While still at school, the Lord placed in the heart of a young Australian lad a love for studying ancient and modern history. He developed a special interest in the Titanic while watching the 1958 movie ‘A Night to Remember’. He studied the planning, construction and sinking of the ship. However, as he completed his senior year essay at the Redeemer Lutheran College, David Lean chose to write about the 1993 movie Schindler’s List.
As if God ignited a spark in him to study parts of the most significant story of the 20th century, David continued researching the Holocaust. By blending both his interests, David discovered two Jewish passengers who survived the sinking of the Titanic were later murdered by the Germans in World War II.
In David’s personal life he chose to overcome unexpected trauma by combining his creative skills with the knowledge gained about the Holocaust. Driven by his desire of keeping alive the tragic memories of the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany, he built a model of a train destined for the factories of death in Treblinka. The final catalyst for construction of the train was the 2016 film ‘Denial’. The film’s producer examines the libel case between Deborah Lipstadt, Penguin Books and David Irving who was criticised in Deborah’s 1993 book titled ‘Denying the Holocaust’.
In the shadow of the most publicised concentration camp, Auschwitz, there is an equally horrific place called Treblinka. Operation Reinhard created camps that were purely factories of death. In Treblinka II, approximately 925,000 Jewish men, women and children were relentlessly and systemically murdered in 15 months. David chose to build a model of one of the trains carrying the innocents to their death as his means of communicating the Nazi horrors to his generation.
David said: “I was inspired to focus on Treblinka II as I feel the first weeks of the extermination camp’s existence speaks volumes about the mentality of the Germans before and during World War II.”
Today I was privileged to gather with other Christians welcomed by the Jewish community at the Queensland Holocaust Museum to meet the author of ‘L’Chaim’, Mrs Malka Zylbersztajn. Her father, Chaim Sztajer, was one of Treblinka Death Camp’s less than 70 survivors of the uprising of August 1943. He also had the gut-wrenching obligation imposed on him by the brutal Nazi regime of removing the dead bodies from the death chambers into mass graves.
Malka’s father would be one of the precious lives whom David has meticulously constructed standing in the cattle cart heading to Treblinka. Three generations of Chaim’s children looked with heartache at the confronting image of their grandfather heading into a place of unimaginable fear and horror.
Malka writes her story about her father, the experiences of Treblinka, and how having endured the darkest side of humanity he refused to allow the horrific memories to define him. Instead, Chaim’s was a life lived with integrity, love and a steadfast commitment to family and community.
Mrs Rachel Lustigg, who is also a child of holocaust survivors, explained to me the double entendre of L’Chaim. It is a heartfelt toast to life, a cultural celebration and testimony to the joy of shared moments. Chaim lived a life of celebration because not only is he named Chaim he achieved a meaningful and substantial life in Australia far away from the horror of 1945 Europe. Three generations of his family stand together with David and the model train. His fourth generation, present at the event are yet to understand the legacy of their great-grandfather.
I am inspired to write this article as we are in an extremely important moment where Christians can, should and must make new and loving memories with our Jewish brothers and sisters. Currently the land of Israel is under great emotional and physical strain and we lift them in prayer every hour. Here in Australia, we can take great inspiration from this union and friendship established between a young Christian and the descendants of an old Jewish hero.
Reach out to your Jewish community by attending your local Holocaust Museum, contact a Shul, search out a Hannukah gathering and take your friends to the celebration of light and L’Chaim. Show them the meaning of standing with them. Echo the words David concluded with – Never again is now.
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