28 April 2023

Published April 26, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Brenda Cox

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Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count:100

LIKE A BAND-AID HELPS A CORPSE

The little wooden boat floated along the Galilee. JoAnna breathed in the fresh air.

Tears trickled down her cheek. She hugged her granddaughter, Rachel. “We’re the lucky ones. I took a boat ride on the St. Louis, from Germany with my family to seek freedom.”

“You found it in England and then here in Israel. Doesn’t that make you happy?”

“Cuba, America and Canada—all turned away—allowing only a handful of us refuge. The rest, including my parents, went back to face the Beast.”

“The US State Department offered an official apology.”

“After seventy-three years? Too little too late.”

Holocaust Remembrance Day was April 14 this year. But any time of year is a good time to remember.

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28 January 2023

Published January 25, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll

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As my life has taken some spins and dives of late, my muse didn’t seem to want to come up with anything new. This week, January 27, 2023, marks the 78th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. I feel it’s more important than ever to post a reminder with antisemitism and racist hatred on the rise. How can intelligent people become animals and beasts? The following is a snippet of an interview I had the honor of doing with survivor Sonia Warshawski, fondly known as “Big Sonia” seven years ago.

Genre: Interview
Word Count:100

THE INTERVIEW

“For I’m gon’ tell you,” says Sonia, a colorful and imposing presence at 4 feet 8 inches tall. “It happened so slowly. Not all at once.

“The soldiers line up rabbis in the street and made us watch them rip out their beards by the roots. Then they shot them.

“I’ll never forget. In front of me they slaughter babies. I’ll never forgive.

“Silence kills.” Her intense brown eyes dig trenches in my heart. “I tell you what is not in history books. As long as God gives me power, I will speak for them.”

This interviewer will never forget.

30 December 2022

Published December 28, 2022 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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This year has zipped by and now we are ready to take the final Friday Fictioneers challenge…of the year. 😉 To find my story I did a Google search of famous people born on the first of January. This is where it led me.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

TRUE CHARITY

In our home in Jerusalem, we celebrated holidays according to the lunar calendar. Rosh HaShana, which fell in autumn, was the beginning of our new year. However, my grandfather raised a glass of champagne every January 1^st.

“To Chiune Sugihara, a true hero.”

“What did he do, Saba?” I asked.

“What did he do? Funny you should ask.” Saba’s eyes misted. “Mr. Sugihara was the Japanese consul in Lithuania. He issued visas to some 6000 Jews. Thanks to him we escaped the Nazis.”

“Why do always you toast him on January 1^st?”

“To wish him a happy birthday, of course.”

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Mr. Sugihara received the award for Righteous of the Nations in 1985, a year before he passed away.

Should you have 11 minutes to spare CLICK to watch a worthwhile video about this man. You won’t regret it.

11 November 2022

Published November 9, 2022 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

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As we open this Wednesday, November 9, it is 86 year to the day since the violent Kristallnacht. This week I honor the often forgotten victims of the Holocaust.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

AMIDST THE SHADOWS

My parents met in a displaced persons camp after the liberation. Each of them had lost both a spouse and a daughter. Finding solace in each other’s arms, I think they married more for convenience than love.

Born in 1949, they named me Sarah-Elisheva after their slain children.

One morning when I was ten, I made breakfast.

“What’s wrong with you?” Dad grimaced. “My Elisheva never burned the toast.”

“I’m not Elisheva. I’m not Sarah! I’m me!”

He flew into a rage and slapped me. Mom screamed.

Obscured by my sisters’ memories, Auschwitz will forever be tattooed into my soul.

9 September 2022

Published September 7, 2022 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

1938

“Is this how you remember it, Mom?” asked Ruth.

Naomi hadn’t seen the scenic deutsche Stadt in fifty years. The synagogue had been replaced by a church. Although some shops still existed, her childhood home did not.

She swallowed. “I was ten. Momma gave me a sack of her homemade macaroons for the long journey. She told me, ‘You’ll be safe with Aunt Gertie and Uncle Norman in New York.’

“Poppa crushed me in his strong arms. ‘Momma and I will come for you soon. You’ll see.’

“From the ship I watched them grow smaller and smaller.

“They never came.”

1 July 2022

Published June 29, 2022 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

BLUMEN

I trembled with nine-year-old excitement as I presented the flowers. Their sweet fragrance filled my nostrils as I curtsied.

The new chancellor smiled and said, “Danke schön meine Liebchen.”

When I made my way back through the crowd to my classmates, my friend Ilsa hugged me, her blue eyes sparkling. “How lucky you are to be chosen.”

Soon after that day, my family and I packed all the belongings we could carry and moved away from Germany.

Lucky? Jah. Never will I forget his cold eyes. What would the Führer have said had he known this flower girl was Jewish?

28 May 2021

Published May 26, 2021 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Fiction

Word Count: 100

INNOVATIONS

Millie Levy loved to learn about inventors. Famous or obscure. It didn’t matter.

“I wonder what Alexander Graham Bell would say about the iPhone.” She mused. “Or what Edison would think about LED lights.”

Millie’s brother Eli rolled his eyes. “Who cares?”

“I do. Get this. Maria Beasley invented a barrel-making machine in 1878. And J.F. Glidden was first to patent barbed wire in 1874. He made a fortune off cattle ranchers and farmers.”

Grandma Rachel pointed to the tattooed numbers on her arm. “I wonder what Mr. Glidden would say if he knew how Hitler used his precious invention.”

***