Raising Good Humans Podcast

Host: Dr. Aliza Pressman
Episode: My 101-Year-Old Grandfather, Papa Jack, Shares His Holocaust Survival Story with Us
Date: September 12, 2025

Overview

In this deeply moving episode, Dr. Aliza Pressman honors the 101st birthday of her grandfather, Jack Waxella (“Papa Jack”), by sharing his remarkable story of survival during the Holocaust. Stepping outside the usual scope of parenting advice, Aliza facilitates a conversation that traverses Jack's idyllic childhood in prewar Poland, the onset of antisemitism, the horrors and close calls of ghettoization and Nazi camps, and the love story with his wife Sabina (“Mama Bina”)—all of which shaped Dr. Pressman and her family. Through first-person recounting, Jack insists on the urgency of memory and the importance of transmitting the painful lessons and hopes for the future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Childhood in Pre-War Poland

• Family and Community

  • Jack describes growing up in Yedlinsk, Poland, part of a loving Jewish family.
  • Community life was joyful, with large family gatherings and friendships across religious lines.
  • [03:37] “It’s just unbelievable life we got in the city of Yedlinsk with my family, with my brothers and sisters... Every Friday we were doing candle lightings and eating—20 some people, relatives. And we were so happy in life.” – Jack

• Early Signs of Antisemitism

  • Changes began around 1937, escalating after Hitler's rise.
  • Attacks on Jewish property, schools, and synagogues became frequent.
  • [05:58] “They start bringing up stores, they start stone throwing in the synagogue, the glass breaking glass every day... This heinous gentile people for Jews.”

2. The German Invasion & Its Immediate Impact

• Occupying Forces

  • German troops entered his town shortly after Jack’s 15th birthday in September 1939.
  • Jews were rounded up as hostages, subjected to torture and forced labor.
  • [09:15] “When the Germans come in... what they did, they took hostages from our city. And I was involved in it. My brother was in it. They took over 50 people hostages... every night we boil the whole night over there laying on the floor.” – Jack

• Destruction of Normal Life

  • Jewish children were barred from all public education and communal life instantly.
  • Forced labor and the creation of the ghetto followed quickly.

3. Life in the Ghetto

• Deprivation & Fear

  • Multiple families were packed into tiny spaces, food dwindled to watery soup once a day.
  • Jews were forced to wear armbands/yellow stars.
  • [13:03] “A ghetto means that make it six, seven blocks from the city. Wire things around every place. Three families or four families was living in a place. It was just not to describe it.” – Jack

• Pet Loss as Precursor to Greater Violence

  • Germans killed Jewish-owned pets as part of dehumanizing tactics, often under threat of violence against their owners.
  • [20:10] “A few days before the liquidate the ghetto they killed all the Jewish [dogs]... My friends, Mama Bina had a dog... She almost got killed this time. They arrested her for a whole night.”

4. Liquidation and Survival

• Witnessing Atrocities

  • During ghetto liquidations, families were torn apart and killed en masse, often buried alive.
  • [21:08] “They made graves and put them. And you have to watch it. And they threw them. And in the graves they buried them alive. It’s never went away from my head.”

• Family’s Journey Through Camps

  • Jack and his family were moved through a series of labor and concentration camps.
  • He describes premonitions and specific acts that helped him temporarily keep loved ones safe or survive selections.

• Acts of Resistance and Escape

  • In one camp, Jack volunteers to take his father’s place in an execution lineup, escapes a mass grave, and hides in the forest with help from sympathetic Poles.
  • [31:43] “We fell down at the grave. Officer… Don’t shoot to the dengue. If they would shoot, they would kill him to get to us... Run. I went all the way in the grave till the end. I jumped over and… went to a Polish guy... and I was [hiding] every night at the force [forest].”

5. Love Amid Horror: Relationship with Sabina (Mama Bina)

• Childhood Roots

  • Jack and Sabina grew up in the same small town; his childhood had a crush on her.
  • [08:45] “She said, Jack is... Yitzchak is crazy. Something wrong with him.” – Jack recalling Sabina’s reaction to his childhood jealousy.

• Separation and Reunification

  • Despite being in different camps and separated by violence, Jack sought to keep Sabina safe whenever possible. He told her to escape before deadly actions, and later their emotional reunion is a central, powerful moment.
  • [34:33] “When I come into the camp... I pulled up the window ... Sabina start to holler. Look who is alive. Jack is alive. And they know... that they killed the people. But they didn’t know that I survived.”

• Enduring Connection

  • Throughout their imprisonment, Jack and Sabina maintained friendship and affection.
  • After the war, both doubted they’d see the other; their reunion in Poland was both joyful and awkward (see quotes below).

6. Trauma, Survival, and Finding Purpose

• Lifelong Psychological Impact

  • Nightmares, PTSD-like symptoms, and ongoing struggle to make sense of survival.
  • [39:45] “[At night] I start getting crazy. I hit sometime Sabina and she said, ‘Are you crazy? What happened to you?’ And I said, ‘No, I was fighting with the Germans…’ I went to a doctor. He said, ‘There’s nothing I can do for you. It’s never going away from [you].’”

• Liberation and Emptiness

  • Russians ultimately liberate Jack and a handful of other survivors.
  • Returning to his home, he encounters hostility from non-Jewish neighbors, emphasizing lingering antisemitism.
  • [65:35] “I said, I don’t want nothing. I want to just give me some photographs... She said to me, ‘If you’re not going to leave, you could be killed here. They don’t like Jews anymore in Poland.’ ... I couldn’t believe it.”

7. Rebuilding and Legacy

• Choosing Hope and Family

  • Reunion with Sabina; awkwardness overcome, they start dating and eventually build a joyful life together in the wake of devastation.
  • [72:10] “Just unbelievable life. What kind of life. I wish everybody would have a life like I did with Sabina... If not for her, probably I wouldn’t survive anymore... Now we got eleven great grandkids.”

• Transmission of Memory

  • Jack’s sense of moral responsibility to speak out.
  • Fears about the world forgetting—and possibly repeating—what happened.
  • [82:08] “Yes, that’s why I tell the story, that we should never let it happen again... Not to be forgotten. We should never forget what they did to 6 million Jewish people.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Joyful Childhood

• [03:37] “Every Friday... candle lightings and eating—20 some people, relatives. And we were so happy in life.”

On Betrayal by Friends

• [26:44] “Friends that you play with and everything else... How can it happen? You couldn't even talk to them. It was just not to believe it.”

On Mass Atrocity

• [21:08] “They made graves and put them. And you have to watch it. And they threw them. And in the graves, they buried them alive. It’s never went away from my head.”

On Miraculous Survival

• [34:33] “Sabina start to holler. Look who is alive. Jack is alive. And they know it, that they killed the people. But they didn’t know that I survived.”

On Trauma

• [39:45] “At night... I hit sometime Sabina and she said, ‘Are you crazy? What happened to you?’ ... I went to a doctor. He said, ‘There’s nothing I can do for you. It’s never going away from [you].’”

On Rebuilding After Liberation

• [72:10] “Just unbelievable life. I wish everybody would have a life like I did with Sabina.”

On Moral Duty to Remember

• [82:08] “...that we should never let it happen again. That’s why I survived... Not to be forgotten. We should never forget what they did to 6 million Jewish people.”

Important Timestamps

• [02:39] Jack’s introduction and memories of prewar family life
• [05:58] Description of Hitler’s broadcast and growing antisemitism
• [09:15] German invasion and rounding up of Jewish hostages
• [13:03] Life inside the Jewish ghetto
• [20:10] Dogs killed before the ghetto liquidation
• [21:08] The horror of witnessing mass killings
• [34:33] Jack's escape from execution and joyful reunion with Sabina
• [39:45] Jack speaks on nightmares, marriage, and survivor’s guilt
• [41:14] Describing the continued ordeal as the war dragged on
• [65:35] Returning home post-liberation and facing antisemitism
• [72:10] On love, marriage, and the pride of building a large family
• [82:08] Jack articulates the necessity of remembrance

Final Reflections

This episode is not only pivotal family testimony, but also a testament to the importance of memory, love, and resilience. Jack’s narrative provides an intimate account of losses and perseverance, reminding listeners why it’s essential to keep such stories alive—not just for history’s sake but to fortify our commitments to justice, compassion, and the prevention of future atrocities.

“I tell the story that we should never let it happen again... that’s why I survived.” – Jack [82:08]

“I promise I will never let anybody forget.” – Dr. Aliza [82:43]