I am a World War II veteran and Shoah survivor. I was with the “Red One” First Division, serving three and a half years — I saw Africa, Belgium, and landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. (You might have seen a front page article in the New York Times from years ago about a Jewish service I conducted on German soil, the first such service since the Nazis came to power; the service was broadcast from coast to coast in the States.)
The article about which I am writing is from May 6, by Chaya Ostrower regarding Shoah survivors using humor as a form of resistance (“For Survivors, Humor As A Form Of Resistance”). I have met many Shoah survivors and I never heard any humor in the stories they mentioned. Many were reluctant to even talk about it. The only thing that they were interested in was finding their loved ones.
I don’t know where Ostrower got the idea that there was Jewish humor in the Shoah, because I can’t see any of it. I am 94 years old, and in all the years I have met survivors, I never saw any humor in their stories.
Manhattan
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
