Try to Remember—Never Forget
Memoirs of Holocaust Survivor Ruth Goldschmiedova Sax
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
March 14, 1939, was the celebration of my Grandmother’s birthday. A beautiful cake was waiting for her. While the family was listening to the radio trying to find nice music, an announcement came that Hitler was going to occupy Czechoslovakia. Knowing that he was out to get every Jew, the family ran downstairs, called a cab and went to the factory where Oskar worked. There, his supervisor that wore a swastika on his lapel greeted him. Oskar was in complete shock to see that his supervisor was a Jew hater. He advised my Grandfather to “GO HOME”. The years of friendship and friendliness had now turned into a fireball of hatred, just like that. As they took another cab, the driver drove them to the train station because he was afraid to have Jews in his cab. The trains still allowed Jews to travel so they returned home. Before they could reach their front door two German SS, with revolvers, greeted them. They forced their way into the home. Ruthie remembers that the family was escorted outside the door and the Germans began to help themselves to what they wanted. She was too young to remember what was taken although the crystal in the cabinet was still in tack. But she remembers Oskar handing over the car keys to his brand new car. She reminds me that it is hard to remember the details. Maybe at this stage in her life, it is for the best. She does remember that her parents were very nervous. My Grandfather was most upset because he needed this car to continue to work and he didn’t know how he would do this. The future was their biggest concern but later on, there was no need for a car, having been placed in the camps. And then a miracle happened.... My grandfather was talking to a customer and explained that the Germans took his car. The customer, non Jewish, went to the Germans and was able to get the car but not for Oskar, but for himself. He told the Germans that Oskar had sold the car to him. My Grandparents were determined not to give anything to the Germans or as little as possible so they gave everything away to people they knew. Ruthie was robbed of her friends and being labeled as a JUDE, now she was about to face the next six years of a Nazi hell. My mom wondered, where did all these people get German flags and swastikas? This happened all in one day and swastikas were everywhere. She even remembers them on the houses of the Jews. She never knew so many existed and could not believe they were everywhere especially put up so fast. This was day one of the invasion so the Nazis had a lot to learn about keeping a good JUDE down. The family had a non-Jewish cook named Maña. As my mom described she was an amazing cook. She was forced to leave the family because of her being non-Jewish and worked for Germans. My mom was so unhappy about not being with Maña because she was part of the family for so many years. After the war, my mom ran into Maña and although happy to see her, had a huge issue with trusting anyone. Maña invited my mom to visit but her emotional wounds needed to be healed and had to learn to communicate with people again without being afraid or asking for permission. To this day, I see that when my mom meets people, she looks at them for quite sometime before saying anything. Maybe it’s a good thing. My mom had a gold necklace that meant so much to her. Her Grandmother Klara gave it to her. She was a year old when she received this necklace. There was no way that she was going to give this to a Nazi so she gave it to her dear friend, Jirina, with no expectations of having it returned. Jirina and my mom were dearest friends, walking to school together, celebrating every celebration, etc. As my mom came back from the camps, she saw her friend and the first thing she did was give her the necklace back. They continued their friendship as though nothing had happened. As they got older Jirina continued her education and Ruthie now was on the way to get married and come to America. They did continue to write letters but eventually lost contact. To this day I see that my mom misses her. Ruthie had to get used to many changes quickly. Stores could sell to Jewish people between 3:00pm and 5:00pm. Jews were given a Star of David with the words JUDE. They were given two of them. These stars were pinned on everyday and if you did travel without your star you took the risk of getting injured or even worse, killed. Each week different rules were put in place so one week would be no movies, another would be no theaters, cigarettes and groceries were rationed, Jews on the back of the trolley only, losing your job or having your place of employment taken over, no Jews in public schools and universities and then eventually shutting down everything for Jews. The Sudetenland, the “25 mile bread crust “as my mom describes it, was now occupied by Hitler and Jews were forced into ghettos. My relatives were forced out of their home but luckily my mom and Grandparents were able to stay in their place because it was paid for my the factory that my Grandfather was associated with although but later on, they were forced to register and then placed in the camps. One thing I can say now, The Nazis took everything away except one thing, that is my Mom’s fabulous memory. At this point, it is difficult as I watch her look through photos and documents that have been put in boxes and locked up for at least 50 years. I see youth in my mom and I see youth lost, and the remarkable thing is that she still has hopes in finding everything. I truly believe that when she passes her parents, my husband and Elsa will greet her. It is a thought I do not want to think about, but I have to be realistic and this makes me want to do anything and everything for her while she is in her Paradise on earth. My mother loves ice cream. I believe that ice cream is what keeps her going. In the same building from my mom’s apartment was an ice cream shop called Olivete’s Ice Cream. She remembers being 7 years old and her cousin, and later on her husband, Kurt was visiting the family for the first time. Kurt was studying for his Bar Mitzvah. If Kurt didn’t like what my grandmother told him to do, he would disappear and was found in the ice cream shop downstairs. Down the street from the other ice cream shop was the gourmet ice cream shop called Sedlachek. It was just like 31 flavors. Everyday they had an ice cream flavor called “The Secret” and everyday the flavor changed. The idea was to go in, get a sample and then figure out what the ice cream was. The decorations on the ice cream were unbelievable. As I am watching Ruthie her lips are licking. It was no big deal to walk down the street and visit this “house of sweetness” but by the age of 10 my mom went to this shop only to find the sign Jews Forbidden. There was no way that Ruthie would go into this shop for fear of getting hurt or killed. After the war, she saw the shop but explained that it was just never the same. Everything was on ration, there were no decorations, the portions were smaller and something was just missing.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Meet Ruth Goldschmiedova Sax. She is standing next to the dress that my grandmother wore during the time she was in Oederan. She never took it off, and every week she would bend over and the Nazis would paint an X and stripe down her backside. The dress was initially given to her in Auschwitz. Ruth Goldschmiedova Sax’s life story begins in Moravia in 1928, where she lived comfortably as an only child with her parents. At the age of eleven, the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, and life changed for everyone. By 1941, the family found themselves getting off a transport train in Theresienstadt, where Ruth was forced to grow up quickly. She was shaved to prevent lice infestation, her feet were wrapped in paper to keep them warm in the winter, and she witnessed the deaths of many. Separated from her father, she survived awful circumstances, only to be sent to Auschwitz in 1944, where she faced Dr. Mengele half a dozen times. Finally, with G-d’s help and liberation, she was reunited in 1945 with her mother and father, a miracle within itself. Ruth later immigrated to America, where she married Kurt Sax, whom she had met at age seven. This memoir narrates the dramatic life circumstances that led her from her birthplace in central Czechoslovakia to three concentration camps and finally to her home in America. Future plans are to find a museum for this dress so that it can be displayed accordingly for all to see and to remind us to never forget.
About the Author
Sandra Scheller’s artistic life includes creating, repairing, designing costumes and clothing for film, theater, and the famous Martha Becket’s Amargosa Opera House near Death Valley, CA. Her designing and sewing skills came from her mom along with flamenco costume designer Vera Ray in the United States. She assists Vilen Golovko of The Flying Cranes aerial ballet and trapeze for over 19 years, with acts in Cirque Du Soleil and Ringling Brothers Circus, China, Germany and Russia. Numerous CD music covers include Sandra’s photography including Los Romeros and Ninel Novikova. She worked 9 years at the Cirque De Soleil as a technician in wardrobe, coached and was head of the wardrobe for Cirque Du Monde, wrote and performed a solo show at the Amargoso Opera House entitled “If These Walls Could Talk” and was nominated as the Artist of the Year in the stage of Nevada 2010. She graduated from San Diego State University and received her teaching credentialing from UCLA. She won the Top Female Mime Award at the National Mime Festival n 1975 and 1976, performed numerous commercials as a mime, guest performed in Reading Rainbows and Sesame St. along with the dancing in Rayna’s Spanish Ballet. She is married, has raised 2 boys and now assists with the needs of her Mom, a job and responsibility that takes priority over everything. Sandra asked her mom is she was comfortable talking about her concentration camp experience, since it was not talked about as a child growing up in the Sax household. Her work in documenting her Mother’s life story is noting short of miraculous because she was able to understand first hand about Ruth’s childhood while teaching us to NEVER FORGET. The book has received the IUNIVERSE editor’s choice award, the Gayle Mc Candliss Literacy Award 2017, Multicultural Motion Pictures Association 2017-2018 author/documentary award, Readers Favorite Five star award, recognition from President Barack Obama and the CIA, Honorable Minister of Culture and Education Ms. Kadis in Cyprus, in Cyprus’ School curriculum in Nicosia as well as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington DC. Please visit and like our Facebook page at Try To Remember Never Forget and website at www.trytorememberneverforget.com. There you will see updated videos and interviews.