There I was, attending the annual Yom Hashoah community event to hear from a survivor, so that I could remember and never forget. As with all the Holocaust stories, this one was harrowing and triumphant. In retelling his experience, Morris Engelson emphasized the divine Hand behind all the details, from his childhood in Vilna to his teenage years of hiding, to his ultimate escape.
The Beginning
As the youngest of two boys growing up in Vilna, Engelson was a mere child at the beginning of World War II. But soon, his childhood became a nightmare with the Nazis occupying the lands surrounding him. Vilna became occupied as well, with little chance to escape.
There was a twist of fate, however, that occurred amongst the Vilna Jews that gave them a chance to escape. One of the non-Jewish villagers was once sought out by authorities, and a Jew gave him refuge. For some reason, this person always spat epithets against the Russian empire. No one knew why, but it became well-known that he had a deep-seated hate for Russia.
These two facts would lead to Engelson and his family’s ultimate escape. When the Germans occupied Vilna and checked papers, they discovered this individual’s statements of rage against Russia. Of course, the enemy of one’s enemy is one’s friend, and the Germans' disdain for Russia was tantamount to this villager’s hate. This led to the Germans appointing this individual to be the Head of Command for the Vilna area.
Farming and the Outdoors
Engelson’s father had a love for the outdoors and trekking to different places. Because of this, he would often leave Vilna and travel on long routes through the forest. One of these expeditions led him to a clearing with a large farming area. He befriended the owner of the farm and became fascinated by the art of farming, in how the seed becomes a grain, and all the intricacies. He soon became adept at farming and continued to work on this farm, building a strong relationship with the owner.
A Gun in the Fields
Soon after the German appointed Villager took control, he heard that the Germans issued an order to come to Vilna and wipe out the remaining Jews. As someone who was once given refuge by a Jew, when the authorities were pursuing him, he felt a debt of gratitude to the Jews of Vilna.
He gave notice to the Jews of the impending order and warned them that they would likely be facing total eradication. When Engelson’s father heard this, he came up with a plan. He told his wife and two sons to take off their Jewish star, and once they escaped into the forest, they should just look for the next opening. He was going to head to the farm and discuss the situation with the owner, with whom he had now become very close, to see if they could figure out a way to smuggle his family out. He told his wife and two sons that he would come back for them and find them.
Miraculously, Engelson, his brother, and his mother made it through the forest and came to an opening. The first farm they came to, they knocked on the door and asked the woman to stay. The woman knew she could die for harboring Jews and refused. Engelson’s mother convinced the woman to take them, but she only gave them access to the outside barn. Early the next morning, this woman’s son came to the barn and said that there was a Nazi in the house, who will soon check around and likely come to the barn.
Upon hearing this, Engelson, his brother, and his mother left the barn and started walking towards the forest. As they kept walking, they saw the back of the Nazi’s head. Then, the Nazi turned around, and the Engelsons began to run. The Nazi chased them. As they were close to the forest, the Nazi took a few shots that missed them. Somehow, they evaded him after going deeper into the forest and survived this event.
Eventually, the Engelson’s made it to Belarus, and the father was able to arrange for the head farmer he was working for to pick them up from their shtetl, and they survived the war.
Letting the Silo Burn
As mentioned in the beginning, Engelson saw this story as one of Divine Providence. It happened to be that his grandfather was in the farming business as well, which set the foundation for the father to take on a love of farming. He told me that his grandfather had borrowed a huge sum of money to buy a silo and other milling infrastructure, in order to create a large business and amass good fortunes through this endeavor.
One day, the people of the town told him that his silo caught fire and that everything would be lost if the flames weren’t put out. The grandfather said to leave it because it was Shabbos. He lost his investment and business and for many years made payments to the borrower until he was paid in full. Engelson points to this act of self-sacrifice as the ultimate reason for his family’s survival.
No one would ever want to experience a Holocaust, but there were those who did and survived. They’re a living testament to the strength that exists in every Jew. Even amidst catastrophic experiences such as the Holocaust, our nation endures. Surely, every survivor has their own story. Engelson saw this as a series of events that were all interconnected, with the final result being survival.