By the time she was seven years old, Shelly Weiner had lived in a ghetto, lost a majority of her loved ones, been struck by shrapnel and hid underground for 28 months. The Holocaust survivor spoke to a packed room of Wake Forest University students about her early childhood experiences hiding from the Nazi regime.
The event, held on Jan. 29 in ZSR Auditorium, was in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is the first event of a series entitled, “Israel Through Different Lenses,” hosted by Wake Forest Chabad and Hillel.
The event was moderated by Isabelle Laxer, president of Chabad and an intern in the Office of Jewish Life, who asked Weiner several questions about her life and the antisemitism she faced at a young age. While Weiner now resides in Greensboro, N.C., she was born in Rovno (currently known as Rivne), Ukraine where her ancestors lived since the 1600s. Weiner described her life before the Holocaust as full of happy family memories.
“I do remember those days, and I was spoiled,” Weiner said. “I had a nice life being the first girl, the first child to my parents, having lots of cousins, aunts and uncles. It was a happy time.”
Weiner explained that her life completely changed in September 1941 when the Nazis entered her town. The rise of the German Nazi Party in 1933 ultimately led to the persecution and murder of six million Jewish Europeans.
Weiner shared her early memories of Jewish people being forced to wear a yellow Star of David, the men in her town being sent to labor camps and her family’s attempt to remain hidden. She also recalled part of her hometown transforming into a ghetto, or an enclosed district to separate Jews from non-Jews, and the majority of her family being killed there.
“They separated the men and the women,” Weiner said. “I was in a room with 20 strangers. My mother would have to go out to work in a factory for the Germans, and it was very frightening.”
Weiner, along with her mother, aunt and cousin, hid in a neighbor’s barn after escaping from their ghetto until the Nazis discovered their hiding place.
“I was probably five, and my cousin was six at the time,” Weiner said. “For some reason, I don’t know what came over us, but we started crying and begging our mothers to not go down quietly […]. We convinced [the mothers] to run out through the backdoor and let them chase us.”
After Weiner and her family initially escaped, the four hid in a wheat field for three days until the same neighbor dug a hole underground as a place for the family to hide. The four hid underground for 28 months.
“It was a lot worse than the barn,” Weiner said. “It was dark, it was damp, the mice were bigger and there was just straw on the ground.”
After being liberated by the Ukrainian Army in February 1944, Weiner and her family moved back to her mother’s original house. Following the end of the war her family relocated to Poland, and later to a displaced persons camp in the American zone of Germany.
“For me, it was freedom,” Weiner said. “I could go outside and play, I had friends, I had a ball – my first toy. We lived in one room, but it was still much better than what we had experienced before.”
Through the Red Cross, Weiner’s father connected with family members living in New York and Philadelphia. In 1949, as a 12-year-old girl entering seventh grade, Weiner and her family moved to the United States with the help of their relatives. Weiner briefly discussed her work as a Holocaust educator based in Greensboro. She explained the value and importance of learning about this historical moment in time.
“I feel that it is important for young people to know the history of the Holocaust, so that it doesn’t happen again,” Weiner said.
Laxer asked the speaker what Israel meant to her. Weiner expressed her pride in the state of Israel and its accomplishments. She described the evolution of these accomplishments as a miracle. While she said she does not want to discuss the politics of the current Israel-Hamas war, she expressed her overall feelings against war due to her past.
“It’s a safe haven for my children,” Weiner said. “I know that the Holocaust could happen here and who are they going to pick on first, the blacks and the Jews. I want, for my children and grandchildren, to have a safe country to go to.”
To conclude the moderated portion of the event Laxer asked Weiner if she had any advice for young Jews and allies who face modern antisemitism.
“You need to speak up, you can not hide, not after the Holocaust, absolutely not,” Weiner said. “I believe that young Jews should be strong as they are and not be ashamed. That’s the most important thing. Speak up for yourself. ”
Laxer told the Old Gold & Black that what inspires her the most is Weiner’s strength.
“We can’t have another Holocaust or persecution of the Jewish people, and I think her message, when anti-semitism is skyrocketing, is all the more important and relevant today,” Laxer said.
Following the moderated portion of the event, Laxer invited questions from the audience. Three students asked questions regarding Weiner’s’ reaction to Hamas’ surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7 igniting the recent war, the Jewish members of her original Ukrainian community and how she feels about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. Weiner urged students to stay as educated as possible in the face of antisemitism.
“I know that it is very difficult on college campuses,” Weiner said. “I think that the best thing for you is to be well-educated.”
President of Hillel Cara Gosin emphasized the importance of Holocaust Remembrance Day in an interview with the Old Gold & Black.
“With everything going on in the world and two very divided nations, we wanted to commemorate this holiday and the importance of it,” Gosin said.
Sophomore attendee Katie Adamson emphasized the idea that opportunities to hear firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors are becoming rarer.
“This is the last generation, she was four, there’s nobody else that remembers anything, so I think that if there’s an opportunity to hear somebody talk about it now’s the best time,” Adamson said.
Freshman attendee Hayden Liberty explained that she decided to attend the speaker event due to the rise in antisemitism and the importance of hearing personal testimonies live.
“It’s more important to hear it live than to read it from a textbook or see it online,” Liberty said. “I think you just get such a deeper meaning when you hear the real stories. At [Wake Forest] there are so many great opportunities, and I think this is such a crucial opportunity to attend.”
