Post by Susan Peabody on Aug 27, 2020 16:18:12 GMT
I used to prepare manuscripts for publishing through my company Camer-Ready Copy. One day, a manuscript came across my desk from the holocaust survivor named Alex. It touched me deeply and I wrote him the following letter after the project was finished.
Dear Alex:
David asked me to share my thoughts about your book after I edited it. I sent him the following letter via the e-mail. I thought you might be interested.
Musings from a Gentile
Thoughts on Yankele by Alex Gross
Addressed to David Blumenthal, Publisher
Memorial Day weekend, May 2001
Dear David:
I read the book this weekend. As expected I couldn’t put in down. To say the least it was miraculous, moving, inspiring — and well-written. Here are my comments — perhaps more than you were expecting or wanted, but that is who I am and I have long since lost my professional detachment with regard to this project.
I picked a quiet weekend to read the book, one that was significant, Memorial Day. Alex called me Friday morning to thank me for my work on the book. His sweetness and happiness were fresh in my mind and helped me get through the painful parts of the book. I decided to take notes as I read so I would not forget the experience.
Preface: It was nice to start out the book with the story of Alex and your son Benjamin — very moving and an early reminder that God is watching over us. As we all know, God does not always intervene in horror, but he tries to compensate for the pain. Your Benjy coming into Alex’s life was no coincidence.
The story of Alex’s early years in his home town are very nice. It establishes the roots of his loving spirit — learned from his parents. This section also provided my favorite line in the book: “Even the trees and flowers did not bloom as before.”
My tears began when Alex saw his mother for the last time — very moving.
The story of the concentration camps left me numb early on. Perhaps it was because I was already prepared for this. I wondered if I had become de-sensitized by all that I had read or seen or was I just protecting myself? —- the ever-reliable defense-mechanism. Still, I will never forget what Alex and the others went through. It was horrible.
The next great moment for me was the liberation scene. How I cried when this part of the story was told. The saddest part of this section was learning that people died after liberation, especially after eating too quickly. This has not gotten much media attention and it surprised me. This part of the book was very moving for my son as well as he is bi-racial (although he is not quite a black “angel”).
The events right after liberation were very interesting. You don’t hear much about that.
Alex’s finding love with the Ralphs in England brought great relief. — some humanity at last.
Alex’s happiness about leaving for America humbled me. How I have taken for granted the promise of this country.
The biggest surprise for me was Holocaust survivors serving in the American army during the Korean War with such pride. People need to know about this. It is very touching.
I first felt a kinship with Alex when he talked about wanting to help people after the war by seeing to it that they had a home. I like to help people too.
When Alex talked about building his business and working long hours from almost the moment he got out of the orphanage I was quite impressed. I got exhausted just reading about how hard he worked. Bravo! Alex.
I had already read a paragraph or two about Benji and knew it was coming. However, reading more about him was even more painful. In fact, it was so hard that just for just a second I was angry at God for bringing this project to me. The similarities between Alex’s loss and the loss of my brother kept mounting. At first it was just that Benji and my brother were the same age, had light-brown hair and died mowing the grass. But then as I read on I realized that Benji was Alex’s only son and I had to remember my father’s agony after losing his “only son.” Then there were the three daughters left behind. My father also had three daughters. Then there was the personality of Benji. He was a boy who was special, who stood out, who was the “apple of his father’s eye.” My brother was that kind of child. Then there were the three grave sites side by side — Alex, Benji, Linda — Donald, Edward, Kathleen. And finally Benji’s death brought Alex back to the synagogue. Losing a child is what brought my mother back to God and to church — and through her the rest of my family. “And a little child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6.
The most ironic revelation was Benji dying at the same age Alex was when the Holocaust began. The symbolism of life, death, and regeneration struck me.
Alex’s gratitude to the Americans also touched me. For a moment I thought of my father who was a World War II veteran. It made me realize how much I had underestimated his contribution to saving the world form hell.
You mention in the final interview how hard it was for Alex when so many people who had been his friends turned on him. This comes across in the book. Because Alex is such a pure soul it hurt him to see the opposite manifested in other people in such large numbers. It hurts to live in this world sometimes, especially when we cross paths with the dark side of human nature. Once I was robbed, and I did not cry for me but for the world I lived in. (Later the robber called me and returned my purse. He said he couldn’t get me out of his mind. He said he was sorry. God works in mysterious ways.)
The work Alex did for other “boys” in Benji’s name was wonderful. I also think it saved him. My father drank himself to death over my brother’s accident. If only he could have taken a page from Alex’s book.
Linda’s death was hard to read about. My initial reaction was aptly described in the book: “Enough!” To this, my mind added: Please stop! No more! There was almost a relief that the book ended here. No more tragedy for now. It was also the final reminder of the experience I share with Alex about his son. When Linda was laid to rest next to Benji, I could see my father being laid to rest next to my brother Edward. May they all rest in peace.
The epilogue was well-written and important — very sobering.
The interview was very enlightening. I especially appreciate the remarks about “moral pain.” The references to post traumatic stress disorder (although you did not name it) were important for the reader to understand. The most moving part of this section was Alex sharing his bread with the other inmate in the concentration camp. Side by side with “man’s inhumanity to man” is man’s great ability to love one another. This is what Jesus asks of us “that you love one another,” and Alex has lived up to this beyond imagination. He [Alex] brought humanity back to the forefront at that very moment, and it only takes one act of love (at a time) to do that.
The one humorous moment, which was a great relief, was Father Malone canceling all of Alex’s appointments so he could begin the next phase of his life (talking in the schools). We often go kicking and screaming to our destiny.
In the interview you talk about the “unspeakable” horrors. This is important due to the de-sensitization that may be taking place with some people. Alex gives us a glimpse of this kind of horror when he talks about the “Bitch of Auschwitz” hacking off the limbs of the boys and skinning them alive. It was nauseating but needed to be said. We have to face the truth, be it piecemeal.
I found fascinating the reference to the SS officers who “sometimes” became nicer when they were alone. This supports the point made by Alice Miller in “For Your Own Good” about the “gang mentality” of the Germans. Of course I realize, as Alex states, that even the slightest humanity in the camps was a rare occurrence.
The references to the power of commitment are very apt. Alex’s commitment to his parents was important for his survival. It kept Alex going, but only because he is the type of man who honors commitment. Not everyone does.
The “Afterword” was very moving and a great way to end the book. Alex served God (at the worst of times against his will) by surviving. Now he is still serving God by going into the classrooms and telling the story. People are just beginning to understand the power of storytelling.
While not all your readers will react as strongly as I have, this book will touch everyone in a special way. It needed to be written. I am sure it will hold its own with other books about the Holocaust — even rise above many of them. Thank you for all of your hard work. You have been blessed to have met Alex, as he you, and you too have been part of God’s plan. You must know this.
Shalom
Susan Peabody
P.S. Bear with me as I share one more personal thought. As Paul (Saul) brought the true God to the Gentiles, you brought me into this project [the Jewish experience] so I could share the joy. I find this very touching. May the whole world — all faiths, races, ages, genders and temperaments — share in this story of the power of love (manifest in Alex) over evil. It reinforces what we all need to remember — that love always has the last word.
Addendum: As I was editing this the phone rang. My son called to tell me his grandmother (my ex-mother-in-law) just died. It is Memorial Day. Very significant. Gotta go . . . death is still out there worming its way through our lives.