|
The Frieder family
of Cincinnati lived an idyllic life in Manila, having moved their cigar-making
business to the Philippine Islands, a commonwealth of the U.S., in 1921.
Four brothers, Alex, Philip, Herbert, and Morris Frieder, took turns living
in Manila, joining the small Jewish community. Traveling back and forth
by boat, each brother and his family spent two years in the Philippines
living in a beautiful home overlooking the rice fields.
| While
the Frieders were living a life of privilege in the Philippines, the
Nazi Party was on the rise in Germany, and the rich Jewish cultural
life came under attack. The horrifying scenes of Kristallnacht, November
9, 1938, convinced many Jews that Germany was no longer safe. For
two days the Nazis brutally destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, cemeteries,
and over 1,000 synagogues, and arrested 30,000 German-Jewish men,
placing them in concentration camps. Fearing for their lives, many
Jews escaped Germany, often fleeing to little-known destinations. |
The Frieder Family
|
Meanwhile, the small
Jewish community in Manila listened to the news coming from Europe with
growing apprehension. Learning that German Jews were seeking to escape
Nazi tyranny, the Manila community was anxious to help. The entire community
raised money to help Jews in Shanghai, but when the money was not needed,
they kept it for emergencies.
|
U.S. High Commissioner to the Philippines, Paul V. McNutt
|
The Frieders
were part of the elite social circle in Manila, which allowed them
to have access to influential people who might be willing to help.
Their crucial connections helped bring about the immigration of
Jews from Germany and Austria. U.S. High Commissioner Paul McNutt
went to the Refugee Economic Corporation and the Frieder sons with
the idea of choosing immigrants to come to the Philippines as long
as the existing Jewish community helped to support them
|
|
Because of their
personal relationship with Manuel Quezon, the Frieder brothers were
able to ask him for help. Quezon responded by opening the doors
to Jewish immigration. Morris Frieder's letter outlines a plan for
10,000 Jewish refugees to find haven in the Philippines. Quezon
donated some of his own land for the building of a residence hall,
Marikina Hall, for the refugees who eventually began referring to
themselves as "Manilaners." The war brought immigration
to a halt, but not before 1,200 Jews were rescued from the Nazis.
|
Alex and Herbert Frieder with Manuel Quezon at the dedication of
Marikina Hall, a boarding house for Jewish Refugees in the Philippines.
|
Shortly following
the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces occupied the Philippines.
The battle to retake Manila began in early 1945. Some of the refugees
were caught between the advancing Allied forces and retreating Japanese,
as the battle was fought in the streets of Manila. Refugees lost family
members, homes and possessions in the brutal battle.
In addition to losing
friends and family, homes, and possessions, the Jewish community also
lost their beloved synagogue. Temple Emil was taken over by the Japanese
commander in late 1944, and was destroyed during the Battle of Manila.
In a service on November 9, 1945, commemorating the seventh anniversary
of Kristallnacht, a group of Jewish servicemen and women donated funds
to rebuild the synagogue. In the years after the war, many of the refugees
made their way to the United States or the new state of Israel, but they
did not forget the haven that they had found in the Philippines.
On
the weekend of February 11th, Frieder relatives, Manuel Quezon III-the
grandson of Philippine president Manuel Quezon, relatives of U.S.
Commissioner Paul V. McNutt, Philippine Ambassador H.E. Albert Del
Rosario, "Manilaners," including author of Escape to Manila,
Refuge from the Holocaust, Frank Ephraim, and members of the Filipino
and Jewish communities of Cincinnati came together to celebrate the
story of one of the war's most improbable rescues.
|
Manilaners, Lotte Cassel Herschfield and Frank Ephraim as children
in the Philippines |
Manilaner, Ralph Priess holding the Torah in newly built Temple Emil |
The weekend
began with a Sabbath prayer service commemorating the 60th anniversary
of the destruction of Manila's synagogue, Temple Emil, followed
by an elegant banquet with food, music and dance from the Philippines.
The weekend concluded with a Public Program at Plum Street Temple,
featuring eyewitnesses, dignitaries and members of the community.
|
| The
commemoration of such heroic acts did not go unnoticed. In an award
ceremony in May, at the Philippines Embassy in Washington, D.C., the
visiting Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Honorable Alberto Romulo,
conferred Presidential Decorations, the National Order of Civic and
Political Merit and the Order of Lakandula, (rank of Grand Cross)
posthumously to the Frieder Brothers of Cincinnati and to High Commissioner,
Paul V. McNutt, who helped spearhead the rescue of Jews fleeing Nazi
Germany to a safe haven in the Philippines. |
Manilanters
at the Sunday Ceremony at Plum Street Temple. Row One, from left
to right: Lotte Cassel Herschfield, Eva Ashner, George Lowenstein,
Gordon Lester.
Row Two: Frank Ephraim, Ralph Preiss, Irene Nebens.
|
The Government of
the Philippines also conferred the Order of Lakandula (rank of Commander)
on Frank Ephraim, author of "Escape to Manila," and to Racelle
R. Weiman, who was instrumental in the rescue initiative gaining worldwide
attention through educational and outreach efforts of The Center for Holocaust
and Humanity Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
"We wanted to
tell the world about the humanity of these men who did so much to save
so many people and were never recognized," said Racelle Weiman, director
of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. "We hope it will
make people realize that everyone can make a difference."
Read
More about the Awards Ceremony here.
|
