“A Happy Little Town”

Erin Harper: 12 Years That Shook the World tells true stories from Holocaust history that may not be suitable for everyone. He’s forced, at gunpoint, to walk forward. He takes steps, one at a time. 

[Pensive music; Footsteps] 

His bare feet press into the cool September dirt and grass, until he reaches the edge of the pit. 

The dogs are circling. Smoke from all the gunfire stings his nose. 

[Dogs barking] 

Time stops. The air is heavy. He’s trapped, with no way to run.

This is 16-year-old Zvi Michaeli. Zvi looks down into the pit to the horror that has happened to his community—something so unfathomable for his young mind. For any mind. 

[Metal clatters, deep breaths]

Zvi’s delirium, already set in, from this agony, that’s gone on for days. Months, even. Zvi looks off to the side, and there he sees the Nazi. Sitting casually, so relaxed and free, with a rifle across his lap.

And more men with guns all around. Here in this small town in Eastern Europe, in 1941, the sun inches down towards the horizon. And Zvi returns his gaze to the pit. At Zvi’s side are his father, and his younger brother. They are among the last few Jewish men and teenage boys from their town, who remain alive. 

And now, Zvi knows whatever happens next in the Nazi reign of terror is just a split second away. 

[Pause; Theme music]

From the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, I’m Erin Harper. Welcome to 12 Years That Shook the World. This season is a six-part series: the true story of three young Jews who face the Nazi reign of terror in their hometown: Zvi Michaeli, Miriam Kabacznik, and Leon Kahn. Three young Jews from a town called Eyshishok.

[Pause; Light hearted music]

Three years earlier. The summer of 1938. Episode one: “A Happy Little Town”

It’s late evening. In the town, the moonlight glazes the cobblestone streets. In the market square, in the big house on the corner, lives a young Jewish woman in her 20s. She puts a record on the gramophone and fills her house with music. 

[Record scratching, Jazz music]

In a ruffled floral dress, hair waved and pinned back; with freckles dotting her nose and cheeks—this is Miriam Kabacznik. And Miriam is the life of the party. She’s also the host! 

Soon come dozens of Jewish teenagers. Young men and women pack into Miriam’s house. Here’s Miriam. 

Miriam Kabacznik: We used to always gather, all, everybody. My sister, with her friends. I, with my friends. All of us!

Erin Harper: Miriam is especially close with her 12 girlfriends. They dance and they sing—

[Small crowd chats]

Miriam Kabacznik: —and talk until late at night!

Dr. Lindsay MacNeill: So Miriam Kabacznik was often having get-togethers at her house with the other Jewish kids from the town.

Erin Harper: This is Dr. Lindsay MacNeill, a historian at the Museum.

Dr. Lindsay MacNeill: And I get the sense that Miriam was the type of person who kind of brought people together, who was really social. I think this really speaks to the Kabaczniks’ generosity. So the Kabaczniks were this wealthier family. They had a gramophone, they had a radio. They had a pretty large house with multiple stories. And they didn't just keep this to themselves. 

Erin Harper: For example, big parties. They had young people coming and going all the time. Miriam Kabacznik: It was a very busy house! My mother was dreaming, maybe sometimes we let her sleep. 

Erin Harper: Miriam has lived in this house all her life—right on the market square in the center of the small town of Eyshishok, in Poland. The town of Eyshishok is made up of a few thousand people—many of whom are Jewish‚ and live in homes along the market square. A town like this, in Yiddish, is called a shtetl. 

[Peaceful music]

Jews have lived here in the shtetl of Eyshishok for centuries. They’ve built a vibrant world with strong community ties, religious traditions, and scholarship. Jews speak Yiddish, and Hebrew. There are bike races, games, movies shown at the firehouse, an orchestra playing in the square. Some people even dress up for family portraits by the town photographer, Alte, in the local photo studio.

And the Jewish community of Eyshishok is a normal community—so there’s family drama and arguments among neighbors. Conflicts, class divides, resentments, and different opinions. There’s joy and struggle. And as Miriam puts it, everyone knows everyone. 

Miriam Kabacznik: It was a happy little town. . . . We knew each other, it was friendly, it was welcome. We never had a door locked. The doors were always open and unlocked.

Erin Harper: But there’s also an undercurrent of negative sentiments coming from many people who aren’t Jewish, who live in and around Eyshishok. Right now, in 1938, Eyshishok is in eastern Poland, near the border of Lithuania. The region is home to Poles, and Lithuanians; people of different religions, including Catholics, and Orthodox Christians. 

Within this population of people who aren’t Jewish, there are feelings of antisemitism, or prejudice against or hatred of Jews. And sometimes, it even bubbles up into in violence against Jews. But for the most part, in day-to-day life in Eyshishok, Jewish people, like Miriam, are relatively safe, and get by just fine.

[Pause; Small crowd chats]

Now, Miriam's party is winding down. Her friends say goodbye. And soon the market square is quiet. A few doors down, in a small house, is a 13-year-old Jewish boy named Leon Kahn. Leon is strong-willed, and curious. With soft eyes, and a big smile.

[Bright music] 

And in the morning, from his house, Leon watches the town come alive. Here’s Dr. Edna Friedberg, a historian at the Museum. 

Dr. Edna Friedberg: Leon had quite literally a front row seat to the happenings in Eyshishok. He could see from his front stoop all of the passers by. He knew who was running to play with who.

[Small crowd of children talk and play]

Erin Harper: Leon loves to get outside and play, especially with his brother—Benjamin. And while Benjamin is a little older, Leon feels protective of Benjamin—always watching out for him. The boys do everything together. Like play soccer in the street. Here’s Leon.

Leon Kahn: We used to have lots of fun. I loved to go fishing.

Erin Harper: They even made their own fishing poles, and a soccer ball by packing stuffing into an old sock. When the boys were younger they’d play hide-and-seek around the market square, and had a favorite hiding place. 

[Children laugh]

They’d climb up on top of the barn right behind their house, and lie on the barn roof. No one would find them there.

Leon’s dedicated to his family life— always helping his father, or watching out for his younger sister. But Leon is particularly fond of his mother—her strength, her advice, and her comfort. He says she’s a driving force in his life, and the inspiration for his dream.

Leon Kahn: My dreams was exactly what my mother had in mind, is to grow up and become an engineer. I wanted to make her proud. I was a middle child . . . so I wanted to be the best.

Erin Harper: Leon focuses on his schoolwork, and making his mother proud. Sometimes he escapes into his comic books, and imagines a great adventure. But what he really looks forward to each week is the Jewish sabbath— or Shabbos. 

[Oboe plays]

Dr. Edna Friedberg: Shabbos is the Yiddish-language word for the Sabbath, for the day of rest. And for Jews, it starts at sundown on Friday nights and lasts until an hour after sunset on Saturday. So for these 25 or so hours, all work stops. All normal activity stops. So it's a day that is devoted to God, yes, but even more so to community and to family. 

Erin Harper: So on Friday, before Shabbos begins, Leon’s mother cooks festive meals in preparation. Leon hangs out long enough to lick the spoon, then heads back out to play. 

[Door opens]

But in fact, all Jewish households in Eyshishok are preparing for Shabbos. Miriam makes dough for challah. 

[Dishes rattle]

Next comes the aromas of cake, casserole, and cholent— a traditional slow cooked stew with brisket, beans, and potatoes. Soon it’s time to wash up, and put on their best clothes. Then all work stops, and peace sets in, as Shabbos begins. 

[Zvi and Leon sing “In Shul Arayn” calling for Jews to go to synagogue]

Just around the corner from the market square are Eyshishok’s three synagogues. On Saturday morning, in the main synagogue, light is pouring in through many windows, illuminating the sanctuary. 

[Crowd murmurs]

The head Rabbi of Eyshishok, Rabbi Szymen Rozowski, stands in the center—with his long white beard, and a kind smile. And soon, every bench is packed with Jewish families from Eyshishok. The air fills with song and Hebrew prayer.

[Hebrew prayer and song]

For many Jews in Eyshishok, religion is a guiding light. This sentiment is especially true for another Jewish teenage boy who also lives on the market square: Zvi Michaeli. 

Zvi is 13, with striking eyes, and a small, slender frame. 

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: Zvi, he’s observant, he's thoughtful. 

Erin Harper: This is Dr. J. Luke Ryder, a historian at the Museum. 

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: And the pillars of his life really are his very religious family with deep roots in the local synagogue. So Zvi studies the Torah, he follows a schedule of prayer and worship. He also remembers the Torah as a source of security, and as a source of comfort.

Erin Harper: Here’s Zvi.

Zvi Michaeli: The Torah, it was very important to me. I feel that it gives me understanding in the anxious time.

Erin Harper: Zvi—even as a teenager— has studied the Torah so diligently, that during Shabbos services, he listens intently. Then afterwards, respectfully, critiques the Rabbis on their delivery that day. And week after week, his focus remains on holy scripture. 

[Hebrew prayer and song continue]

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: Also, this relationship to scripture is important because it brings him closer to his father. So Zvi’s father Mane is the leading force in his life, and he's also a teacher and a leader at one of Eyshishok's three synagogues. And outside of that, outside of the school, outside of the synagogue, he's really focused on his family. 

So he remembers the warmth of the Sabbath table with his sisters. He has four sisters and a younger brother, and he remembers singing with his parents and his siblings. 

[Women chuckle]

Zvi Michaeli: It was a pleasure to sit all together. It makes you feel you are one family. It makes you a bond. And we used to have every kid, a solo, a special song. 

[Zvi sings “Shabbat Shalom”]

Erin Harper: If one sibling messes up the words, the teasing starts. 

Zvi Michaeli: And then we used to laugh at each other. We used to criticizing each other. “You failed.” . . . And the kids, the rest of the kids, they were sometimes laughing. 

[Children laugh] 

Erin Harper: Eventually, Mane would calm the kids down from their giggling. And even though Zvi’s family doesn’t have a lot of money, they’re generous, and they share with other Jewish families. 

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: His mother encouraged him to go around to the less fortunate, perhaps, families of the shtetl and give them Sabbath candles so that they could light them on the occasion of a holiday or the Sabbath. There's this kind of warmth and hearth atmosphere of Zvi's home, I think, that represents their connection to their community. 

Erin Harper: From their homes in the market square in Eyshishok, in Poland —Zvi, Miriam and Leon continue their rhythms of school, parties, play, and synagogue—their everyday life—through the summer of 1938. 

[Pensive music]

Now, it’s November. 

[Radio static]

Miriam is listening to her radio, when she hears something shocking: There’s a report about events across Germany: Jewish-owned stores and homes are being ransacked and vandalized. German Jews are beaten in the street, their synagogues set on fire, and their Torah scrolls burned. Bricks thrown through their bedroom windows. Thousands of German Jewish men are arrested, and imprisoned. More than a hundred Jews are killed. This is Kristallnacht—the Night of Broken Glass.

Dr. Lindsay MacNeill: Eyshishok didn't have a newspaper, but the people who lived there did get newspapers printed in Warsaw, so they had heard about what was happening in Nazi Germany. They knew who Hitler was and they knew that the Nazis were antisemitic. 

Erin Harper: The Nazis hate Jews and have been excluding Jews from German society. By now in 1938, in Germany, the Nazis have enacted many anti-Jewish laws, like denying Jews their citizenship, or banning them from schools and jobs. But Kristallnacht—this widespread, organized violent attack against Jews—is a major escalation in the Nazi reign of terror across Germany.

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: Zvi recalled that it just seemed really far away. That Nazi Germany wasn't Poland, and Berlin was hundreds of miles to the west. So he had a hard time imagining that he would personally, or that Eyshishok would be threatened in the same way. 

Zvi Michaeli: But it was so far from us, that’s not going to happen here. And the life was going on very normal.

Erin Harper: Jews in Eyshishok go about their week—and there’s one more important weekly event that’s central to the shtetl of Eyshishok. It’s Thursday. Thursday is Market Day. 

Leon loves to watch the spectacle: Early Thursday morning, dozens of farmers from the countryside arrive on horse-drawn wagons. 

[Birds sing, wheels churn across cobblestone streets, crowd chatters]

They roll in on the cobblestone streets. What’s special about a Jewish shtetl is that it’s also a market town— a center of commerce for a few thousand non-Jewish people who live in the surrounding area. 

Dr. Lindsay MacNeill: On Market Day, you had non-Jewish farmers coming in from the countryside—the Poles, the Lithuanians—come to Eyshishok specifically to sell eggs, to sell butter, chickens. And they would have also visited Jewish owned shops in the center of town. 

Erin Harper: The market square is where many Jews live, but it’s also lined with shops that Jewish families own. A bakery, a pharmacy, taverns, butchers, shoe makers, tailors. In fact, Miriam’s family runs a business out of their home— selling leather shoes and other leather goods.

Miriam’s father passed away when she was young, so on Market Day, Miriam helps her mother run the shop out of their house. She greets customers when they walk in.

[Bell chimes] 

Miriam Kabacznik: We had a relationship. They were close to the family. 

Erin Harper: Leon especially likes weaving through the crowd, talking to Polish farmers he knows. Because Zvi and Leon’s mothers each run their own kind of bed and breakfast, or tavern, out of their homes. So the farmers recognise Zvi and Leon, from seeing them week after week, their whole lives. And this is the rhythm of life in Eyshishok. Miriam’s lively gatherings; Leon’s play and school work; Zvi’s study of the Torah. Shabbos, Synagogue, Market Day. A kind of sense of normalcy for Leon, Zvi and Miriam. 

Months pass. It’s now September 1, 1939, and Miriam is at home, relaxing in her garden with a gathering of people. Suddenly, more news about Nazi Germany arrives. News that will send shockwaves through Eyshishok. [Slow piano music] 

Miriam Kabacznik: We were all sitting and having a good time. And all of a sudden one of my girlfriend's father . . . came running and said, “What are you sitting here? The war broke out.” And we didn't know what it is. 

Erin Harper: Nazi Germany has just invaded Poland from the West, starting World War II. Eyshishok is part of Poland, but very far to the Eastern edge. So while the Nazis are still some 500 miles away, Miriam truly has no idea what it means that the Nazis have just invaded her country. 

[Engines drive by]

Miriam Kabacznik: We didn't know what a war is. We didn't know what it means, we didn't know what to believe. We know that’s something terrible. So we, everybody ran to their house. I came to the house and my youngest brother was hysterical. 

Erin Harper: Next, Zvi, Miriam and Leon wait on edge through a rapid and chaotic series of events: Just two weeks after Nazi Germany invades Poland from the West, the Soviet Union invades Poland from the East— and the two countries divide Poland between them. 

Eyshishok falls in the Eastern region, and it’s first occupied—not by the Nazis—but by the Soviets. And in a matter of weeks, the Soviets decide that the region should be part of the neighboring country of Lithuania. It’s, of course, a relief to Miriam, Zvi, and Leon to not be under Nazi occupation. But still— the Nazis are now significantly closer. And Jews who live in that German-occupied region of Western Poland are immediately subject to Nazi persecution and violence.

It's not long before thousands of Jewish refugees flee that Nazi hatred and terror. Some refugees pass through Eyshishok.

[Footsteps: Foreboding music]

Dr. Lindsay MacNeill: They were often on foot. They were often carrying their belongings with them and they needed help. And Eyshishok’s Jewish community rose to the occasion. They opened their homes. They provided refugees with places to stay, with food, with any care that they needed. [A door squeaks open] 

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: Zvi and his brother were sent to the border to greet some of them. The family believes that they have a duty to go out and welcome and share anything they have with these refugees. 

Erin Harper: Zvi brings the Jewish refugees into his home, gives them water and bread, and warms a bath. Zvi’s mother cooks a meal to share. Then, the refugees start telling frightening stories.

Dr. Lindsay MacNeill: The refugees brought with them news. They brought horror stories about what was happening in Nazi-occupied Poland. They were telling the residents of Eyshishok about antisemitic restrictions, about being publicly humiliated in the streets and about Nazi violence. 

Dr. Edna Friedberg: Jews being forced to wear the Star of David, terrifying stories about the establishment of ghettos that the Germans required Jews to crowd into.

Erin Harper: One refugee staying in Leon’s home, shows Leon his yarmulke— a head covering traditionally worn by Jewish men. It’s covered in blood. 

Leon Kahn: He was showing it to us that he was beaten up by the Nazis, that it was full of blood and he was wiping his face or places with a yarmulke because he didn't have any place else. And he started telling us stories about the persecution.

Erin Harper: Still, for Zvi, even as he listens to these stories, he thinks, the Nazi threat feels distant. 

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: Zvi's remembering them, coming to their family Sabbath table and having challah bread and stuffed fish, and cinnamon cake, and sharing this Sabbath meal. And Zvi recalled that it made him feel safe because he had these people fleeing this terror at the safe comfortable warmth of his own Sabbath table. So it's as if the danger has somehow passed over the shtetl, and his community is an island of peace. 

Erin Harper: The refugees plan to continue on their journey, and go as far from the Nazis as possible. But next comes another layer of fear and uncertainty for Miriam: After the refugees in Miriam’s home tell her of Nazi violence, they encourage Miriam and her family to escape Eyshishok while they still can. Because right now, the Germans are far too close. And there’s no way to know what will happen next. But Miriam can’t fathom leaving Eyshishok.

Dr. Lindsay MacNeill: Even when the refugees encouraged them to flee, there was nowhere really to go, at least in their minds. They wanted to stay in their homes, stay in their community.

Miriam Kabacznik: Where will you go? We have our home. We have everything. We have our families here. Where will we go? This, we did not understand.

Erin Harper: So despite these warnings, Miriam, Zvi and Leon, their families, and almost all Jews in Eyshishok—stay. They sleep in their own beds, in their own homes. They keep on with normal life as best they can. Without knowing what the next moment will bring. But for the first time that she can remember, Miriam locks her doors. 

And each day, there’s this gnawing question: could Nazi terror really arrive here, in the Jewish shtetl of Eyshishok?

[A door closes and locks; Theme music]

Coming up on 12 Years That Shook the World:

Miriam Kabacznik: We went to ask them, “What is going on here?” And they say, “You don't know? The Germans declared war.”

Leon Kahn: I will survive you.

Zvi Michaeli: You are a proud Jew until now. Don’t give up. 

Miriam Kabacznik: “What do you mean they killed all the Jews in Aran?” 

Dr. J. Luke Ryder: The time goes by and they really start to panic. 

Miriam Kabacznik: And I said, “Mother, let's run.” 

Erin Harper: From the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, I’m Erin Harper. Joining me were historians at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Dr. Edna Friedberg, Dr. Lindsay MacNeill, and Dr. J. Luke Ryder.

Our show is written and produced by me. Our story is researched by Meredith Gui, with additional research by Dr. Lindsay MacNeill, as well as Clare Cronin and historian, Dr. William Meinecke.

We offer a special thank you to Dr. Simon Goldberg, and Hana G. Green.

This story is informed by the work of historian, Dr. Yaffa Eliach.

Some oral history interviews are from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s collection, as a gift from Jeff Bieber, including: Miriam Kabacznik Shulman from 1997, Leon Kahn from 1998, and Zvi Michaelowsky from 1997, and 1999. An interview with Miriam Kabacznik Shulman from 1996 is a gift from Randy M. Goldman. You can watch these testimonies online in the Museum’s collection.

Other Interviews of Miriam Kabacznik Shulman from 1998, Leon Kahn from 1996, and Zvi Michaeli from 1996 are from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation—The Institute for Visual History and Education. For more information, visitsfi.usc.edu.

Leon Kahn’s interview from 1982 is from the Montreal Holocaust Museum.

For a complete bibliography for our story, and for more resources, look for the link in the episode show notes or visitUSHMM.org/12YearsPodcast.

This podcast is funded in part by support from the Crown Family Philanthropies, the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation, Walmart Foundation, and from the Judd, Randi, Stephen & Barry Malkin Families.

Music and Sound Design by SALT Audio. Lead Editor and sound effects by Aaron Kennedy.

Listeners, we need your help to make 12 Years That Shook the World even better. We want to hear from you: what resonates, what moves you, and what you think of our latest season? Look for the survey link in the show notes or send an email to podcast@ushmm.org. If you like our show, follow us on your favorite podcast app and share our podcast with others. Thank you for listening.