Barbara Shaiman and her grandchildren at Auschwitz. Courtesy of Barbara Shaiman
Bala Cynwyd resident Barbara Shaiman had walked through the gates of Auschwitz once before, in 1989, with her mother, who survived the infamous death camp, and her father, who had worked for Oskar Schindler.
She got to do it again this month, this time with the next generations of her family.
“Although it’s very gut-wrenching to walk my daughter and grandchildren through Auschwitz and hear the history of what happened and what led to my paternal grandmother and my mother being incarcerated, being there was so emotional,” Shaiman said in a Philadelphia Jewish Exponent interview. “It was extremely powerful, and it gave us a real appreciation for why we need to stand up and speak out and be proactive when hatred is addressed in any group.”
Shaiman got to experience that moment this November during her 20-day trip across Europe as part of a European Jewish Association trip to Germany, Belgium and Poland to commemorate Nazi victims and to speak about antisemitism and the Holocaust to German high school and college students.
Shaiman, the founder of the nonprofit Champions of Caring in Philadelphia, was a speaker with the delegation and used the opportunity to visit her birthplace of Regensburg, Germany.
The EJA delegation started the trip in Krakow, Poland, a few days before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, on Nov. 9-10, 1938, and held a memorial service at Auschwitz “death wall.”
Shaiman said she was selected by the EJA to represent the U.S. in laying a wreath during the memorial service at the camp, along with her family and partner Richard Weisbrot.
While in Poland, Shaiman took her family not only to Auschwitz but also to the wartime Jewish ghettos and on a tour of the museum of Oskar Schindler’s factory.
After Poland, Shaiman and the delegation visited Giessen, Germany, speaking to German high school and university students about Kristallnacht, standing up against hatred and getting involved in social justice.
Then Shaiman got to speak at an embassy in Brussels, Belgium, alongside European dignitaries. She said meeting these people and sharing her story was incredible.
Shaiman was especially excited for the finale of the trip, going back to Regensburg where she spoke with students at the University of Regensburg and held a film screening for “The Coral Ring Legacy,” a documentary she co-produced that shares the stories of 10 alumni of the Champions of Caring program who are dedicated to promote social justice as young adults.
The documentary screening was the European debut of the film, and Shaiman said that seeing the reactions of students and faculty was “thrilling.”
“I was so overwhelmed, I had to hold back the tears. [Before the screening] I gave a speech and talked about why it was so important for me to be back in Regensburg and to meet with these young people and see if we can create a synergistic relationship between students in Regensburg and students that I’m working with in Philadelphia, particularly at Temple University,” Shaiman said.
Shaiman spoke glowingly of the school’s welcoming attitude. “The university president, Udo Hebel, just went out of his way to treat me so kindly and give me the opportunity to speak to students, to faculty, to share the documentary, and he accompanied me when we visited the local synagogue and when we visited the apartment building where I was born,” Shaiman said.
Despite the constant travel across Europe for three weeks, Shaiman said she was energized by the trip.
“I never felt so exhilarated and so moved. I truly feel my parents and grandmother in heaven were smiling that I had this opportunity with my daughter and grandchildren to do this and to show them, this is what happens when the world stands by silent and indifferent when atrocities happen. I felt that it was one of the most important missions of my life and privileges of my life to have them with me, to understand why I do the work that I do, and why I care so deeply about social justice,” Shaiman said.
Shaiman said she works to make the world a kinder place and have others think about how they can be a mensch.
“All of it just was a life changing experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have had this extraordinary opportunity,” Shaiman said.