, were rounded up. The following morning, they were marched to a factory, where their heads and beards were shaved. They were held overnight without food or water and then selected for forced labor. Manya's father was assigned to build army latrines. A month later, her mother was arrested for violating the curfew.

1940-45: In 1941 Manya was forced to work for a German company that produced military uniforms. The following year, the Nazis began deporting Jews from Sosnowiec to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. Manya and her family were saved temporarily from deportation because of their work permits. In March 1943, however, she was forcibly taken to the Gogolin transit camp, and from there to the Gleiwitz forced labor camp. She never saw her family again; they were deported to Auschwitz. In January 1945, as the Soviet army approached, the prisoners were evacuated on a death march.

Manya and the other prisoners were transported for ten days in open freight cars in the bitter cold to the Ravensbrueck concentration camp. During the journey, she shielded a sick friend from being crushed in the overcrowded car. Manya's arms were bruised and swollen. Later she was taken to the Rechlin camp, where she was rescued by the Swedish Red Cross in April 1945. In 1950 she emigrated from Sweden to the United States.

By Jimmy Klau

Peter Jacobson was Temple Beth Shalom’s fourth president, serving from 1971-1973. Under his leadership, our current building was located, purchased and renovated. We moved in shortly after Peter passed on the reins of leadership to his successor, the undersigned. Peter grew up in Atlanta and has the Southern accent to prove it. He received his Naval Commission under the NROTC Program upon graduation from Georgia Tech and served as a Navy officer for a number of years before entering the private sector. One of the highlights of his naval career was serving under Admiral Byrd on an expedition to the South Pole from 1955 to 1957. As a result of this trip he became a lifelong collector of penguin figurines.

With his then wife, Anne, Peter came to Puerto Rico in the early 1960’s. An engineer by profession, he was the real estate and construction person for Pueblo Supermarkets in their growth years during which they went from six to thirty two stores, built the Distribution Center in Carolina and the Holsum Bakery in Bayamon. Eventually Pueblo reached their limit and lent Peter to the group that was planning the construction of Plaza Las Americas Mall. He was in charge of the building of this shopping center which was one of the largest constructed anywhere up until that time. Upon completion of the project, Peter went into business for himself and, not too long afterwards, left Puerto Rico and moved to Houston, Texas where, with the exception of a few years back in Puerto Rico in the ‘90’s, he has remained ever since.

In November, Sue and I were in Houston for the URJ Biennial and arranged to meet with Peter and his current wife, Joan for an afternoon and evening of sightseeing and dinner. It gave us a chance to catch up with each other, our families and our lives for the last thirty years. Peter and Joan were very gracious and gave us an insider’s view of Houston sights and lifestyles. They live in a lovely home with their boat tied up on the canal at the edge of their lawn. Besides Peter’s ever expanding collection of penguin figures, the home contains lots of works of art (many dating from Peter’s Puerto Rico days), modern furniture and a huge cage full of finches of various types (who knew that finches come in so many flavors). The finches cage hangs over an indoor pond containing large numbers of goldfish, some quite large, who dine on the birds’ table scraps. Nothing goes to waste in the Jacobson household.

Peter flies both model planes and real planes. The models hang in his garage and it appears that he can build and maintain them with ease. His garage also contains a formidable appearing motorcycle on which he rides with the local (executive type) Hell’s Angels. The large planes which he flies reside elsewhere. Peter still takes on projects which are interesting but claims to be pretty well retired. He and Joan have children and grandchildren from their previous marriages and spend much of their time on visiting trips.

According to Peter, TBS was the high point of his religious career: he never affiliated Jewishly after leaving Puerto Rico. Joan is Catholic. Anne Jacobson (Peter’s first wife) never remarried and also lives in Houston. When we last saw her some 25 years ago, she was a Travel Agent but is now retired.

There can’t be too many people remaining in our congregation who remember Peter Jacobson but you can take my word for the fact that he was a super president; fantastically well organized and a first class delegator of work. Barbara Ezratty served as his Corresponding Secretary and he kept her hopping. The Jacobsons lived in Ocean Park in the same condominium that houses the apartment in which our visiting rabbis stay. Peter left the island about 30 years ago but Puerto Rico is full of stores, shopping centers and other construction which bear his mark. Temple Beth Shalom’s home, our building on San Jorge Street, would not be ours if it were not for Peter’s efforts.

Past President of TBS, Otto Decker, lives with his wife Pearl in Boca Raton, Florida. One of the things Otto is doing in retirement is lecturing to school children about the Holocaust. He and his brother were two of the approximately 10,000 Jewish children who were sent to England to escape Nazi Germany, courtesy of the Rothchilds.  

Otto recently shared reflections on his current activities: 

"I am giving talks on my favorite subject, me, ... People seem to be interested in "My Story" of growing up in Nazi Germany. I am involved with the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center and go out pretty regularly to schools and make the young people aware of what happened between 1933 and 1945. They are the important ones because they know so little of what happened. The adults know a little more, especially down here because there are a good number of "survivors" who live here. I am usually quite amazed that the teachers that listen in know very little of the main story. Our task is to educate and pass on the message.

Yesterday afternoon/evening I spent three hours with 5, 6 and 7th graders of Congregation Kol Tikvah's Hebrew School telling them what it was like growing up Jewish in prewar Germany. The young children have such receptive and inquisitive minds it makes it a very rewarding experience for me and educational for them.