The Rebbe's Survival

B"H

I am very aware of touching an extremely difficult and painful subject and I have to be careful not to cause any misunderstanding. But, on the other hand, there are always people such as Neo – Nazis and anti - Semites who twist around words and use anything they can for their own stupid and vicious propaganda. However, today anyone can find anything on the Internet and thus twist it around as much as he likes.

Furthermore, I have to admit that I haven't had the time so far to deal with the matter more intensively. Unfortunately, I have to say, because the issue itself interests me a lot. But what I did was talking to some Gerer Chassidim.

There is no doubt that especially the chassidic population of Eastern Europe suffered tremendously during the Holocaust. It wasn't only a matter of personal survival but the existence of whole chassidic dynasties was at stake. And chassidic groups such as Belz, Vishnitz, Gur, Zanz – Klausenburg, Satmar or Bobov (those are only a few examples of many) were lucky to keep their groups alive.

Nevertheless, there is another issue which, unfortunately, is not discussed so many times. Of course, there is some literature but, as I said before, it takes time to do intense research. If you prefer serving the net instead, you are able to find details. The only problem is that I cannot confirm the claims stated on the Internet.

The question arises how chassidic Rebbes dealt with the Holocaust. Did all or, at least, the majority tell their followers to escape Europe ? Were there early warnings or did some Rebbes ignoring the upcoming danger ?
Different religious Jewish sites accuse the former Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, of ordering his Chassidim to stay in Europe.

I have been dealing with Rebbe Aharon Rokeach for quite a while because I am writing about his flight from the Gestapo in order to put the article into my German blog. And because I have been dealing with the subject a bit, I cannot really believe the accusations but, at the same time, I am not denying that they might be true.

Fact is that the former Belzer Rebbe Aharon Rokeach suffered tremendous personal losses during the Holocaust. He lost his son, Rabbi Moshe Rokeach, who was burned alive in a Synagogue by the Germans. Furthermore, the Rebbe lost his brother, Rabbi Shalom of Opatov (Apta), who was hiding in a forest and eventually died of starvation. Rebbe Aharon himself only succeeded in the last minute to escape Eastern Europe and head for Palestine. Thus, the existence of Chassidut Belz was guaranteed.

The Gerer Rebbe at the time had it much easier. Chassidut Gur and the Rebbe were an important figure in Polish Jewry and the Rebbe could leave for Palestine. Other chassidic groups were not that lucky.

Did chassidic Rebbes leave their Chassidim in order to safe their own lives ?
This is a very hard and painful subject to touch. Some Gerer Chassidim once told me that today, Chassiut Gur consists of countless Chassidim who joined the group only after the war. Most of the original Gerer Chassidim (about 100,000) were murdered by the Nazis. The Gerer stressed that the Rebbe had escaped the slaughter but when I asked about the Chassidim who had remained in Poland, they remained silent.

But did or do the Chassidim see the escape of a Rebbe as a coward act ? What was more important ? The survival of an individual or the group's survival ? And if, for instance, the Belzer Rebbe hadn't escaped, would there still be a Chassidut Belz today ? Honestly, I am glad not to have to make such decisions as the Rebbes to.

As far as I know, there is no questioning the matter within the present chassidic groups. Maybe there has never been and the followers succeeded in considering everything as fate. Instead the chassidic groups concentrated on building up their communities after the Holocaust but still being aware of the tremendous losses they had suffered.

After all those years we still remain with the question: What is more important ? The individual or the survival of a group ? The answer is that there is no perfect answer.