Artists Adopt Survivors
Artist’s Statement: Christine Bartoldus-O’Malley
"Ethel’s Noble Truth"
Spending several winter evenings here at Temple Judea listening to Ethel Bauer-Katz’ story of survival of the Nazi occupation of Poland will forever be etched in my memory. From 1941 through 1944, Ethel grew from teenager to young woman spending each day with her strong and loving family on the run, in hiding, and living with the reality that each day could be there last.
One horrific winter night in 1944, two weeks before Russia regained Poland, Ethel and her family were discovered in their hiding place by the SS. Her father yelled for them to run. She heard screaming and gunshots behind her as they ran panicked into the cold, moonlit night. Someone hit hr in the back of the head, knocking her down and leaving her for dead.
Ethel awoke in the snow terrified as three figures approached her. They turned out to be three Polish boys from her town who took her to a new hideout. Two weeks later the Russians regained Poland allowing the remaining Jews from the area to find each other in their town of Buczacz. This liberation was short lived. The Nazis were back after only three weeks, forcing them all back into hiding. Ethel hid herself in a cramped space behind a false attic wall that she thought she could tolerate for a few days until the Russians returned. Ethel spent four agonizing months in that wall. This is where her personal journey of course, strength and faith begins.
I thank Ethel for sharing her story, her warmth and her love with us. I promise to Ethel and her family and to all Holocaust victims: We will remember.