“Let’s go. ”
With those two words, after much contemplation, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight David Eisenhower made the decision to commit over 1 million men to free a continent.
Photo by Kris Dreessen, SUNY Geneseo.
Many of these soldiers would not survive. Many other lives would be unalterably changed as they uncovered the evidence of the greatest crime in the history of the world, the Holocaust. And the moral path chosen, to stop and give aid and comfort, in the middle of a shooting war, is responsible for many lives today.
Very shortly, I will be meeting over 400 persons who are alive today because of the soldiers taking the time to stop, rescue and comfort survivors who were literally moments away from death. Many of them will be together again for the first time since 1945- due to our small school project and the ripple effects that are reverberating worldwide.
I have also made an important personal decision. As I struggle to work on my book, an important piece is missing. It’s time to go.
Can you believe that with our school project, we have located over 200 Holocaust survivors who were liberated on that train near Magdeburg on April 13th, 1945? In March, 2006, I heard from the first child survivor, a grandmother in Australia. Fast forward to April 2011, an Israeli daily paper with a circulation of 250,000 ran a front page cover story in their magazine about our school project, thanks to second generation survivor Varda W., who has located 70 other survivors there.
As you may know, she has organized a reunion in Israel in May. 60+ survivors and their families will be there to meet one of our liberators, and I will have the opportunity to meet them all, as well as the US Ambassador and other dignitaries. I am going with my son Ned, who is age 13, and we are in the process of beginning to raising funds.
It is important to me that I travel to Israel at this time; later, I hope to travel to Germany to trace the journey of the soldiers and the train near Magdeburg.
The post at the link below explains how you can help me continue this work.
https://teachinghistorymatters.wordpress.com/rozell-trip/
If you know me, you probably know that this work is very personal to me, and to my students. Many of the survivors and liberators have become my friends; many more I hope to meet in the near future.
I’ll close with a note from one who is dear to my heart:
Hi Matt,
I am sending a donation for you and your son, so you can use toward your trip to Israel. This is in appreciation for all you are doing to tell our story.
When you are in Israel remember that I spent my best 20 years there.
When you visit Bergen-Belsen, remember that I spent 4 years of my childhood there-2 years in a concentration camp and 2 years in a D.P. camp.
When you visit Farsleben, ask them to take you to Hillersleben, when you are there you will see the hospital from a distance.
Remember that I spent 6 weeks there, and 3 weeks of which I was unconscious.
Have a great trip! I hope to hear from you when you come back.
Love,
A.
Matthew Rozell
Teacher
USA
Dear Matthew Rozell,
I am still a little shocked and turbulent. Today my sister put the ABC bulletin of your school project, on Facebook with the comment “my father’s story”. On holocaust Memory Day in Israel she decided to watch sum holocaust clips on You Tube. She remembered the story our Father told us of a train, and the American liberation. She typed Bergen-Belsem and train and that how it all began. When I watched the clip I was touched but a little skeptical. I wandered if it could really be my father’s train. I then called my mother in Israel (I live in Sweden) yes she said it must be it. I then looked at your web site and to my astonishment my father`s name and his mother father and two sisters were on: Aptroot Alida, Aptroot Isidoor, Aptroot Joseph, Aptroot Ruth, Aptroot-Levy Lucie. My father was seven years old when he was liberated with his family. I cannot begin to tell you what this means to me and my family. Sadly my Father died a few years back; he was a very special man. He touched many people with his warm and explosive personality (that is another story). He`s big sister Ruth still lives in Germany. He`s little sister Alida also died. I remember all of them; Saba Dory (Isidoor) Savta Lucie, Alida and Joppi my father. There are no words to express the gratitude I have for your work. I thank you with all my hart and definitely going to keep in touch.
My name is Keren Aptroot the doter of Joseph Aptroot.
Hi Keren: Please send me your correct e-mail address
Frank W. Towers
30th Inf. Div. vet’s of WWII
Your Liberator
Dear Frank W. Towers
Imagine that, you liberated my father and his family. My father had four children he lived on Kibbutz Kfar- Hanasi, he was a great man and I can tell you that he admired you. Jopy Aptroot had twelve grandchildren. His sister Ruth has four doters and seven grandchildren. Alida had two children and three grandchildren. Thank you Mr. W. Towers.