WESTERPLATTE & Gdansk Post Office (Poczta Polskiej): BLITZKRIEG to Start WWII {Gdansk, POLAND}
Budget Travel Poland #6
Westerplatte and the Gdansk Post Office (Poczta Polskiej) were the sites of the blitzkrieg to start WWII.
In the early hours of September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany's invasion overwhelmed Poland. If in the Polish countryside Germany advanced without much resistance, in the Free State of Gdansk (Danzig) the Poles were prepared for war.
Simultaneously, Germany moved on Westerplatte a military posting designed to protect Poland's interest in the Baltic Sea, while in Gdansk, the Polish Post Office became the initial land battle of WWII. Though Polish troops were severely undermanned, these spots are considered the start of the Second World War, both symbolically and literally.
Matt pays a respectful visit to these memorials as the 80th anniversary of the start of WWII approaches.
Budget Travel Gdansk #1
Polish Post Office Muzeum (Muzeum Poczta Polskiej):
Music courtesy of:
Erna Witsches Schmidmayer Holocaust Story - From Kindertransport to Pioneer in Israel
Erna Witsches Schmidmayer Holocaust Story - From Kindertransport to Pioneer in Israel
Erna Witsches tried to unpack her suitcase but her parents stubbornly repacked her bags. The year was 1939 and the 15 year-old Erna was being dispatched on the Kindertransport from Danzig, Germany to London by her desperate parents, Solomon and Sonia- who didn’t survive the Holocaust.
At the age of 93, in the year 2016, Erna Witches recounts the details of her miraculous life story from survival of the Holocaust as a child rescued from Nazi Germany to London England on the Kindertransport to her struggles as a pioneer in the land of Israel.
Erna Witsches was born on April 20, 1923, in Odessa, Russia. In the misplaced hopes of escaping anti-Semitism, her parents decided to move to Danzig, Germany, (now Gdansk, Poland), in 1929. Erna and her brother Willie, enjoyed a happy childhood. Erna was well educated in a Polish Gymnasium school and also learned German, which would predispose her to a command of many more languages – English, French, and Hebrew in addition to her native Russian. Erna recalls attending services at the Great Synagogue in Danzig (which was destroyed in the Holocaust). Erna’s parents shielded her from the political upheaval that would destroy her family, until 1939 when she recalls that they stood in line for three days to withdraw the savings of 100 Pounds Sterling that would get her passage from Danzig, Germany to London, England.
Erna recalls the last image of her departure from the Schlachthof in Danzig, witnessing her grandfather’s beard pulled as a form of humiliation while her parents wept. Erna was transported to Berlin and then boarded a train to Hanover; and from there to Den Haag and by ship to Harwich, England, on August, 25, 1939.
Arriving in London only three days before the war began, Erna recalls the nightly blackouts as the Germans delivered the bombs to England beginning at 7:00pm like clockwork. Erna was housed in a hostel for 12 Jewish girls, at 26 Belsizes Park, all of whom had come on the Kindertransport from Danzig. The girls would sing,” It’s a long way to Tipperary,” to keep their spirits high. In March, 1940 they joined the Girl Guides where they could learn and perfect their English. Erna matriculated as a nurse in 1941in Haslemere, Surrey. After her training Erna worked as a nurse traveling from place to place throughout England. She was in the UK for a total of 8 years.
Meanwhile, Solomon and Sonia Witsches escaped Danzig and headed for a ship in Kladavo, Yugoslavia, that was harbored on the Danube. That ship was filled with Jews who were hoping to sail to Palestine. The ship became stranded in the harbor. The passengers were packed in like sardines, starving and their hands were frozen with frostbite. They suffered enormously until the Nazi’s evacuated the ship and deported them all to camp in Sabac, Yugoslavia. In October of 1941, they had to dig their own graves, were stripped naked and shot.
“I like you, and I’ll come to marry you!” said the British Staff Sergeant Gerhard Schmidmayer after meeting the 18 year-old Erna for the first time in 1942 on his return from Dunkirk before leaving to Sudan. Gerhard had come to see Erna for information about his sister Hela who was on the same ship in Kladavo with Erna’s parents. They had an immediate bond. And just as he promised, Gerhard returned to marry Erna on June 9, 1945, in London, in a small ceremony.
Gerhards’s mother, Johanna Lamm Schmidmayer and her daughter Elsa and son Martin had escaped Danzig to Mauritius and then to Palestine. Erna and Gerhard decided to join them and begin their married lives as pioneers in the land of Israel. Their lives were arduous. Erna worked as a nurse and a midwife. They slowly eked out an existence in Pardas Katz until they could buy a flat in Ramat Gan. Then they were blessed with two children, Gideon in 1949 and Doron in 1958. And ultimately, they rejoiced in 6 grandchildren and now one great-granddaughter.
Erna remembers the happiest day in May 1948 when she and Gerhard, after all they had endured, could rejoice as they dashed off to Tel Aviv to bear witness as David Ben-Gurion read the words proclaiming --the State of Israel.
Written by Giselle Heimann Ratain , Kathy Atlass, and Susan Brody
FRANK MEISLER GALLERY
Frank Meisler Gallery features superb Limited Edition Art, custom made sculptures and monumental outdoor statues.
Nestled in the winding alleys of The Old City of Jaffa’s Artists quarter, our Gallery is one of the most visited focal points in the area.
The Frank Meisler brand evokes the radiance of powerful and brilliant detailed quality Art.
Frank Meisler's Judaica re-interprets Jewish Artifacts through research of their origins as symbols of Jewish tradition.
Meisler’s work is characterized by a sense of movement and revelation, “The opening and closing of the doors of life”.
Large public sculptures have been erected around the world, in the USA, Germany, England, Poland, Holland, France, Russia, Ukraine and more.
We design Special commissions as presentation gifts, public sculptures or custom statues of renowned figures or private clients made to order.
Frank Meisler was born in the Free City of Danzig, escaped the Nazis as part of the “Kindertransport”, and grew up in England. He moved to Israel in the 1950’s and together with Batya Meisler opened a studio, workshop and gallery featuring his Art.
Frank was awarded ‘The Order of Merit 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany’, ‘The Freedom of the City of London’ honorary award, ‘The Franz Kafka Gold Medal’, as well as honorary degrees from the Russian and the Ukrainian Academies of Art.
His sculptures have been presented as gifts to Bill Clinton, HRH The Prince of Wales, Margaret Thatcher, King Hussein, The Dali Lama, Pope Francis and many other dignitaries and heads of states around the world.
All our sculptures undergo a comprehensive creative process providing the utmost attention to detail and quality.
frank-meisler@frank-meiser.com
Tel. +972.3.512.3000
25 Mazal Arie, Jaffa, Israel
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