In Iowa: Holocaust survivor returns to Corridor with message of hope

He was born in Poland, lost his family in the Holocaust, raised his children in Cedar Rapids and now, after decades away, Dr. Jacob Eisenbach returns to the Corridor.

At age 93, he is the guest speaker at a multifaith service Sunday night in honor of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. I had the honor to speak with him last month; the story he told ran in The Gazette on April 15.

It is a story of tragedy after tragedy, loss after loss; his mother died before World War II broke out, and then during the slaughter of the Jewish people he lost his family members, one by one; his sister, father, a younger brother, cousins, aunts, uncles. Of an extended family of around 100 people, only a handful survived.

His brother, Sam, made it through alongside him, only to be killed after the war in the continued fervor of anti-Semitism that didn't dissipate even after the Nazi's defeat.

After all he has witnessed and survived, Eisenbach would be entitled to bitterness, anger and disenchantment with the world that betrayed his family. It would be understandable for him to conclude we cannot be saved from ourselves, that we as humans cannot overcome the failings of spirit that lead us to murder each other and to march to war against people who, at the end of the day, are not so different from ourselves.

Instead, however, he sees the beauty in the people around him. He recounted to me stories of heroes who risked their lives to hide Jewish families during the war, and of officials who worked undercover to get visas to help Jews escape.

'No matter how dark the clouds may be, there will always be a day when the sun breaks through,' he said.

After a long career as a dentist — he only retired at age 92 — and with grandchildren and great-grandchildren around him, he isn't sitting still. Since he retired from one career, he has taken on what he calls his second career with gusto, traveling the country and speaking about what he witnessed during the Holocaust.

'I have a mission, which I feel is one of the most important missions a person can have. Hundreds of millions of people have died in genocides, Jews and non-Jews,' he said. 'It is my mission to spread the story of the Holocaust and all these other genocides, in places like Syria, Darfur, South Sudan. I want to spread the word about genocides, spread the word about it and work in the direction of stopping it, so that mankind can someday say with confidence, 'Never again.''

Some of his favorite visits are to classrooms, he told me.

'When I speak to young people, I tell them, 'Guard your precious minds, especially against accepting ideas of hatred, bigotry and discrimination.' It was those ideas that led to the Holocaust.'

If you can, go hear him speak, not only in honor of the memory of his family and all those millions they represent, but in honor of the living hope he embodies.

And whether you go or not, take a moment to contemplate his message: that we can overcome even the darkest parts of our legacies when we react with compassion and courage.

The service, at First Presbyterian Church, 310 Fifth St. SE in Cedar Rapids, begins at 7 p.m.

Eisenbach also will speak at Coe, Kirkwood and Cornell colleges on Monday and Tuesday; find details at holocausteducate.org/dr-jacob-eisenbach-speak-cedar-rapids-april-2017.

l Comments: (319) 398-8434; alison.gowans@thegazette.com