Restoring My Faith

When I thought about Poland and the Jews, I thought about the movie, “Escape from Sobibor” in which 300 of the 600 inmates escape from the extermination camp in October 1943. What I remember most about the movie is the end of the movie which tells what happens to the main characters. Alan Arkin, playing the role of Leon Feldhendler, returns to this home in a Polish town only to be murdered by townsfolk because he was Jewish. I was stunned and remembered crying and thinking what kind of people could kill a neighbor who has succeeded in escaping from a concentration camp with only the hope of coming home. The same thing happened in Krakow when some of the Jews saved by Oskar Schindler returned home. A mini pogrom took place, in which one survivor was killed and the rest felt unwelcome by their neighbors because the neighbors had already “squatted” in the Jews’ homes, never expecting the Jews to return.

​That very negative feeling about Poles was completely turned upside down when I met Sebastian, now a staff member and former volunteer of the Krakow Jewish Community Center. He told us that he grew up in a small town in Poland where 70% of the town was Jewish before World War II. His grandparents told him how their neighbors, good Poles who happened to be Jewish, vanished overnight. Sebastian learned what an important role Jews played in Polish society and decided to do something about it. He started volunteering at the JCC 10 years ago when there were 100 members; now there are over 600. The JCC has a preschool and volunteers (all not Jewish) serve a Friday night Shabbat dinner which we were able to enjoy. Sebastian wants to help fill the “Hole in the Heart” of Krakow by doing whatever he can to help revive the Jewish community. What makes this story even more incredible is that Sebastian is not Jewish; that’s right, he is not even Jewish. It is his goal to help right the wrong caused by the extermination of the Krakow Jewish community.

​I cried when I saw the movie and I cried when I hugged Sebastian thanking him for restoring my faith in humanity. Same emotion, but very different tears. Thank you Sebastian.

-Joe Pereles