Henry Baum, 97, doesn’t remember much about Germany being he was only a boy when his mother put him on the Kindertransport in order to escape the atrocities Jewish people were facing during the Holocaust.
However, there is one memory that he loves to recall.
“No matter what happens in your life, all of the good things you learn from your parents or remember as a child, will come back to you,” said Baum, who is among the people who have shared their stories during talks at The Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills that help to foster empathy, tolerance and understanding today.
What he remembers is one Hanukkah as a boy.
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah also known as the “Festival of Lights” begins on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, which typically falls between late November and late December in the Gregorian calendar.
This year it will start on the evening of Dec. 25 and end on Jan. 2.
Commemorating Hanukkah
Hanukkah, as explained by The HC’s Gabi Burman, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE. The term Hanukkah in Hebrew means dedication, reflecting its significance as a celebration of religious freedom and the miraculous events surrounding the temple’s rededication.
Historically, its origins date back to 164 B.C. when a small group of Jewish fighters, known as the Maccabees, successfully revolted against the Seleucid Greek forces that had occupied Jerusalem. After reclaiming their temple, they sought to light its menorah, but there was only enough ritually pure oil to last for one day.
Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, which is why Hanukkah is celebrated for that duration.
Each night during the holiday, families light one candle on a menorah, a special candelabrum with nine branches (eight for each night and one for the shamash or helper candle) until all are lit on the final night.
“This ritual symbolizes the miracle of the oil,” said Burman, who is the director of communications at The HC.
“When I was 5 years old I was asked to light the menorah,” Baum said, recalling the beloved moment he shared with his father, who was a cantor in the temple and known for his operatic voice. So good was his father’s voice that he was offered a job with the opera but couldn’t take it because of the laws against Jews.
Being his father’s son, Baum had an angelic voice and performing the task also gave him the honor of reciting (singing) the Hanukkah blessing.
“I remember them lifting me on the stage to light the candle,” Baum said. “Afterwards, they gave me a big box of building blocks.”
It was that toy that kept him amused in the apartment where they lived.
After that, Baum has no recollection of celebrating Hanukkah in Germany or in the home where he and 27 other children lived after arriving in England on the Kindertransport. A German word meaning children’s transport, the Kindertransport operated between 1938 and 1940 and provided safe passage for thousands of children, mostly Jewish refugees, whose lives were at risk in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Austria. Baum’s sister was also among the children rescued and transported to England, but both of Baum’s parents, who ended up in Warsaw, Poland, died in a concentration camp.
Today, Baum has many fond memories of Hanukkah, celebrated with his wife of 75 years and their children. However, it’s that one year in Germany that helps to foster empathy, tolerance and understanding today.
During the holiday season the center invites residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to visit and experience expanded opportunities for docent-led tours, survivor and next-generation talks like Baum’s and access to its core exhibit unveiled to the public in 2024.
The core exhibit highlights the voices of the Holocaust survivors through firsthand testimonies, artifacts, and interactive displays, offering a powerful and immersive educational experience and a reflection of what life was like before Adolf Hitler came to power.
When Jewish families enjoyed Hanukkah traditions like eating foods fried in oil to commemorate the miracle of the oil or popular dishes such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts) and when children had no care in the world but to play with dreidel (four-sided spinning top), just as many Jewish families do in America today.
“While my husband and I give our children a few gifts, as a family that loves singing, we tend to focus more on belting out many songs associated with Hanukkah, from the songs my husband sang as a child in Israel, to the traditional songs that our children learn in school,” Burman said. “Growing up the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, it was always poignant for me, and it continues to be important for my children, to have grandparents and grandchildren light the candles together in an act of Jewish continuity from generation to generation. Religious freedom is a protection never to be taken for granted, and we joyfully express our identity with great pride all year round, and especially on Hanukkah.”