Cheder in the Shtetl
ObjektnummerM2021/047:001
TitelCheder in the Shtetl
Ophav Sarah OAM Saaroni
BeskrivelseCheder in the Shtetl, featuring a small group of students and their melamed (teacher) studying in a cheder (small elementary school), made by Holocaust survivor Sarah Saaroni in Melbourne, 1988
Part of a collection of seven clay figurines depicting scenes from Polish shtetls (small rural villages or towns); a vanished world that the artist had seen and experienced. The series includes an accordion player; a family of beggars; a water carrier; students and teacher studying in a cheder; a cobbler; a carrier or journey man and a violin player.
Sarah Saaroni OAM was awarded the Order of Australia on 8 June 2015 - her birthday - for services to the community, through promoting tolerance and diversity. Born in Lublin, Poland in 1926, she was the baby of the family. Her childhood was happy and "full of life and love." Her parents Aaron and Esther Fishman had four children; two boys, Gidal and Julek, and two girls, Zosia and Sarah. In September 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland, 13-year-old Sarah's world was turned upside down. Poland was divided into two zones; Lublin remained in the German zone. In March 1940, some 10,000 Polish Jews were evicted from Lublin to small rural villages. Sarah and her parents moved to the shtetl of Zakrzowek and rented a small room from the farmer Marcin Nastaj.
A year later, a ghetto was established in Lublin. Sarah remembers a day in 1941 when the Gestapo came to the village, rounded up all the Jews and forced them to return to the Lublin ghetto. Her father organised false papers, stating that she was Lidia Wornick, a Polish Christian. These papers allowed her to join young Polish girls who were forced to go to work in Germany. In Hamburg, she worked with other girls in a sauce factory owned by Heinz and Hasse, living in fear of being recognised.
One day, she was arrested and taken to Gestapo headquarters and interrogated. She was released but they confiscated her identity document (German: Kennkarte) and told her that there would be further investigations. She fled, but the Gestapo caught up with her. She was arrested and taken to Gestapo headquarters where she was interrogated and detained. She spent a month in jail. Then one day, she and the other prisoners were sent to Majdanek death camp on the outskirts of Lublin; when the train stopped at Leipzig she managed to escape. Sarah made her way to Grossröhrsdorf outside of Dresden. She assumed a new false identity, Helena Nowak, and found work. In early May 1945, Grossröhrsdorf was liberated by Russian troops. In August 1945, she travelled to Lublin and was jubilant to learn that her brother Julek had survived.
Sarah joined a Zionist group of young refugees who were preparing to leave Poland for Palestine. Through the Red Cross she contacted her brother Gidal in Palestine and got the address of Julek, who was in a Displaced Persons camp in Santa Maria, Italy. Julek showed her the wonders of Rome's architecture, the paintings, and the sculptures; she was "completely spellbound". In May 1946 Sarah and Julek left for Palestine. She joined the underground defence movement (the Haganah) and fought in the War of Independence which secured the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948.
In 1953 Sarah, her husband Lewi Saaroni and their two children joined Sarah's brother Julek, living in Melbourne. In 1981 she starting pottery and sculpture classes. Her art gave her the freedom and the voice to share her experiences.
Part of a collection of seven clay figurines depicting scenes from Polish shtetls (small rural villages or towns); a vanished world that the artist had seen and experienced. The series includes an accordion player; a family of beggars; a water carrier; students and teacher studying in a cheder; a cobbler; a carrier or journey man and a violin player.
Sarah Saaroni OAM was awarded the Order of Australia on 8 June 2015 - her birthday - for services to the community, through promoting tolerance and diversity. Born in Lublin, Poland in 1926, she was the baby of the family. Her childhood was happy and "full of life and love." Her parents Aaron and Esther Fishman had four children; two boys, Gidal and Julek, and two girls, Zosia and Sarah. In September 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland, 13-year-old Sarah's world was turned upside down. Poland was divided into two zones; Lublin remained in the German zone. In March 1940, some 10,000 Polish Jews were evicted from Lublin to small rural villages. Sarah and her parents moved to the shtetl of Zakrzowek and rented a small room from the farmer Marcin Nastaj.
A year later, a ghetto was established in Lublin. Sarah remembers a day in 1941 when the Gestapo came to the village, rounded up all the Jews and forced them to return to the Lublin ghetto. Her father organised false papers, stating that she was Lidia Wornick, a Polish Christian. These papers allowed her to join young Polish girls who were forced to go to work in Germany. In Hamburg, she worked with other girls in a sauce factory owned by Heinz and Hasse, living in fear of being recognised.
One day, she was arrested and taken to Gestapo headquarters and interrogated. She was released but they confiscated her identity document (German: Kennkarte) and told her that there would be further investigations. She fled, but the Gestapo caught up with her. She was arrested and taken to Gestapo headquarters where she was interrogated and detained. She spent a month in jail. Then one day, she and the other prisoners were sent to Majdanek death camp on the outskirts of Lublin; when the train stopped at Leipzig she managed to escape. Sarah made her way to Grossröhrsdorf outside of Dresden. She assumed a new false identity, Helena Nowak, and found work. In early May 1945, Grossröhrsdorf was liberated by Russian troops. In August 1945, she travelled to Lublin and was jubilant to learn that her brother Julek had survived.
Sarah joined a Zionist group of young refugees who were preparing to leave Poland for Palestine. Through the Red Cross she contacted her brother Gidal in Palestine and got the address of Julek, who was in a Displaced Persons camp in Santa Maria, Italy. Julek showed her the wonders of Rome's architecture, the paintings, and the sculptures; she was "completely spellbound". In May 1946 Sarah and Julek left for Palestine. She joined the underground defence movement (the Haganah) and fought in the War of Independence which secured the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948.
In 1953 Sarah, her husband Lewi Saaroni and their two children joined Sarah's brother Julek, living in Melbourne. In 1981 she starting pottery and sculpture classes. Her art gave her the freedom and the voice to share her experiences.
Produktionsdato 1988
Emneeducation, world that was
Objektnavnsculptures
Materialeceramic
Mål
- width: 210.00 mm
height: 345.00 mm
KreditrammeSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Sarah Saaroni OAM