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Kasriel K. Eilender, M.D.

THE BARBER OF GOERLITZ - A MEMOIR

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Chapter Twelve

From the Killing Fields of Europe

to the Healing Fields of America

"We Should

Continue to

Remember

Victims

of All

Nations."

It was a wonderful moment for me to see the Statue of Liberty and to arrive in the land of the free. Most Munich graduates scattered all over the country with the majority in New York State.

The requirements for licensing us were probably easier in other states than in New York. Since Germany was so devastated after the war, the American authorities were under the impression that the graduates from the German University could not meet American standards. We were required to take post-graduate courses, some for one year and some for two years, after which we were licensed as physicians, dentists and other professions. Finally, I started my internship with a salary of $75 a month plus room and board.

Most of us did not mind the hard work and the very low pay, since we had been so motivated to learn and gain the experience of the American system, which was at this time superior to all others in the world. The more I progressed in my training and knowledge; I got more fascinated with the field I had chosen and dreamed of since I was a child.

What was most interesting was that I was also in the middle of the melting pot of New York City. My ability to speak fluent Polish, German, Russian, Yiddish a little Hebrew and French was a great help in handling so many patients of such diverse. It was a challenge, an accomplishment and a pleasure.

After I finished my residency at New York Medical College, I became a Junior Attending in medicine. I started to practice in Yorkville, which was a known German community for many years with old country flavor. There were restaurants, shops, and even a pharmacist who spoke German.

Many of the inhabitants were poor, old and sick, living mostly in walk-ups. There was a lot of sadness and grief during the 33 years of my practice in this area. I fought fiercely for each life. If some of my patients could not walk three or four flights of stairs to see me in the office, I used to make house calls regardless of the time of day or night. I used to also give talks and lectures devoted to health problems at the Mozart Hall, during which time we ate some sandwiches and drank beer. I was also very proud to take care of my uncles and cousins, as well as some friends and their families.

As time went on, I started to teach students at New York Medical College, which was an enormous challenge and achievement. When I think of it now, I kind of laugh. It was a far cry from my foray into medicine in American medicine was making very rapid progress in each field and it became the Mecca of medicine for many foreign physicians, teachers and researchers. I remember that some years later after the war, many European professors came to the USA to get an idea as to what was happening in every field of medicine.

I was very happy that I was in the center of it. Many years later when I did receive an award for “Excellence in Medicine,” I pointed out in my thank-you speech that...

"I was lucky to come from the killing fields of Europe

to the healing fields of America."

I was also very lucky and thankful to reach the shores of a country where people have freedom, dignity, tolerance and where everyone, regardless of his country of origin or religion, is equal.

All my personal sufferings and tragedies, as well as those of the other human beings I witnessed, made me a better person.

The human race did not learn from the past. The modern world is full of hatred, cruelty, and lack of compassion and understanding for other fellow men. Strange is the behavior and thinking of our fellow men starting with violence and destruction on the family level, propagating itself to nations and all kinds of societies throughout the world.

The tremendous progress in technology and science makes life easy and also prolongs it. This is the domain of civilization. But what happened to the progress of human behavior and spirit from the caveman until now? With all my horrible experiences, I do not hate. The only hate I indulge in is the hate of hate itself!

Hitler’s epilogue to the final solution was to have 40 or 60 remain- ing Jews put in a museum, most probably in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Luckily for us it did not work out this way. Thousands of us who survived the war had the strength, determination and motivation to tell the world our story, and continue to live a productive life, which one could call a resurrection. Many of us, whether in other continents or in the USA, became professionals or experts in many fields in all aspects of life. Most of us started to build families with children and lived to see grandchildren.

I am married and I have two children. My son Jeffrey is an attorney, married, and my daughter Elizabeth who is also married has a masters degree in Journalism and Nutrition.

My wife Teresa, a native of Krakow, Poland, as a child during the Holocaust, was saved by Polish nuns. She is a graduate of Jagiellonian University in Krakow. As a microbiologist, she was looking for a job and got a permanent one working with me in my medical office. She was involved in every aspect of it!

Now as I am retired, I have more time to reflect on my past. I do not know what tomorrow will bring, but today, I continue to search and study the psychology of the Holocaust aided by books and all other modern means. I am involved in many discussions on the subject with my children, their spouses Deborah and Nicholas, also with many individuals of different backgrounds.

My goal is to propagate tolerance, understanding and the rejection of stereotyping. We should continue to remember victims of all nations who perished during the Second World War, and learn how to respect and live with each other in peace and tranquility.

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