Pilgrimage from Darkness: Nuremberg to Jerusalem

356 Pages·2004·13.11 MB·English

by  David E. Feldman

PILGRIMAGE FROM DARKNESS
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PI L G RI M A GE
F R OM D A R KN E SS
NUREMBERG TO JERUSALEM
DAVID E. FELDMAN
University Press of Mississippi Jackson
Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography
www.upress.state.ms.us
The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of American University
Presses.
Copyright © 2004 by David E. Feldman
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
0807060504 4321
As in all biographical works, this book is dependent upon the memories of individuals who
have done their best to remember circumstances accurately. Every effort has been made to
research and check the veracity of those memories and the history surrounding them. Dia-
logue has been recalled and in some cases re-created as accurately as possible. In several
instances details have been slightly altered for the sake of brevity or clarity, without the sac-
rifice of fundamental historical accuracy. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have
inadvertently occurred.
Epigraph from fast of Eden by John Steinbeck, copyright © 1952 by John Steinbeck,
renewed © 1980 by Elaine Steinbeck, John Steinbeck IV, and Thorn Steinbeck. Used by
permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feldman, David E.
Pilgrimage from darkness: nuremberg to Jerusalem / David E. Feldman.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-57806-619-0 (doth: alk. paper)
i. Eder, Asher, 1925- 2. Jewish converts from Christianity—Israel—Biography.
3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)—Germany—Influence. 4. Israel—Biography.
5. Germany—Biography. I. Title.
CTi9i9.P38E5934 2004
940.53>i8'o92—dc22
2003019183
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
To my wonderful wife, Ellen (Toot was right)
To my sons
In memory of the beloved Nettie Hyman and Gail Gluck
"Don't you see?" he cried. "The American Standard translation orders
men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King
James translation makes a promise in 'Thou shalt,' meaning that
men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word
timshel—'Thou mayest'—that gives a choice. It might be the most
important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws
it right back on a man."
—East of Eden by John Steinbeck
AUTHOR'S NOTE
In the summer of 2001,1 received a phone call from a man I did not
know who wanted to take me to lunch. He said his name was Leonard
Levine and that he lived here in Long Beach, New York. He had just
read a book I had written about American servicemen stationed in
China during World War II, and he wanted to tell me of his own expe-
riences, which had been similar, and to talk about a book he was hop-
ing to find someone to write.
I had mixed feelings; his story might well be an interesting one,
but many people had approached me with the notion that I should
write about what they went through during World War II, and, as far
as I was concerned, I had already done a book about the war and had
moved on to other matters. We did meet, however, and, true to his
word, after complimenting me on my work, Mr. Levine (now known
to me as Lenny) did tell me a story that resembled what I had written
about in Born of War. When I gently let him know that I was probably
not going to be the one who would recount his experiences, he
responded that he wasn't asking me to.
He then proceeded to relate the riveting tale of a Christian German
boy named Oskar Eder who had become involved with the Hitler
8 AUTHOR'S NOTE
Youth and the Luftwaffe. Late in the war, the young man learned the
whole truth about the Nazis and was devastated. Deeply affected and
spiritually bereft, he set out on a quest that introduced him to several
branches of Islam, to Hinduism, to a variety of Christian groups, and
finally to Judaism. Converted by a rabbinic court in Haifa and mar-
ried to a Holocaust survivor, he is today an observant Jew living in
Jerusalem.
That was the story Lenny Levine wanted me to write, and I eagerly
agreed. I am grateful to Lenny and to Asher (formerly Oskar) Eder for
trusting me with the telling.
PILGRIMAGE FROM DARKNESS