*Leo Ullman presenting on his family's story
Our afternoon session with Leo Ulmann included an introduction to the Jewish Historical Museum by General Director, Dr. Emile Schrijver, and Curator of Cultural History, Julie-Marthe Cohen. After Dr. Schrijver greeted us, Curator Cohen presented a brief overview of her work in recovering art and artifacts lost during the Holocaust, tracing the pieces to their prior owners and addressing preservation issues.
Following her presentation, Leo told the story of his life as a hidden child in Amsterdam for 796 Days. Leo recounted the difficult choices that his parents faced following their decision to return to Holland after Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia. They struggled to place Leo in hiding and then were forced to go into hiding themselves. Leo then recounted, in a warm and personal fashion, how his "war parents," Oma and Opa Schimmel, cared for him while he was in hiding. He told us of his "war brother," Bus, and we were fortunate to meet Bus's widow, Willi Schimmel. Leo also spoke of the challenges of reuniting with his parents after nearly three years with his war family. In response to questions from our group, he again mentioned his deep ties to the Schimmels, including his life-long relationship with their dog, "Ruffie," who the Schimmels allowed him to keep after her returned to his parents.
Wow... Leo Ullman's story is incredible. The fact that he was "adopted" by another family, that this family had the ability to do so, or that they even wanted to is so heartwarming. I would have loved to have the opportunity to travel to Europe, but I would do anything to be able to be present during talks/lectures such as this. There is something so motivational about listening to someone else recount their survival that inspires me to live my best life; it also gives me the desire to help people in need.
ReplyDeleteLeo Ullmans story is truly incredible, To be hidden for 765 days is truly terrifying but Ullman was able to make it throigh and becuase of his "war" family, as he calls it, was able to assit him and allowed him to survue the destruction that was among them. Also The mention of keeping the the family dog was really touching becuase somtimes even animals can have a postive influence in way Jewish people made it through these horrors \.
ReplyDeleteThis has to be one of the most interesting posts I have found, even though this is hard to say due to the fact that you have amazing pictures, stories, and insights to all of the places and things you have seen, Leo Ullman's story was absolutely genuine and authentic. I was in middle school and read about the Holocaust for the first time. After the book we had two visitors come in that were survivors of the Holocaust. They came to America for a better life, but also to survive. These women lost their families and their story has been imprinted in my mind through my life as an adult. Those authentic, true, inspiring recollections of PERSONAL strength are those that I find incredible. These are real people that have endured the most cruel, heartbreaking circumstances yet are able to tell their story because of heroes like his "War Family" and others that helped him on his journey. As mentioned in comments above, it must have been terrifying and as a boy it had to be unbearable to feel so alone. Luckily, he had the opportunity to feel loved again by such an incredible family. This experience gives me the chills just reading about it- I could only imagine how it must have been to hear this face to face with the true survivor and the wife of the family that saved him. This warmed my heart to hear a positive outcome after such terrible times. Thank you Leo Ullman for sharing your life story with this class and for acknowledging those who had helped you. I admire your strength and courage for being a voice for those who could not tell theirs.
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