Rachel Ban Tefft
I want to share someone with you who is very dear to me. She was a Holocaust survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp who then became a beloved award-winning 6th grade teacher. She later became an outspoken advocate and educator on the horrors of the Holocaust and the enduring power of love and tolerance. She is the author the book Sharing is Healing which details her experience during the Holocaust and is written at a level to accommodate young readers.
She is also the focus of a documentary that follows her as she returned to Auschwitz with 30 teachers to share her story of survival with them firsthand. Among her many honors and awards are two honorary doctorate degrees, teacher of the year in Missouri, and the Golden Apple teaching award in Washington state.
This individual is my personal hero, my grandmother, Noemi Ban. Sadly, her time on this earth came to an end in June of 2019 and it’s been difficult and painful for me to make sense of a world without her in it. Which makes what I’m sharing today even more poignant and important. I feel it is my duty and an honor to carry on her legacy and spread her message of hope and love of life.
What follows is the introduction to her documentary, a film by Jim Lortz, which was released in 2009:
Intro to documentary: STOP at 1:31
https://youtu.be/gbFQ599vT8E?t=1
Born in Szeged, Hungary in 1922, Noemi was the oldest of 3 children. She was 21 years old when the Nazis marched into Hungary on March 19, 1944.
Soon there were many restrictions on Jewish families, the first of which was the requirement to wear the yellow star. In her book she writes… “Imagine how embarrassed we were when we had to go outside. People looked at us wherever we went. We knew in our hearts that something much more terrible would come soon.”
Eight more families moved into their house as a ghetto was established and Noemi and her family became prisoners in their own home. One sad day the Nazis marched in and took the beloved family piano. Special memories were created around that piano and my grandma had the feeling that she was losing a family member.
Eventually, her father, Samu, was sent to a forced labor camp. In her book she writes... “All of us were crying. Our hearts were broken. That whole day and into the night my mother kept crying. I was also very sad. But I tried to calm down my mom. I told her, “Please don’t cry. Maybe soon you will see him again.” She shook her head and said, “Noemi, I have a terrible feeling that I will never see him again.” I am sorry to tell you that my mom was right. They never met again.”
After her father left, Noemi and her family leaned on each other for support. She spoke of her dear grandma Nina, as a “small woman with a loving smile who baked delicious cookies and had a lovely voice.” And her 43-year-old mother Juliska was her “dear best friend” and helped her fall in love with reading books. Then her 12-year-old sister Erzebet (or Elizabeth) who she described as “tall, skinny, and very smart.” She admired and looked up to Noemi. And finally her baby brother Gabor. She writes “He had shiny black hair and black eyes. He didn’t cry a lot. He was a tiny baby, only 6 months old. But when he cried he had a very strong voice. I have no pictures to show you of Gabor. Soon you will understand why.” Food was scarce in the ghetto, and everyone was nervous and afraid.
Three months later, Noemi and her grandmother, mother, sister, and baby brother were sent on a transport to Auschwitz, arriving on July 1, 1944.
14:08 - 15:49 Cattle car
https://youtu.be/zcQh4Rv4QiE?t=848
Upon arrival in Auschwitz, my grandma was immediately separated from her family because she was young and able to work. The rest of her family members were sent to their death in the gas chambers.
Arrival in Auschwitz and separation from family:
Entire 2:15 video
https://youtu.be/Y9Xk8vFjP3E?t=1
Conditions in the death camp were horrifying. Here she describes what it was like to go without water:
33:10 -36:05
https://youtu.be/zcQh4Rv4QiE?t=1990
Noémi spent nearly four months in Auschwitz before being picked by Dr. Joseph Mengele to be transferred to a sub-camp of Buchenwald to work at a bomb factory. She and eleven other women escaped during a forced death march in April of 1945. An American soldier found them and told them they were free. She arrived in Budapest in September of 1945 and reunited with her father, who also survived. Noémi married Earnest Ban, whom she had met before the war, in October of the same year and they settled in Budapest where Earnest was a teacher. A few years later, Noémi became a teacher as well.
The Soviets came to power in Budapest in 1948. Life continued under the Communist regime, but Noémi and her family feared the growing anti-Semitism in Hungary. A few years later, Noémi, her husband, and two young sons (one of them being my dad) attempted to escape via train to Austria.
They were tricked, caught at the border, and forced to return to Budapest. However, less than a month after the first attempt, they tried again. With a friend's help, they hid in giant balls of yarn shipped in the back of a truck from Budapest. They arrived in the United States in February of 1957 and relocated to St. Louis, Missouri. Both she and Earnest went back to school to learn English and then pursued American college degrees. Earnest taught math and Noémi became a sixth-grade teacher. Upon retirement, my grandparents moved to Bellingham, WA to be closer to my family.
When I was in middle school, my grandfather unfortunately developed Alzheimer's and passed away in 1994. Soon after, Noémi began to speak publicly about her Holocaust experience. She began visiting schools, civic and church groups, and even jails to teach the lessons of the Holocaust. She often spoke in more than 120 schools in the span of a year in several counties in Washington State. She has spoken across the United States and the world, from Washington state, all the way to Taiwan. She visited my family and me in Maine in 2010, spoke at Bates College and participated in a Yom Hashoah remembrance ceremony at the state house with the governor.
Evening Magazine clip STOP at 5:04
https://youtu.be/gUN8QO74Clk?t=1
My grandma has been instrumental in ensuring that the Holocaust not be forgotten. Each year she shared her experiences with thousands of students. She went beyond speaking about the tragedy of the past; and translated the sorrow of her loss of her family into action. She is remembered as a passionate advocate for civil rights, diversity and social justice. Here she talks about what can happen when we don’t speak up against hate and prejudice...
58:19 - 59:58 Why talk about the Holocaust?
https://youtu.be/zcQh4Rv4QiE?t=3499
1:07:11 - 1:08:00
https://youtu.be/zcQh4Rv4QiE?t=4031
In 1999 I took a trip to Auschwitz and Hungary with Grandma and my dad. This was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. In her book, Grandma writes of this experience: “Hitler wanted to kill all the Jews. He didn’t want us to have children or grandchildren. Almost all our family was killed. I was supposed to die, but I survived. Here I stand with my son and his daughter. Life continues. This is a victory over hatred and death.”
My grandma taught me many things, but it was her strong sense of optimism and hope, even in the face of evil, that will always inspire me to carry on her message of love, acceptance, tolerance, compassion and most importantly, a love of life. I’m so grateful that my children were able to know their GiGi (Great Grandma) and she was able to love them. She always made me feel loved, special and that I am a good mother. I am named after her dear mom, and this has always been an honor that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
I miss laughing with her and enjoying her delicious 10 course Hungarian meals that I always made sure to wear stretchy pants to when enjoying. She will always be the strongest person I'll ever have the privilege of knowing and loving. For a peaceful future we must continue to tell her story for generations to come. We must teach her message of love and acceptance, of tolerance and compassion, and always remember to appreciate life. Thank you for letting me share my Grandma with you.
