Hashgocha Protis As Told By Ruth Shmerling

During  World War 2  the  Nazi  soldiers  were  trying  to  take  over  one  country  after  another  in  Europe.

My   dear  father in  law, may   he  have  a  Refuah  Shleimah, Mr  Herszl Szmerling, grew  up  in  Kalish, Poland , which  is  the  city  of  the  Ramoh.

During  the  war  his  father  had  a  plan  to  run  away   from  Poland  and  enter  Russia. The   family  was   forced  to  make  the  impossible   decision  whether  to stay   in  Poland  or  try   to  flee.  They  decided  to  take   their  wives  and  children  and  run  away  but  tragically  had  to  leave  the  older   generation  back   in  Kalish...
Whilst  they  were  trying  to  organize  their  escape  they  left   my  father in law  and  his  brother  in  an  orphanage  run  by  Jan  Korszak.

The  Germans  invaded  Poland  and  it   didn't  take  long  before   they   forced  Korzak  and  all   of  the  children  onto  a  train. This  train  was  headed   towards  Auschwitz.  My  father in law  was  a   young  boy  of  seven   but  he  realized  that  if   he   would  reach  the  place  where  the  train  was   headed  there  would  be  little  chance   for  him  to  survive.

He   decided   to  wait  until  the  train  turned  a   corner  and  then  to   jump  out  of  the  moving  train .

He  also  decided  to  try   to  help  save  the  life  of  a  little  Jewish  girl  who  was  also  on   this  train. He   told   the   girl   of  his  plan  and  she   was  very  scared  to  do  it. But  my  father  in law  calmed  her  down  and  told  her  not  to  worry,  and  to  try   to  roll   on   the   ground...When   they   reached  a   turn   in   the  train  tracks  he  held  her  hand  and  they  jumped   out  together.   Thankfully, apart  from  a  small  bruise  they  were  both  fine   and  they  managed   to  run  back  into  Kalish  together  and   go   back  to  their  families.

Now   let's  fast forward  to  the  1980s in  New York.
My  husband  was  a   young  man  of  about  20  years  old  visiting  America  for  the  first  time.

There  was  a  group  of  young  men  going  out  on  one   of  the  nights  of  Chanuka  to  spread  the  light  of  Chanuka  to  Jewish  people  all  over  NY.
My   husband  hopped  onto  one   of  many  "Mitzvah tanks"  and  he   was   dropped  off  in  one   of  the  streets  of  Long  Island. He  went  up  the  stairs  leading  to  a  magnificent  home  and  knocked  on  the  door. 

A  Jewish  lady   answered  the  door, and  asked  him  why  he  was  there.

He  answered  her

"My  name  is  Mordechai  Szmerling  and  I  am  visiting  you  on  behalf  of  Chabad  to  wish  you  a  Happy  Chanukah."

"What   is  your  name  again? "
My   husband   repeated   his  name.
"Where  are  you  from?"
My   husband  answered  that  he  was  from  Melbourne, Australia.

"No,  I   mean  where  is   your  father  from?"

"My  father  is  from  Poland."

"Where   in  Poland?"
" From  the  city  of  Kalish"
And   what   is  your  father's  name?"

"Herszl  or  in Polish  Henyak.".

When  my  husband  said  the  word  Kalish  he  noticed  that  the  lady's  face  had  turned  completely  white.  Then  she  told  him   to  wait  just  a  moment. A  few  minutes  later  she  came back  and  showed   him  a  photograph  of  his  father  as  a  young  boy.

"Do   you  realize  that  your  father  saved  my  life?"  she  said  to  my  husband  with  a  tear    glistening  in  her  eye.

Then  she   told   over  the  story  of  the  train  and  asked  him  all  about  the  family.

Later   on  this  lady  made  a   special  trip  to  Australia  to  meet  my  father in law,  his  brothers   and  all   of  the  family.