The Situation Report | November 12, 2024
Selfhelp Community Services submitted this incredible story about one of their patients. HCA is honored to share this recognition of this late-home care patient – a veteran, a hero in the Allied Forces who fought with the American military and saved the lives of countless Jewish people destined for concentration camps. Thank you Selfhelp for sharing this account with us.
Philip was born in 1926 in Horodlo, a small Polish town on the Russian border. When the Germans invaded Poland, Philip escaped to Russia and was sent to officer training school, quickly ascending the ranks to become a lieutenant tank commander at 18. His tank battalion was at the forefront of the Russian counteroffensive to take back territory from the Germans.
The horrific sights from concentration camps, including showers connected to poisonous gas, cremation ovens and piles of burnt bones and skulls, never left him.
Almost a year later, Philip intercepted a Germany Army radio message that 129 Jewish women were being transported to Theresienstadt to be killed the next morning.
His tanks drove through the gates of the camp, capturing the guards, and he later found 129 women behind a steel door in the basement of a building. Speaking in Yiddish, he said, “we are the Russian army, you are free. If there are any of you who speak Yiddish, please come forward.” A woman and her daughter came forward and told him that they were from Poland; her husband and her two brothers were taken, along with 6,000 men from her town on a death march by the Nazis.
Philip asked the woman, “What is your family name?” Upon hearing her answer, he responded, “Your husband and brothers survived the death march and are alive in a labor camp in Russia.”
He contacted his brother in Russia and sent him to the camp to release the men. Upon reuniting in Russia, Philip asked the man for his daughter’s hand in marriage…and they were inseparable ever since.
They became Selfhelp clients in 2018 and enjoyed attending our social gatherings where they had the opportunity to interact with other Holocaust survivors in Nassau County. Tragically, Philip passed away in 2019.
Since her husband’s passing, Pearl’s health has deteriorated. She is legally blind and deaf and suffers from scoliosis and severe arthritis, which impacts her ability to perform her activities of daily living. The homecare she receives has been instrumental in providing her with the assistance she needs to live safely in her own home. Her home attendant also accompanies her to Selfhelp’s social gatherings which have been so meaningful to her. She is grateful for the compassionate care she receives that helps her live with dignity and independence.
Thank you Phillip, and thank you Selfhelp!