WHAT HAVE WE DONE - HAYDN WATSON

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Price £9.99 & £3.00 P & P

Available from Lynn Davidson, The Memoir Club, 34 Lynwood Way,                                        South Shields, NE34 8DB 07552086888

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                                                     This is a story of sorrow, hope and courage.                                                          During a time of fear and despair, faith in humanity is put to the test.

AUTHOR

I was brought up in South Shields. I lived in Simonside and attended Simonside Junior School. I then attended Westoe Boys and gained certificates including Northern Counties in Geography and CSE Grades in maths, English and English literature, history and technology. My first 20 years in employment was as an Engineer in Fabrication and Welding. In 1991, I gained a B.Ed. in Design & Technology and began teaching in Seaton Delaval. I moved onto schools as Head of Department in Sunderland and Ashington. I then took up lecturing posts at New College Durham, Gateshead College and Newcastle College. I retired from teaching in 2020.

As a child, I was an avid reader and that has continued to this day. I was spellbound by books such as Kidnapped, Treasure Island, War Of The Worlds, Robinson Crusoe, Tom Sawyer, The Old Man And The Sea, To Kill A Mockingbird and Kon Tiki.

In 2012, I began writing short stories and in 2020 I started writing my first book A Life Navigated. This story was based on true events and follows the life of a man who faced many challenges in his life. My second book Garn Yem, is about my life as a teenager in South Shields. It is a chronicle of nine young men and their lives in the early 1970s. It is about friendship and is a chronicle of short stories that has many comical experiences. My third book What Have We Done? is a story of the Holocaust. I have created a fictional Jewish family in Czechoslovakia who are caught up in the Shoah. I have also written a follow up to Garn Yem, which will be published next year.

I have five children and eleven grandchildren. My interests include music; I play guitar and I am a singer with the Jarrow Choral Society.

INTRODUCTION

The world has known horror, desolation and inhumanity ever since man first walked the earth. The persecution of the Jews and the rejection of their faith has been prevalent for thousands of years. From the early days of the Old Testament, they have suffered treachery and hostility resulting in many instances of condemnation and exile.

As a result, the spread of antisemitism radiated across the globe. Many sought to undermine and exclude their traditions and ultimately seek to extinguish their very existence. History has shown us that Jews have endured hatred on a vast scale. Jews have been subjected to racist ideology, misery and indescribable cruelty by monarchs, despots and dictators. They have often been portrayed as untrustworthy, selfish and corrupt. Even literature has revealed its resentment, when Shakespeare sought to create Shylock as an unpopular Jew in the Merchant of Venice; when Launcelot Gobo wrestles with his conscience and describes his master as a fiend and a devil.

However, what transpired from 1933-45, under the cloak of National Socialism and Adolf Hitler; will be remembered as the darkest period in human existence. Hitler’s obsession with the cleansing and clearing of Jews (Judenrein) would remain his singular perversive objective. The horror of what took place in Europe on the orders of Hitler and the Third Reich is beyond belief and yet it happened. The Nazi regime sought to complete their ‘Final Solution’ and exterminate a race of people because they posed a so-called threat to their ideals. The only weapons Jews possessed were their pride and faith. This atrocity was not just wreaked upon the Jews; Hitler also included gypsies, communists, homosexuals and Jehovah’s Witnesses in his inventory of persecution. The self-proclaimed master race even created a dictum that summed up their grim agenda with Lebensunwertes meaning ‘life unworthy of life’. 

This terrible passage of time in history must never be forgotten. The human race will only survive if we respect each other regardless of colour, race, sexuality or religious beliefs. Hearts and minds must be strong in the face of evil and recognise suffering. It is my firm belief not enough was done to prevent the annihilation of over 10 million souls. This does not rest well with me and it was a shameful derogation of responsibility that allowed Hitler to maintain his murderous plan of democide.
I dedicate this narrative to the millions that were murdered. To those who survived, you carried the torch of life and hope.

PROLOGUE

Reuban and Beila Spielmann were one of many families who had migrated from Kobrin in Bello Russia to avoid the continual repression the Jews were subjected to. They had serious misgivings as to the future under communist rule and sought a life of prosperity in the new state of Czechoslovakia. They travelled 305 miles to reach Czechoslovakia by train, taking two days, travelling through Poland to arrive at their destination in the district of Moravia. A friend, Benjamin Gerber, had made the same journey six months earlier and had sent Reuban a letter extolling the opportunities in Staré Hamry. Benjamin was a tanner and he had opened a shop selling leather goods in nearby Cieszyn. Reuban was a music teacher and he quickly established a school of music in Staré Hamry which is situated in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountain range, on the River Ostravice. The name of the village relates to a steel mill built in 1636 and the name Hamry refers to mill and Staré means old. The population of Staré Hamry in 1919 was 356.

Reuban and Beila had been married for five months when they arrived in Staré Hamry in the summer of 1919. Both Reuban and Biela’s parents had all died by the end of 1916 and they had no siblings. They settled into their new life and enjoyed a decent living, within a small enclave of other Jewish families. Beila worked for Moshe Schuster who was a cobbler in the village. In June 1922 Beila gave birth to their first child a boy, whom they named Yosef and two years later she gave birth to a daughter who they named Saris. Life was good in Staré Hamry and both children were thriving. In 1927 Reuban and Beila had another addition to the family when Tomas was born on a warm June morning. Unlike her first two deliveries Tomas was a difficult birth and Elazar Rabe the doctor was concerned Beila had lost too much blood during the birth. Fortunately, Beila recovered with the help of her family and much needed rest after the baby was delivered. Dr Rabe had advised Belia this must be her last child, as it would prove to be too great a risk, given the problems with the pregnancy.
Life was idyllic in those early years as the children grew, working hard in school and enjoying the world around them. At weekends Reuban would take the boys out hunting in the many forests bordering the village. Deer, hares, rabbits and partridges were regular sources of sustenance for the family. 

There was an abundance of wildlife in the area and they would often encounter brown bears, wild cats, foxes and lynx. On one hunting trip in 1932 they stumbled upon a brown bear attacking a wild boar. They watched for over an hour as both animals fought. 
The boar finally succumbed and it was killed and dismembered by the bear. Tomas was both shocked and a little uneasy having witnessed the battle and asked his father; “Why have you not rescued the boar father?”
Reuban answered; “The bear will have cubs hidden somewhere near Tomas and they will have to eat to survive. Life can be cruel, but without food those young bears will die. There are many wild boars in the forests Tomas and the meat from the boar will feed the cubs for many days.”
Reuban would often listen to the wireless after the evening meal and the news that Germany was in a state of political fervour troubled him. The National Socialists were gaining prominence and many thought the rhetoric being broadcast was very worrying. 
In 1932 the tension in the corridors of world power was palpable. Germany had established a strong army and along with Japan, had abandoned the League of Nations. Adolf Hitler became chancellor after gaining 36 per cent of the vote in a national election in January 1933. Ten years earlier Hitler had penned a book called Mein Kampf (My Struggle) while in prison for his radical beliefs. Within the narrative, he concluded; “The Jew is a destroyer of culture and a parasite within the nation.”

Reuban now spent most evenings listening to the wireless and would often seek the company of other Jews in the village and discuss the implications of Germany’s propaganda. Oblivious to all this; Tomas, Yosef and Saris enjoyed their school life, they had their own circle of friends. Reuban and Beila’s youngest boys’ close companions were Esther Wechsler, brothers Asher and Peter Solomon and Jan Moravec who was a Czech. Jan’s father was an electrician and his services were always in demand. The boys would play football together and go on adventure trails in the forest. Tomas and his friends also enjoyed fishing in the Ostravice River and in the summer, they would often dive in for a swim. As Jews, the Spielmann’s did not neglect their religion and readings from the Torah were regularly carried out along with prayers. Staré Hamry did not have its own synagogue, so prayers and religious festivals were performed within the houses of the Jewish community.

Europe was bracing itself for what was about to occur and the sabre rattling of Nazi Germany was intensified by one man’s prophecy of total domination. With this power he would eventually take hold and would create so much despair and sorrow, never ever seen before in the history of mankind.

FOREWORD

Having read this book, I was drawn into a world of fear. But also, a determination to survive in a reign of terror perpetrated by the Third Reich during World War Two. The characters jump out at you and then you are drawn into an epoch where safety is often a difficult place to find. We join them in empathy as we look at an environment where hatred and evil exist. The twisted ideology of Fascism that resulted in the planned mass extermination of a race of people is a terrible legacy of the last century.

This was an era when human beings were treated without respect and are herded like animals to their deaths. As a young teenager my mother encouraged my older sisters and me to watch the TV programme, The World At War. This she said, would guide us along a path of awareness to the evils carried out by those who would disregard human life. I still recall the introductory music and the haunting images of that programme.

Knowledge is important for all of us. It will help the world reject such hatred and in doing so; treat human beings with respect and dignity. And yet, we have seen such evil in the latter part of the 20th century. This has resulted in nationalities and religions being targeted with hostility. We must never forget or diminish the severity of the greatest act of revulsion that resulted in the anti-Semitic persecution of the Second World War. Let us learn from the past and in doing so; build a better life for all.

Reverend Mervyn P Thompson All Saints Church, South Shields