Weekly Moment With the Rebbe

From the Inferno

Chabad would never have blossomed on American shores without the arrival of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. The Avner Institute presents the incredible story of the rescue of the “Rebbe Rayatz” from the hands of the Nazis at the outbreak of World War Two. It was a rescue spanning several countries, several dedicated Chassidim and Congressmen, and several military intelligence officers – including the Nazis themselves!

“I am with him in his suffering.”

The anxiously awaited arrival of the Friedeker (Previous) Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn – also known as “the Rebbe Rayatz” – the climax of a perilous route through Poland, Germany, Latvia, and Sweden, was widely reported. On 9 Adar Sheni 5700 (1940) the Rebbe Rayatz arrived safely in America with his wife, Rebbetzin, Nechama Dinah; his mother, Rebbetzin Sterna Sarah; and twelve others.

Without a doubt, his rescue from war-torn Poland remains one of the most dramatic chapters in his life story. Many of the finer details of this odyssey were made public only a few years ago. No fewer than 3,500 documents relating to his rescue are to be found in the archives of the State Department and the German government, as well as in the legal files of Agudas Chassidei Chabad, the Lubavitch umbrella organization.

September 1, 1939. Like a volcano, the Second World War erupted.

At this time the Rayatz and his immediate family were living in Otvotzk, Poland. As a Latvian citizen, the Rayatz could have left Poland immediately. Nevertheless, he preferred to share the tribulations of local brethren, citing the verse “I am with him in his suffering.” So firm was he in his resolution that he refused to stay in the non-Jewish part of the city (considered safer because it was widely believed that the Nazis would bomb the Jewish section first). Instead, he moved into an apartment in the heart of the Jewish quarter.

The predictions proved to be correct. The Rayatz and his family suffered severely during the heavy aerial bombardments. Meanwhile, attempts to rescue them had already begun.

That summer, a group of American yeshiva students who had traveled to Poland with Rabbi Yisrael Jacobson specially to meet the Rayatz were able to return home immediately. (America did not officially enter the war until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in December 1941.) Rabbi Jacobson saw enough to realize that in the public interest the Rebbe Rayatz and his family should be taken out of Poland as soon as possible, and preferably brought to America. Therefore, on Rabbi Jacobson’s return to New York, he immediately set the wheels in motion.

Men of Goodwill

The Agudas Chassidei Chabad, official organization of Lubavitch initially based in New York and Chicago, called on the services of Max Roth, a leading immigration lawyer. Roth immediately contacted his connections in Washington. At the same time Agudas Chassidei Chabad drew up a list of additional politicians who carried enough influence. At this stage, this organization spoke to local Congresspeople. With the help of Max Roth, they enlisted the assistance of Saul Blum, then a member of the Congress Foreign Affairs Committee. Also helpful was Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York, who wrote to Secretary of State Cordell Hull as early as September 25th.

In addition, the Chicago Congressman, Adolph J. Sabath, who had met with the Rebbe Rayatz ten years earlier during the latter’s memorable visit to the U.S., sent an appeal to the Secretary of State, explaining that the Rebbe Rayatz was not an ordinary pulpit rabbi – rather the leader of world Jewry. On January 10, 1940, he sent a telegram to the American ambassador to Latvia: I met Grand Rabbi Schneersohn during his visit to America . . . Please execute this operation as quickly as possible, as it is most urgent.

The American Joint Distribution Committee (the “Joint”) also played a part. Its representative in Russia, Joseph Rosen remembered fondly the Rebbe Rayatz from the latter’s years in the Soviet Union and dedication to Soviet Jewry. Consequently, a warm relationship had grown between them. He too did everything possible to facilitate the Rebbe Rayatz’s rescue and sent a telegram, dated September 26th, to the American ambassador in Riga, asking him to assist Rabbi Mordechai Dubin in locating the Rebbe Rayatz in Poland and bringing him to Latvia at the earliest opportunity.

At the same time Asher Rabinowitz, son of Rabbi David Moshe Rabinowitz of Boston, utilized his connections. The younger Rabinowitz, a well-known lawyer, managed to involve the famous Supreme Court judge, Louis Brandeis. Brandeis, who had also met the Rebbe Rayatz during the latter’s visit to America ten years earlier, put Max Roth in touch with various senior immigration officials.

All of the above connections were made within 2½ weeks!

Somewhere in Poland

Following the Blitzkrieg, the attack on Poland, most means of communication between America and Poland became useless. Telephone lines were down, postal services nearly completely halted. Given the paucity of reliable communication, there was only one thing certain: the Rebbe Rayatz was somewhere in Poland.

After a futile attempt by Chassidim to enlist help from the American embassy in Riga, Agudas Chassidei Chabad contacted the Red Cross, which was still permitted to operate in Poland. Searches, however, were fruitless, as reported in a telegram sent from the Red Cross Warsaw office: Despite all our efforts, we cannot locate Rabbi Schneersohn. The searches continue.

This left one unpredictable option: asking the Germans themselves to find him. America, which was not yet at war, remained in economic contact with Germany and had even set up a four-member intergovernmental committee. The two German members of the committee were Dr. Schacht, who ran the German Reichsbank, and Dr. Helmut Wohlthat. The American representatives were Robert Pell, Undersecretary for European Affairs, and George Rublee.

During the year that committee members were working together, Wohlthat and Pell became fairly friendly. In a dramatic move, when the American Division of Foreign Affairs was asked for assistance in locating the Rebbe Rayatz, Pell approached his German contact. It should be noted here that Wohlthat was not a member of the Nazi party. Rather, his position was based on his expertise as an economist. At the very time the Nazi monster was unleashed over Europe, Wohlthat decided to see what he could do to help Pell.

On October 3, 1939, Pell sent a telegram to Raymond H. Geist, American ambassador in Berlin, outlining the situation. The following day Geist showed the telegram to Wohlthat as requested. Wohlthat noted all the necessary details and promised to do whatever he could. The next day Wohlthat visited Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Chief of German Intelligence (Abwehr). Canaris, hearing that the request came directly from Washington, decided that fulfilling it would be advantageous. Therefore, he ordered his representative in Poland, Johann Horczak, to find the Rebbe Rayatz.

Lion’s Den

Horczak began his search in Otvotzk. He soon found out that the Rebbe Rayatz had left Otvotzk the day after the war began. Horczak then went to Warsaw and discovered that the Rebbe Rayatz was listed in police records as residing at the home of Rabbi Shneur Zalman Shmotkin. Arriving there, Horczak only found a bombed-out ruin. He promptly sent a message to Berlin, informing Canaris that his attempts had failed.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Jacobson received a message from the Rebbe Rayatz’s secretary: the Schneersohn family was at the home of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Gourary at 29 Boni Fraterska. This information was immediately forwarded to Wohlthat, who passed it on to Horczak. Horczak promptly traveled to this address, only to be told no one was there by the name of Schneersohn. Horczak went away, but decided to come back later, realizing that the person he had spoken to was probably afraid. After he convinced the residents of the house that he had come to help the Rebbe, they finally admitted that the latter was there. This information was relayed to Berlin, and a telegram was sent to the State Department.

Immediately Agudas Chassidei Chabad sent the sum of 300 dollars to Berlin. Although everything was arranged by December 1st, the Rebbe did not actually leave Warsaw for another two weeks. Originally, he was supposed to sail straight to Sweden; however, upon his arrival, he found the Swedish coast closed. Instead he had to travel to Riga, and the safest way to do so had to be found.

The main problem behind the rescue of the Rebbe and his entourage was the large number of people. Traveling through a war-torn Eastern Europe unharmed, and out of Gestapo hands, was difficult. Canaris found a complicated but effective solution: send them to Berlin first. Canaris explained they were political prisoners who needed to be interrogated at his office. Given the tightly structured German police system, no other official division could touch them. Horczak accompanied the group, and each time they were stopped by the Gestapo he repeated the story.

Therefore, the Rebbe Rayatz and his family arrived in Berlin, deep in the lion’s den. They stayed overnight on the premises of the Jewish Community Center under the watchful eyes of the Abwehr. The next morning, they met officials at the Latvian consulate and then crossed into Lithuania, and from there to Latvia, finally arriving in Riga on December 16th. This welcome news was also forwarded to the State Department in a telegram.

Rabbi Jacobson and his fellow Chassidim were overjoyed. Yet they also knew that their work was by no means finished. Although Latvia was still independent, everyone knew that the Nazis could invade at any moment. As a last resort, the Latvian president turned to the Soviet Union for help. The Soviet Union replied that it would only provide military assistance on condition that Latvia relinquish her independence and become part of the Soviet Union.

For the Rebbe Rayatz, the prospect of living once again under Communism was no better than living under Naziism. Having spent time in Soviet jail in 1927, he knew too well what a Communist government would do to the Jews of Latvia.

Reviving the Dead

With renewed strength, Agudas Chassidei Chabad now endeavored to secure transit visas for the countries through which the Rebbe Rayatz would have to pass in order to reach America, as well as American entry permits.

In the end, after 2½ months, all the necessary preparations were completed. In today’s eyes, this length of time might be considered overly long. But the only operative means of mass communication back then was the telegram. In addition, the Department of Immigration, while wanting to help, could not overlook the standard procedures required for immigration. Following the appeals of various Congressmen, some of these procedures (such as letter from a sponsor) were waived, and the telegrams were accepted in place of other documents.

On Monday, March 4, 1940, the Rebbe Rayatz and his family flew from Riga to Stockholm. That night, they stayed at the Atlantic hotel before taking the train to the port of Gothenburg. On Wednesday afternoon they set sail for America; two weeks later, 9 Adar Sheni, they arrived in New York.

During this time, Agudas Chassidei Chabad prepared for his arrival. Congressman Rodney Leland Blum persuaded the Department of Immigration to allow the Rebbe Rayatz and his entourage into the country without the requisite examinations at Ellis Island. The Rebbe Rayatz was also permitted to be the first passenger to disembark. In response to a telegram sent by Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary, the Rebbe Rayatz’s elder son-in-aw, to Rabbi Jacobson, Blum arranged for an ambulance to wait at the port for the Rebbe Rayatz’s mother, Rebbetzin Sterna Sarah.

Rabbi Jacobson, who had worked so fiercely to rescue the Schneersohn family, was privileged to board the ship to meet the Rebbe Rayatz on his arrival. The latter asked that when leaving the ship he be greeted with the words Baruch Mechayeh HaMeisim! – “Blessed be He Who revives the dead.” In the spirit of this request, Cantor Shmuel Kantroff sang these words as the Rebbe Rayatz disembarked.

Rabbi Yaakov Katz of Chicago was also privileged to visit the Rebbe Rayatz in the latter’s cabin before he stepped onto dry land. Rabbi Katz had grown close to the Rebbe Rayatz following the latter’s visit to America ten years earlier. Rabbi Katz had expressed his dedication even before the Rebbe Rayatz’s arrival by opening a bank account with $2,000 for immediate use.

As he walked into the cabin, Rabbi Katz saw the Rebbe Rayatz appearing wan, seated in a wheelchair. Saddened, Rabbi Katz wept, “Rebbe, what has happened to you?”

The Rebbe Rayatz replied, “The suffering of the Jewish people has done this!”

On 9 Adar Sheni 5700, a new chapter began in American Jewish life. On the very night of his arrival, the Rebbe Rayatz defied his well-meaning advisers by declaring, “America is no different!” He spent the last decade of his life proving the truth of this statement, and his monumental labors flourished when his younger son-in-law succeeded him in 5711 (1951).

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