Page 57 - Witness: Passing the Torch of Holocaust Memory to New Generations

What We Have Is What We Give
Born in Grodno, Poland, Felix Zandman survived the Holocaust with the help of a courageous family of Catholic Polish Righteous Among the Nations. Jan and Anna Puchalski hid him and his uncle for 17 months. (Anna, the family’s housekeeper, remembered the kindness Felix’s grandmother had shown her in times of trouble.) Their main hiding place was a dugout 170 cm long, 150 cm wide and 120 cm tall that they shared with two other Jewish escapees. His uncle, Sender Freydowicz, taught Felix trigonometry and
advanced mathematics in the long hours of darkness. After the war, Felix went on to become a scientist, inventor, and philanthropist, founding an electronics company employing more than 22,000 people worldwide. His inventions continue to be used today.
The late Felix Zandman kisses in gratitude one of his rescuers, Krystyna Puchalski-Maciejewskai, as he shares his story with thousands of March of the Living students during the 2008 program in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Krystyna,
her two siblings, and their parents are honored as Righteous Among the Nations. Zandman’s inspiration was his grandmother who taught him:
“What we have is what we give. If you give to somebody,
you give yourself.
Nobody can take it away from you, even after your death.
If you give, this stays with you forever.”
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