2008 Woodie Awards
Holocaust Survivor Martin Spett
Kayla Hutzler
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: Features
Holocaust survivor Martin Spett has become an integral part of the MC Holocaust Resource Center, graciously giving talks and interviews along with writing a memoir of his experiences available free of charge to MC students and all teachers.
In 1993, history professor Dr. Freitzberg invited Spett, along with Dr. Schweitzer and Dr. Hashimoto, to speak of their personal experiences during World War II. After this, Spett lectured in elementary and high schools, and realized many teachers simply did not know how to speak about the Holocaust. It was at this point that he met with Dr. Schweitzer to discuss creating a course of study, and in Spett's words, "the rest is history!"
Martin Spett was born in Tarnow, Poland on December 2,, 1928 to Sala Leisten, a U.S. citizen, and Arthur Spett, a native of Poland. Four years later, his mother gave birth to his younger sister, Rozia. Spett attended a private religious elementary school and often hung out on the streets, in the courtyards, and in the playgrounds and gardens of Tarnow with his friends. The town consisted of 70,000 people in 1937, 25,000 of which were Jewish.
In 1937, Spett began to feel his world slipping away from him. The Polish government began enacting anti-Semitic legislation- taking jobs away from Jewish employees and giving them to non-Jews. Spett's father lost his job at the Department of Finance, where he had worked for many years.
The Nazis invaded Tarnow on September 1, 1939 by dropping a bomb on Tarnow's hospital. One week later the town was occupied by the German Army. They began enacting numerous regulations, adding to them every week: Jewish children were forbidden an education; Jews could not walk on certain streets; Jews had to wear white armbands with blue stars; and Jews were not allowed to worship. The list grew longer and longer each day. In the spring of 1940, the Spett family was forced out of their apartment, which was then given to non-jews.
In 1941, Jews were required to register with the German Army and receive a yellow ID card. Spett avoided registering, thus saving his life when the Germans later sought the Jews. When the deportations began in 1942, Spett and his family found places to hide. His father built a fake ceiling in a woodshed near the family's apartment. The events seen from this safe house made "an unforgettable impression" on Spett. In his book, he described pregnant women stabbed in the stomach by German soldiers, and infants smashed against walls. During another deportation raid, the family hid under the floorboards of a shack for four days to escape the Belzec death camp.
In 1993, history professor Dr. Freitzberg invited Spett, along with Dr. Schweitzer and Dr. Hashimoto, to speak of their personal experiences during World War II. After this, Spett lectured in elementary and high schools, and realized many teachers simply did not know how to speak about the Holocaust. It was at this point that he met with Dr. Schweitzer to discuss creating a course of study, and in Spett's words, "the rest is history!"
Martin Spett was born in Tarnow, Poland on December 2,, 1928 to Sala Leisten, a U.S. citizen, and Arthur Spett, a native of Poland. Four years later, his mother gave birth to his younger sister, Rozia. Spett attended a private religious elementary school and often hung out on the streets, in the courtyards, and in the playgrounds and gardens of Tarnow with his friends. The town consisted of 70,000 people in 1937, 25,000 of which were Jewish.
In 1937, Spett began to feel his world slipping away from him. The Polish government began enacting anti-Semitic legislation- taking jobs away from Jewish employees and giving them to non-Jews. Spett's father lost his job at the Department of Finance, where he had worked for many years.
The Nazis invaded Tarnow on September 1, 1939 by dropping a bomb on Tarnow's hospital. One week later the town was occupied by the German Army. They began enacting numerous regulations, adding to them every week: Jewish children were forbidden an education; Jews could not walk on certain streets; Jews had to wear white armbands with blue stars; and Jews were not allowed to worship. The list grew longer and longer each day. In the spring of 1940, the Spett family was forced out of their apartment, which was then given to non-jews.
In 1941, Jews were required to register with the German Army and receive a yellow ID card. Spett avoided registering, thus saving his life when the Germans later sought the Jews. When the deportations began in 1942, Spett and his family found places to hide. His father built a fake ceiling in a woodshed near the family's apartment. The events seen from this safe house made "an unforgettable impression" on Spett. In his book, he described pregnant women stabbed in the stomach by German soldiers, and infants smashed against walls. During another deportation raid, the family hid under the floorboards of a shack for four days to escape the Belzec death camp.