There are several different objects in this shadow box. There is a Nazi swastika to represent the fact that he had to fight for the Polish army and defend against the Germans. There is also a Jewish Star of David in it since he is Jewish. There is a map of Poland since that was where his original hometown was. The reason there is picture of Shep Zitler, was because he was the one associated with all of this. He lived through these terrible times, so it is good to remember him by doing this.
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“We had been through hell.” Shep Zitler.
Shep Zitler was a survivor of the Holocaust. On February 1939, Shep was forced into the Polish army. They needed recruits to fend off the Germans. On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. The fight had lasted for only sixteen days, and then the Germans came looking for the Jews. The Germans could not tell the difference between Jews and Poles. Shep was ratted out along with the rest, but since he was from Lithuania, a country that hadn’t declared war on Germany, he was placed in a different group. That what kept him alive. Other Jews were demobilized and sent back to Poland. Shep was sent on a ship along with other Jews. From then on, he never saw his hometown of Vilna again.
Shep Zitler was born on May 27, 1917 in Vilna, Poland, now called Vilnius, which is Lithuania. He calls it the Jerusalem of Lithuania. They studied everything about the Jewish religion, but they didn’t do any of the Jewish dances. He was proud to be from Vilnius, because they had the biggest Jewish library in the world, called the Strashun. This was one of the best places to learn about Jewish faith.
Shep stayed at a POW labor camp, but not for very long. He was taken to several different camps over a span of five years and seven months. He was lucky this happened since each of the camps would’ve starved him. Even though he was at each camp for only a little bit, he still had to do backbreaking work. There was an international law stating that they had to be kept in a humane condition. He was eventually taken to Autobahn Austria, where he was forced to work. He and many other Jews were sent to do the dirtiest work. Shep had to load coal. “At Goerlitz the Jews had to clean excrement out of the slit latrines with our hands. We were always hungry, and many of us did not survive,” Shep said.
Around the time the war was coming to a close, the Jews were all set on a non-stop three-day hike. They eventually came to a halt at a field to sleep for the night. The Russian Cavalry then woke them up. About 30 of them rode up to the Jews on horses. The first thing they said to them was, "Give us your watches." They learned that they were crazy for wristwatches. The Jews told them who they were, and they left them alone. They smiled and rode away. That was their liberation on April 22, 1945.
When Shep was free, he and his friends were excited, so they went to a village to eat. One of his friends died from overeating. They all knew there wasn’t anyone alive back home at Vilna, so they decided they wanted to stick together and head to Palestine. But they knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.
After six months it became clear they were not going to be allowed to go to Palestine. Shep got a temporary release from the Army, and he took a job in the East End of London selling suits. He got three pounds a week for working all week long and half a day on Sunday. After three years his boss said to him, "You have finished 'Harvard'- - now you can go to America to sell."
Shep’s boat first arrived in America on December 23, 1948. He took the train to New Orleans. “I had $32.15 in my pocket and no job,” he said. He couldn't drive a car. He spoke broken English. In Vilna, his profession was a dental technician making false teeth, but he hadn’t been able to practice while he had been captured. One of his friends recommended being a salesman on the road. He got a job with the Greene Brothers, and it paid 30 dollars a week. Eventually his cousin taught him how to drive a car. He started out driving like a madman, but he ended up improving.
Years later, Shep thought that Jews would make a bigger impact if they were a community rather than individuals. It was during June of 1961, at the Jewish Community Center, where this group had their first meeting. Around 60 to 80 survivors came, and they decided to arrange themselves as a group. It was a secret ballot, and he was elected the first president. They decided to call themselves The New Americans Social Club. Even though half of them have died out, they are still a strong 28.
Shep Zitler passed away on December 1, 2009. Before he died, he visited different high schools and colleges talking to them about his story. The reason he would do this is because he wanted people to know about the Holocaust and what it was like during these treacherous times. “It is important never to forget that we have been through hell in our lifetimes if we don't want the Holocaust to repeat itself.”
Shep Zitler was a survivor of the Holocaust. On February 1939, Shep was forced into the Polish army. They needed recruits to fend off the Germans. On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. The fight had lasted for only sixteen days, and then the Germans came looking for the Jews. The Germans could not tell the difference between Jews and Poles. Shep was ratted out along with the rest, but since he was from Lithuania, a country that hadn’t declared war on Germany, he was placed in a different group. That what kept him alive. Other Jews were demobilized and sent back to Poland. Shep was sent on a ship along with other Jews. From then on, he never saw his hometown of Vilna again.
Shep Zitler was born on May 27, 1917 in Vilna, Poland, now called Vilnius, which is Lithuania. He calls it the Jerusalem of Lithuania. They studied everything about the Jewish religion, but they didn’t do any of the Jewish dances. He was proud to be from Vilnius, because they had the biggest Jewish library in the world, called the Strashun. This was one of the best places to learn about Jewish faith.
Shep stayed at a POW labor camp, but not for very long. He was taken to several different camps over a span of five years and seven months. He was lucky this happened since each of the camps would’ve starved him. Even though he was at each camp for only a little bit, he still had to do backbreaking work. There was an international law stating that they had to be kept in a humane condition. He was eventually taken to Autobahn Austria, where he was forced to work. He and many other Jews were sent to do the dirtiest work. Shep had to load coal. “At Goerlitz the Jews had to clean excrement out of the slit latrines with our hands. We were always hungry, and many of us did not survive,” Shep said.
Around the time the war was coming to a close, the Jews were all set on a non-stop three-day hike. They eventually came to a halt at a field to sleep for the night. The Russian Cavalry then woke them up. About 30 of them rode up to the Jews on horses. The first thing they said to them was, "Give us your watches." They learned that they were crazy for wristwatches. The Jews told them who they were, and they left them alone. They smiled and rode away. That was their liberation on April 22, 1945.
When Shep was free, he and his friends were excited, so they went to a village to eat. One of his friends died from overeating. They all knew there wasn’t anyone alive back home at Vilna, so they decided they wanted to stick together and head to Palestine. But they knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.
After six months it became clear they were not going to be allowed to go to Palestine. Shep got a temporary release from the Army, and he took a job in the East End of London selling suits. He got three pounds a week for working all week long and half a day on Sunday. After three years his boss said to him, "You have finished 'Harvard'- - now you can go to America to sell."
Shep’s boat first arrived in America on December 23, 1948. He took the train to New Orleans. “I had $32.15 in my pocket and no job,” he said. He couldn't drive a car. He spoke broken English. In Vilna, his profession was a dental technician making false teeth, but he hadn’t been able to practice while he had been captured. One of his friends recommended being a salesman on the road. He got a job with the Greene Brothers, and it paid 30 dollars a week. Eventually his cousin taught him how to drive a car. He started out driving like a madman, but he ended up improving.
Years later, Shep thought that Jews would make a bigger impact if they were a community rather than individuals. It was during June of 1961, at the Jewish Community Center, where this group had their first meeting. Around 60 to 80 survivors came, and they decided to arrange themselves as a group. It was a secret ballot, and he was elected the first president. They decided to call themselves The New Americans Social Club. Even though half of them have died out, they are still a strong 28.
Shep Zitler passed away on December 1, 2009. Before he died, he visited different high schools and colleges talking to them about his story. The reason he would do this is because he wanted people to know about the Holocaust and what it was like during these treacherous times. “It is important never to forget that we have been through hell in our lifetimes if we don't want the Holocaust to repeat itself.”