Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Making Glass Out Of Sand... A Holocaust Lesson

Many of the students wiped tears from their eyes as we exited the museum auditorium. We had heard the harrowing saga of a Holocaust survivor's escape as a child from the Nazis who brutally executed her family.

The survivor told us that in Lithuania, her country of origin, over 98% of the Jewish population had been wiped out. Her own grandparents had been taken to a large ditch, stripped, and machine gunned. Her speech was soft, but her words had a hard hitting impact. We stood inside an actual sweltering boxcar that had been used to transport Jewish people to the death camps. All we had seen produced a somber, reflective mood.

We wandered through the displays in the bookstore area in a somewhat stunned silence. I heard my name. "Come over here! We want to show you something!" The two boys who came to get me were wide eyed and obviously excited.

They pulled me over to a display case filled with incredibly exquisite works of glass art, some so fragile in appearance that a hard breath could have brought disaster.

They pointed to the placard telling about the glass artist, whose name was Rubin. The picture showed an elderly man standing next to his work with a gentle smile on his face.

"Look, look, there he is!" one of them exclaimed.

"Yes, I see. I'm sure he's got quite a story to tell," I replied.

They were urgent. "No, look!" the other one said, pointing from the placard to the front desk. "We think that's him!"

I looked the direction he was pointing and saw an elderly volunteer working at the front desk of the museum. He had the same gentle smile, so the boys and I moved closer.

"Sir, we were admiring the glass works in the display case and we couldn't help but notice you bear a striking resemblance to the man in the picture. Is that you?" I asked.

"Well, yes! That's me!" he heartily answered in a charming Polish accent. "I made all those glass pieces, as well as the stained glass windows in the library. It keeps me off the streets, you know."

He continued, "I start with sand and take all the way through the process to come up with what you see there. I've been doing glasswork for a long time now."

"How long?" one of the boys couldn't resist asking.

"Actually, I learned it in the concentration camps." He reached out his hand to shake each of ours and as his hand turned, we saw the blue black number tattooed into his arm.

"I was seized when I was 15, not much older than you two.  They took my father, too. My mother and sisters, we never saw again. We heard stories later that they were gassed at Auschwitz, but I've never been able to find out for sure. My two sisters were only 7 and 5, and my mother was pregnant. There wasn't much hope for the children and pregnant women."

More of my students had gathered around him and were listening in rapt attention.

"I was so scared that I wanted to give up, but my dad was with me for the first few months and he kept telling me I couldn't quit. I had to live to make it out, to tell our story."

"We never had enough to eat, although my dad always tried to give me some of his portion. One morning, he didn't wake up. I could see he was gone. I kept hearing his voice inside my head... Don't give up. So I forced myself.

"I learned to work glass in the concentration camps. I was in four camps, and because I had this skill now, I was worth a little something to them as a slave laborer. After liberation, I first thought I would  never want to work glass again. But, I decided I had a choice. I could either make the best of what I knew, or I could shut it off and pretend like it never happened. I thought the best way to honor my family and all the others who died was to create beauty out of something that had been so horrible. So I create glass out of sand.

"You know, you have that saying in English, When life gives you lemons, make lemonade? Well, I say, When life gives you sand, make glass!"

He chuckled and his eyes shone brightly as we filed past him on our way out.

"Don't forget- when life gives you sand, make glass!" he called out.


  1. Wow, what a story. I love hearing about this time, amazingly, it was not really that long ago.

    I love books from this era of time too--
    The Book Thief
    2 books I couldn't put down-that's rare for this busy mama!!

    What a gift and treasure and gift to actually meet him. God bless him!

  2. It reminds me of how natural pearls are formed, Shelly. They are formed by mollusks as a defense mechanism when they experience irritation from intruding organisms. In other words, something of great beauty and value can be made in response to an attack from the outside.

    Remember what America was like for a few months following the September 11th attacks? America was galvanized, united. Sadly we have long since gone back to being polarized, attacking each other instead of pulling together to make it a better country.

    You should expose your class to a screening of Schindler's List. Once you've seen that film it stays with you. Most of us have no concept of real suffering and sacrifice. Once we know how desperate the battle for survival can get, we can better appreciate the comforts and conveniences that we enjoy and not take them for granted.

  3. What a touching and memorable story, Shelly! It's so important that young people -- all of us -- hear these survivor stories and remember. When I read about the Holocaust and also other genocidal periods like that in Cambodia -- I am amazed that anyone could have survived. I'm awed by the strength of the human spirit as well as horrified at what people are capable of doing to each other. Your students were very fortunate to hear and be moved by these very personal stories of a pivotal time in history. All too soon, that won't be possible.

  4. What a beautifully written and very touching story. I'm sure your students would have been very moved by all that they saw, and how lovely to actually be able to speak to that man, but how sad to hear his story of losing his mum and sisters and of his life in the COncentration Camps. It does us no harm at all to be reminded of the things that happened back in that War.

  5. This is a wonderful post. I am glad young people are being told the story of that terrible time. When I was young I read books written by people from concentration camps. I also read The Diary of Anne Frank. These books taught me valuable lessons on how to react in the face of prejudice and racism. One of the best books I have ever read on any subject is by Viktor Frankl about his life in a camp.

    How wonderful the man who learned to make glass went on to use his talent for beauty and good.

  6. Jamie Jo: You mentioned Night, and Elie Wiesel is one whose work I love, and also one whose work haunts me. You can't forget it once you read it. And yes, I pray God blesses him, too!

    Shady: What a great analogy to the pearl and how it's formed. Truly, that is so apt to the choices we have. Either make something good out of it, or choose to let it deform and ruin us. I do have Schindler's List on our reading list, but because of their age, it has to be with parent permission. That movie was so difficult for me to watch, but I'm so glad I did. We just don't realize how good we have it here. I hope we never take for granted the life we enjoy!

    Dr. Kathy: The human spirit is always surprising to me, both in how unbreakable it can be, and also how fragile in others. I often wonder what makes the difference. You're right- everyone needs to be told these horrible stories of genocides. That's the only way to prevent them. I was thrilled we were able to speak with two survivors, for that very reason- they won't be around much longer.

    Thisisme: I hope kids this age all over are made aware of the evil that hate begats. I count it a tremendous blessing that we were able to speak with him at the end. The kids were moved and mesmerized.

    Belle: That's the book we just finished reading- Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl. The kids couldn't put it down and were actually a little down when we came to the end of it. I remember reading Dr. Viktor Frankl's book so many years ago and was very touched by it. Great lessons in it for us all.

  7. I read Anne Frank long time ago. Today you reminded me how sad my friends and myself were.
    Yes it is so true. We can make glass out of sand.
    Genocide is dispecable and the more we read the more we will understand why. Hi, this is Munir over here at Focus. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Munir: I think if we look hard enough at any situation, we can find a way to make some glass out of it. Genocide is sadly still a part of our planet, but if we keep educating the younger ones, they will be able to work to prevent it.

  9. That was a beautiful story. I'm always inspired by those who are able to make something wonderful out of horrific experiences. The human spirit is an amazing thing. It's capable of such bravery, such honor and grace. It's humbling when I hear of people with these qualities.

  10. That man understands Life, doesn't he? He understands that joy and hope are found in the moment. In now. He tells his story but does not wallow in it. What an amazing example to us all.

  11. Karen: People like that always make me want to be a better person. I wish we had more like them.

    Crystal: So true. We can't relive the past and we are not promised the future, so the present is really all we have. Carpe diem!

  12. Time passes so quickly that it really doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Here we are in September and it feels like only yesterday it was February and March.
    I have always admired glass blowers for their unique talent.

  13. Odie: His work was exquisite- I don't know how they master that craft. And, as I get older, time goes faster and faster-


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