Jessica Foster
Staff WriterThat Sabina Zimering could stand before the Forest Lake Lions last week and tell her story is a bit of a miracle. Doctor, author, speaker and Holocaust (Shoah) survivor, Zimering survived when statistics spoke against it.
She was brave when being brave could be a death sentence. She gave and received love when circumstances were against it.
ìI never considered myself tough or daring,î Zimering said in an interview earlier this week. ìBut it was a great surprise when it came to life or death.î
Indeed, there were many times when death was within her reach yet miraculously she held to life.
Background
Zimeringís hometown is Piotrkow, Poland. She lived there with her mother and father, sister Helka and brother Natek. It was the town where their father ran the family coal business, the town where there were neighborhood kids to play with.
Sabina and her siblings went to school there and, even though they were Jewish, were taught the Catechism. The girls became familiar with the Catholic religion not realizing the knowledge would help save their lives. Sabina and Helka formed a friendship with Danka and Mala Justyna, Catholics.
ìIn all the years of our friendship, it had made no difference to any of us that Danka and Mala were Catholics and Helka and I Jews,î Zimering writes. ìUntil the Germans occupied Piotrkow. The separation was quick. My sister and I went into the ghetto. Danka and Mala into the Polish underground movement.î
It was a friendship that would endure the most difficult of circumstances and the greatest of risks.
War begins
All hell broke loose in 1939. After the Second World War began, the family shared a cramped apartment in the ghetto until they were separated by the savages of war.
Zimeringís father and brother went to work in a forced labor camp. Later, they went to a concentration camp where Zimeringís father died just before the camp was liberated.
Through all of itóthe losses, the challenges, the near discoveriesóZimering used knowledge to get her and her sister through each day.
Beneficial to the environment they were living in, they had Aryan looks and spoke accent-free Polish. Blending in was key to survival.
The Justynas risked their lives by supplying false papers identifying Zimering, her sister Helka and her mother as Catholic Poles.
They escaped the ghetto just hours before the Gestapo liquidated it.
Early on, Zimeringís mother arrived via cattle car to Treblinka, where she perished.
The sisters spent the war in the open, relying on the false papers to bring them life.
They had sporadic contact with their father and brother and their Catholic friends, Danka and Mala.
The girls worked among those they feared most, even at the Maximilian Hotel in Regensburg, Germany.
The hotel, though the girls didnít realize it at first, was freqented by high ranking military officials.
Though she was living in constant fear of discovery, Zimering said she is thankful for her experience when compared to others.
ìIt was much better than being locked up in a basement,î she said.
Zimering credits her age, in part, for giving her strength.
ìThatís the age where you have all of the guts,î she said.
When the war ended, and Zimering returned to the town she had called home, she found it no longer was. In her family of more than 50 loved ones, only seven had survived the ravages of war. She left.
She fulfilled a lifelong dream and attended medical school in Munich, graduating in 1950.
She, her sister, brother and Ruben (who she would marry in October, 1950) immigrated to Minneapolis. Here, Zimeringówho had mastered many languagesófound learning English was a necessity.
She made a home here, practicing medicine and raising three children with Ruben.
A living document
Later, she would use English to author ìHiding in the Open,î a memoir of her and her sister Helkaís (Helen) journey through the Holocaust in Poland and Germany.
After practicing medicine an ophthalmologist for 42 years, Zimering ran out of reasons to not write a book. It was a story she had long planned to tell, a story her three children urged her to share.
ìReally, it was my children that were after me to write my story,î Zimering said.
For years, the Minneapolis woman had been saying she didnít have the time to write the story.
ìI realized I just was afraid to live it again,î Zimering said.
To get started, she enrolled in a creative writing class at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. The story took Zimering 2 years to write followed by an additional 1‡ years for editing and finding a publisher.
Published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, the book has created a buzz.
Zimering, who says she ìnever has been a public speakerî has become one. She travels to schools, churches, synogogues and other gatherings to tell her story.
While she was fearful of reliving the Holocaust by writing the book, Zimering said there is a benefit to spread the message of tolerance and to bring the history of the atrocity alive for school children.
ìIím glad Iím able to leave a document of something that should not be forgotten or denied,î she said. ìWe just have to not expect people to be the same as us. We have to be tolerant and understanding.î
Speaking to students is especially beneficial. To many students, something that happened 60 years ago seems like it could have been 500 years ago. With Zimering, the story can become more tangible.
ìWhen they see and hear someone who has been there and lived through itÖî Zimering said.
The book also is available to the visually impaired as it was transformed into a Radio Talking Book.
To the stage
Zimering soon will see her story unfold on stage.
The Great American History Theatre in St. Paul will present the story in play form. Opening March 27, the play will run through April 25. Kira Obolensky adapted the play for the stage and Sari Ketter directs the world premier.
ìThe book is doing quite well,î Zimering said. ìI was quite surprised. I thought Iíd write something for family and friends but it seems the people like it.î
Tickets/information
Tickets for the play are $27 for adults and $25 for seniors and students. Group tickets for groups of 12 or more are available at discounted rates. For more information call 651-292-4320 or visit the theaterís website at www.historytheatre.com.
The book, now in its second printing is available at Barnes and Noble, Borders, other bookstores and online at Amazon.com.
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