Faith In Spite Of All

A Rabbi's Story

by Rabbi Juda Glasner


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$\;\mathbb{ FAITH }\;$
$\;\mathbb{ IN }\;$
$\;\mathbb{ SPITE }\;$ $\;\mathbb{ ALL }\;$

$\;\mathbb{ A }\;$ $\;\mathbb{ RABBI'S }\;$ $\;\mathbb{ STORY }\;$

$\;\mathbb{ BY }\;$ $\;\mathbb{ RABBI }\;$ $\;\mathbb{ JUDA }\;$ $\;\mathbb{ GLASNER }\;$


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author gratefully acknowledges the encouragement he received from:

Rabbi Miklos Hauer

Solomon Frankel

Bernard Spiegel

in the writing of this book. He also wishes to express his gratitude to:

Americanism Educational League

David Berger

Sidney Chambers

Christians and Jews For Law and Morality

Stanley Diller	$\qquad \qquad$	Ted Orden
George Gluck		Romy and Flora Rosman
Ernest Hancz		Maxine Waltz Ross
Sol Kest		Blanca Roven
Louis Kesten		Herman Schwartz
Flossy Landow		David and Fela Shapell
Alex Lichtig		Joe Simon
Al Loevinger		Aron Spiegel
Armin Mandel		Dan Srulovics
Sam Menlo		Ray Swidler
Marion Miller		Tov Tobias
Eugene Nasch		E. Wintner
Julius Nasch		Gary Wintner

They all share my belief that this book will contribute to the understanding of our gravest problem, namely the crisis of Faith in our time.

May the Almighty bestow His blessing on them for their noble deeds.

PREFACE

The historic content of this book would alone be sufficient to merit the attention and interest of any person, young or old, who feels troubled by the deplorable conditions of tension and tumult which bear upon all peoples of the world today. However, beyond its historic significance you will find in this work an inspiring example of courage and perseverance as you follow the author through the torturous trials and tribulations he suffered in his determination to find and re-unite himself with his family from whom he, as had millions of others, been forcibly separated by the Nazis during the horrendous times of Hitler's reign. You will wonder how one man . . . alone could endure such mental and physical torture and survive, not only to pursue his own purpose, but to find ways by which he could render aid to untold numbers of others.

This is the story of Rabbi Juda Glasner, and as you read, you will come to understand whence came the courage and strength to survive. It came from the author's unwavering faith in God, to whom he has devoted his life in faithful servitude.

I have never known a man of such rare human qualities as are demonstrated by Rabbi Juda Glasner. I am proud and grateful and spiritually uplifted to have him as my friend.

HARRY VON ZELL

March 27, 1974

FOREWORD

$\parbox{3.5in}{ \par \flushright \small \R{ìà úòîã òì ãí øòê àðé ä... ...he blood of thy fellow-men: I am the Lord--Leviticus 19:16. \\ \normalsize }$

The author of this book, survivor of both the Nazi and the Communist oppression, has increasingly felt that he had to tell the story of how the above command has not been heeded or what has not happened which could have prevented the terrible castastrophe of the extermination of millions of Jews. Sustained by his unshakeable faith in God in times of the greatest test of human will, he wishes to bear testimony to the acts of omission which permitted Hitler to carry out his devilish plans in Europe. He has been an eyewitness to the tragedy of the Jews in Hungary, and the book will address itself especially to this chapter of the immensely sad history of World War II.

The occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany occurred in March, 1944. At that time the final defeat of the Hitlerian hordes had become a foregone conclusion. In spite of, or perhaps because of this fact, the occupiers, aided by the too willing Hungarian authorities, carried out their plan for extermination of the Jewish population of Hungary with systematic cruelty. Pressed by time, they acted with greater brutality and in greater haste than in any other territory temporarily under Hitler's thumb.

A review of the events that took place at that time will show that there were opportunities which, had they been seized by those in a position to help, could have allowed for the rescue of a large number or maybe all of the unfortunate victims of the Nazis in Hungary. Today we know whatever was done in that direction was too little and came too late.

The German Pastor Niemoeller, who will always be remembered for his courageous stand against Hitler, summarized the stand-off attitude of the outside world which caused the Hungarian tragedy in this statement: "When Communists were jailed, I was not a Communist. When Jews were jailed, I was not a Jew. When union members were jailed, I was not a union member, and when Catholics were jailed, I was not a Catholic. But when I was jailed, it was too late to do anything about it." His statement repeats the old maxim that whoever remains indifferent to the loss of freedom by anyone, risks the forfeiture of his own freedom, and ultimately is bound to pay very dearly for his apathy. George Bernard Shaw said the same thing in other words: "The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them."

The author's personal story integrates into the great collective tragedy of the time. The Nazi danger has now passed, but to tell the truth without bias and without fear, is never without danger. To illustrate this let me refer to the testimony of the Rev. Richard Wurmbrand, a crusader for religious revival in the countries of official atheism and a refugee from Communist prisons, made before a United States Senate Committee. Before leaving Rumania, the Communists told him: "You now are leaving this country but be careful of how you behave abroad. You may preach Christianity, but beware of attacking us. If you speak against Communism, bear in mind that for a mere one thousand dollars it is easy to find someone ready to liquidate you. We are playing with our cards on the table. Remember, in prison you met people we had brought back even from the West."

The faith that sustained me in past tribulations prompts me to proclaim the urgent need for a restoration of the belief in a Divine Being. Only such a belief will give us the moral strength to withstand the otherwise unbearable pressure of our frantic times. This needs to be proclaimed because, unfortunately, millions have lost this belief or never had it; without it they are drifting in a world without directions and without apparent aim, unable ever to quench their thirst for meaning. It is like the story of a lady who reprimanded her servant for leaving dust on the furniture. The servant retorted, "If you will kindly wipe your eyeglasses you will see that there is not a speck of dust anywhere."

Those who do not see the beauty and the glory of faith look at the world through grimy glasses that make everything appear dim to them.

It is my ardent wish that this book will help readers to rekindle the sparks of their faith. However, I do not want to sound like the girl who declared to her mother that she was going to draw a picture of God.

"No one knows what God looks like," the mother objected.

The child replied, "They will after I have finished my picture."