From the podium of a packed General Assembly auditorium at the UN Holocaust Memorial Ceremony in New York this past January, Holocaust survivor Irene Shashar (Lewkowicz) addressed a spellbound crowd.
Articulate, poised, and with a youthful posture that belies her 82 years, Irene shared riveting memories from her time as a toddler living in the Warsaw ghetto: Clinging to her mother while they scavenged for scraps food; finding her father lying limp on the floor in a pool of his own blood; climbing down into the sewer and running through the filth and stench and emerging outside of the ghetto confines.
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Irene's blonde, blue-eyed mother was able to pass herself as a native Pole, but Irene needed to be kept in hiding. She describes the ensuing years, stashed inside wardrobes and other dark places, as being "always cold, always hungry, always afraid." But she always believed things would get better. "My mother told me that if I wouldn't cry and would be a good girl, all this would soon be over and we'd all go out to play."
After the war, Irene was placed in a Jewish orphanage in the northwest of Paris; the Manoir de Andrésy, while her mother stayed all week in Paris to work, visiting her only on Sundays. She was the only girl with a parent, but two years later, her mother succumbed to heart failure.
Eleven-year-old Irene was left alone in the world – almost.
Irene was subsequently adopted by her mother's relatives, the Topilsky family, from Peru. Mr. Isaac Topilsky traveled to Paris and took Irene to Zurich, and from there, to her new home in Lima.
Speaking to Irene, it's impossible not to notice Irene's vitality, joie de vivre and sense of humor. When talking of her years in Peru, she conveys the tremendous appreciation she feels toward her adopted family, breathing not a word of complaint about having to move to the other side of the world, and having to learn a completely new language.
Wasn't it a culture shock?
"Culture shock? It was an earthquake! But, listen: They gave me life! They gave me love, and everything that I needed. I immediately applied myself to my studies and worked very hard. I so wanted them to be proud of me!"
The same drive that kept her alive and sane during the war years now propelled her to succeed. "I sacrificed my social life, using all my spare time for studying. Every time I won another award, I looked at their smiling faces and felt that it was worth it. It was my way of repaying them for all they had done for me."
Irene went on to study Latin American studies at New York University on a full scholarship. She'd already earned her BA and MA, and had started working on her doctorate, when, during a visit to Israel, she received an offer she couldn't refuse: to join the department of Spanish and Latin American Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
"I'd gone to visit the University, exactly at a time when they were seeking a replacement for one of their lecturers. I had a brilliant career waiting for me in New York, but this was so providential! I called my parents in Peru, and they encouraged me to take a leave of absence and try it out for a year."
The rest, as they say, is history. Irene went on to becoming the youngest faculty member at the university, serving as a popular lecturer for 40 years.
During that period, Irene married and was blessed with two children. Although her husband knew about her past it was never discussed, and her children had absolutely no inkling of what she'd been through.
"In those days, survivors hesitated to discuss their experiences. It was a past we wanted to bury, so that we could start over again. And I didn't want my children to feel different from anyone else," Irene explains. That was also one of the reasons that Irene never applied for reparations. Aside from the daunting red tape involved, she was loath to recall her past, even to herself.
But then she received an invitation from the Israeli Ministry of Education to accompany a group of 180 high-school students to Poland for the March of the Living. After some deliberation, Irene accepted.
"Ilana, my daughter, accompanied me, and later wrote a seminar paper about it for which she received academic kudos," Irene proudly remembers. Since then, Irene has addressed dozens of audiences in Peru as well as in Israel. She is especially eager to share her story with the youth, exhorting them to do their part to make the world a place of tolerance and peace.
"Hitler didn't win; we did. And that's the message I want to impart to the children of today. In another decade or so, there won't be anybody left to tell the story firsthand. It's a vital mission to speak out!"
Irene may not have shared the details of her past with her children, but she has certainly imparted to them the values she holds dear – her love of life, love of all humanity, and the desire to make this world a better place. Her son, David is an obstetrician and the father of three: Nevo, Omer and Doron; her daughter, Ilana, is a social worker and a mother of four: Yarden, Yahel, Shirah and Ivri.
Apparently, she was also able to inculcate them with the tenacity, determination, and pure grit that enabled her to overcome all adversity. In 2006, when Israel was embroiled in the Second Lebanon War, Dr. David Shashar was called up to serve in the reserves. In what was later recognized as one of the deadliest attacks of the war, Dr. Shashar and his company were hit by an enemy missile. He sustained a serious injury to his right arm, which landed him in the ICU for close to a month, hovering between life and death.
That wound, which he has remarkably overcome, led to a change in his specialization from obstetric surgery to obstetric ultrasound, but it did not dampen his ambition to create and succeed.
Today, Dr. Shashar is in the process of developing an innovative device to prevent preterm births, the leading problem in obstetrics today.
"In the developed world, 5%-12% of births are preterm. Many of those infants die, and the others must spend days, weeks, or months in the NICU, amounting to a huge financial burden on the healthcare system, not to mention the associated developmental issues," Dr. Shashar explains. He and his colleague are in the early stages of clinical testing, and hope to have a marketable product in two to three years.
Irene's activities also extend to the community of survivors, many of whom are reduced to living in poverty. Thanks to her daughter Ilana, Irene learned about the Aviv for Holocaust Survivors organization, which helps survivors receive funds that they are entitled to, at no charge. "Aviv does amazing work, ensuring that after all they've been through, survivors should be able to live out their years in dignity and comfort," she says.
But Irene feels those who have been fortunate enough to enjoy a decent standard of living should also not forgo the compensation that is coming to them. "For many years, I refused to accept reparations payments, but my daughter encouraged me to accept whatever money was made available to me.
"I found Aviv's staff of expert lawyers to be highly professional and savvy, but also, helpful and kind. They told me exactly what to do and how to go about it. Thanks to their help, I received a tidy sum that will be put to good use. My success is their success!"
