Tracking the traffic -> Rabbi Rosenaks Traum

Di Naye Velt
Zhurnal Far Yidishe Meydlekh Unter Vegns
Falshe Hofenung

Zint di pogromen in der rusisher imperye hobn ongehoybn tsvingen di yidn tsu zukhn in mayrev a mokem-miklet, neytn oykh di oremkayt un der doykhek in perspektivn toyznter yidn oystsuvandern, kedey tsu gefinen a beser lebn in di Fareynikte Shtatn, in Argentine, un in Brazil. Tsvishn zey zaynen do a sakh yunge froyen, vos nemen zikh unter di lange nesiye, vayl me hot zey tsugezogt arbet vi nyankes, dinstmeydlekh, oder neytorns, mit der hofenung, az azoy veln zey kenen oyshaltn zeyere mishpokhes in der heym un aleyn onheybn a nay lebn. Ober oft iz der endtsil fun zeyer nesiye nit keyn farmeglekh un bekovedik hoyz, nor a bordel.

Mir hobn do tsu ton mit gut-organizirte grupes, vos farnemen zikh mit froyen-handl iber der gantser velt. Zey shikn zeyere shlikhim, mener un froyen, keyn eyrope, kedey tsu farfirn meydlekh mitn kholem fun ashires un hofenung. Zey shteln zikh for mit falshe dokumentn vi mitglider fun religyeze oder filantropishe organizatsyes, un zey narn op di meydlekh mit zeyer profesyoneln oyszen, glate tsinglekh, un kloymershtik ashires. Zey zogn tsu gute shteles; a teyl zaynen afile greyt khasene tsu hobn mit a meydl, kedey zi tsu brengen vi zeyer vayb keyn Dorem-Amerike, Indye, oder Khine. Ober baym endtsil vart oyf ir nor di shklaferay.

S׳rov korbones fun froyen-handl zaynen in gantsn on mitlen un farmogn nit di neytike shprakh-kentenishn, kedey tsu kenen iberlebn in a fremd land. Di groyse merhayt fun di farshklafte meydlekh kumen fun Galitsye (40%), Rusland (15%), Italye (11%) un Ungern (10%). Yedes yor vern toysnter yidishe un nit-yidishe meydlekh korbones fun der moderner shklaferay. Farmishpte tsu a lebn fun umglik un bushe, bavayzn zey gor zeltn zikh tsu bafrayen. S'rov briv zeyere kumen keyn mol nit on tsu zeyere mishpokhes. A sakh meydlekh shtarbn yungerhayt un vern bagrobn in fremder erd.

Fun Pia Zarsteck un Sara Tegge

Eytses Far Der Ambitsyezer Yugnt

Oyb ir hot bashlosn oystsuvandern un tsu forn aleyn, zayt visn, az ir kent zikh farlozn oyf undzer hilf. Say der "Yidisher Farband far der Ophitung fun Meydlekh un Froyen" bazirt in London, say der "Yidisher Komitet kegn Froyen-Handl" in Hamburg eksistirn mitn tsil tsu helfn froyen, vos forn aleyn, un tsu farzikhern, az zey zoln onkumen oyf a zikhern oyfn.

Di agentn fun undzere asotsyatsyes arbetn in di groyse havns un zaynen greyt aroystsuhelfn froyen unter vegns, vos zaynen arayn in a klem. Di agentn kenen aykh helfn ontsukumen tsu ayere kroyvem, vos vartn oyf aykh, tsu forn mit zikherkayt tsu ayer tsil, oder tsu gefinen an ort vu ayntsushteyn tsaytvaylik in a mokem-miklet far froyen in der gegnt.

Oyb ir planirt tsu emigrirn ober ir zayt nit zikher vegn dem, vos far a nesiye me hot far aykh tsugegreyt, ken men aykh helfn un gebn eytses dort vu ir voynt. Redt mitn rov fun ayer shtetl! Er vet visn vegn di dreydlekh fun di froyen-handlers, vi azoy zey firn zikh, un vet zayn bekoyekh optsushatsn ayer situatsye. Undzere froyen-agentn arbetn oykh in ayer gegnt un kenen gebn froyen in a noyt eytses un informatsye vegn di dertsiung-meglekhkaytn.

Halt in zinen, az nit gekukt oyf dem, vi vayt ir zayt shoyn fun ayer mishpokhe, ken men aykh tomed helfn un s׳iz ale mol meglekh zikh umtsukern! Zayt azoy gut un shtelt zikh in kontakt mit eynem fun undz, oyb ir zayt in a noyt! Un nemt zikh in akht!

Fun Raphael Drobner un Saskia Barbe

Tsu A Sakh Tates

Leopold Rosenak iz zikher a yid, vos s'iz keday im tsu gedenken. Er iz in 1896 gevorn der ershter rov fun der havnshtot Bremen, vu di yidn hobn bakumen dos rekht zikh tsu bazetsn nor in 1848.

Vi der tate fun dray kinder, hot Rosenak tayer gehaltn di eygene mishpokhe, ober er iz oykh in meshekh fun zayn lebn gevorn a "tate" far der gantser kehile. Zayne oyern zaynen geven ofn nit bloyz far di tsores fun zayn eygener kehile, nor oykh far di tsores fun di mizrekh-eyropeishe yidishe pleytem, vos zaynen adurkhgeforn bremen, vi oykh fun andere yidn, vos er hot bagegnt, dinendik vi a militerisher rov beshas der ershter velt-milkhome.

Er hot oyfgeklert yidn vegn di farsheydene mageyfes, lemoshl, vegn der kholere; er hot tsugeshtelt fraye koshere moltsaytn far pleytem, mashgiyekh geven oyf di koshere kikhn fun di shifn, vos forn aroys fun bremen, un hot geshtitst dertsiung-programen. Ober efsher zayn grester baytrog iz geven zayne oysergeveyntlekhe bamiungen tsu helfn yidishe froyen, vos zaynen gevorn korbones funem froyen-handl. Er hot gearbet mitn "yidishn farband far der ophitung fun yidishe meydlekh un froyen", un er hot bavornt froyen, eyder zey zaynen gevorn farmishpet tsu a lebn zeyer vayt fun dem, vos me hot zey tsugezogt.

Rosenak hot dermutikt andere rabonim zikh tsu vendn tsu der problem fun yidisher prostitutsye un froyen-handl un tsu vorenen yidishe mishpokhes vegn di sakones, vos loyern oyf zeyere tekhter. In 1902 hot er bahandlt dem dozikn veytikdikn inyen oyf a rabonisher asife in Frankfurt. Khotsh der froyen-handl iz vayter ongegangen in di kumendike yorn, zaynen hunderter korbones geratevet gevorn durkh naye initsyativn, vi, lemoshl, di "Lige fun Yidishe Froyen", vos Bertha Pappenheim hot gegrindet in 1904, kedey tsu bakemfn dem froyen-handl un tsu farbesern di meglekhkaytn fun yidishe froyen tsu bakumen a gute dertsiung.

Beshas der ershter velt-milkhome hot Rosenak gedint der daytsher armey mit layb un lebn vi a militerisher rov, un zayne daytshe koleges hobn im geloybt. Er hot bakumen a sakh medaln far zayn ibergegebener dinung oyfn front, ober ven zayn eygn folk iz geven in sakone, iz keyn eyn daytsher "landsman", vos hot im frier azoy bavundert, nit gekumen im tsu hilf.

Haynt gedenkt un bavundert men Rosenak. Zayn gants lebn hot er zikh gefirt al-pi yoysher, un er iz geven a groyser humanitaryer. Oyb yeder mentsh volt zikh bamit zikh tsu firn mit nor a kheylek fun zayn gutskayt, volt undzer velt gevorn a sakh a beser ort.

Fun Elizabeth Kniffin un Sara Tegge

Di statistik shtamt fun "Bakemfn dem Froyen-Handl" fun Leopold Rosenak, 1903.

False Hope
english

False Hope

Ever since the pogroms in the Russian Empire forced Jews to seek refuge across the ocean, thousands of young Jewish women decide to travel alone to seek a better life in the United States, Argentina or Brazil. Promised work as nannies, house maids, or seamstresses, they risk the long journey, hoping to sustain their families back at home and start new life. Often, however, their final destination is not a wealthy and respectable house but one of the brothels run by the infamous Zvi-Migdal gang.

We are dealing with well-organized worldwide trafficking organizations, which send their male and female agents to Eastern Europe to lure young women with visions of prosperity and hope. Using false documents, they might introduce themselves as members of religious or philanthropic organizations and deceive you with their smart looks, polished speech and apparent wealth. They will promise you an attractive job; some will even be ready to marry you to take you as their wife to South America, India or China. But only slavery awaits you at the destination.

Most victims of trafficking are destitute and do not possess the necessary language skills to survive in a foreign country. A great majority of enslaved girls come from the Polish lands (40%), Russia (15%), Italy (11%) and Hungary (10%). Every year thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish girls fall victim to this modern slavery. Sentenced to a life of misery and shame, only the fewest manage to free themselves. Their letters mostly never reach their families again. Many die young, filling cemeteries in faraway lands.

By Pia Zarsteck and Sara Tegge

To Many a Father

Leopold Rosenak is surely a man to remember. Taking the office of Bremen’s first rabbi in 1896, he served Jews who, after an overdue wait, were finally permitted to settle inside the borders of this port city in 1848.

Father of three children, Rosenak held his family dear, but the community whom he “fathered” throughout his life was far more numerous. His ears were open not only for the troubles of the local community, but also to those of Eastern European Jewish refugees migrating via Bremen, and those he encountered serving as a military rabbi during WWI.

He raised awareness about epidemics, such as cholera, provided free kosher meals for refugees and supported educational projects. But perhaps his greatest contribution was the exceptional support he sought to provide for Jewish women who had fallen prey to the white slave trade. Working with the Jewish Association for the Protection of Jewish Girls and Women, he alerted and protected women before their fates might be sealed to a life far from what they were sadly promised.

Standing alongside Germans during World War I, Rosenak served his country with heart and soul as an army chaplain, praises echoing from his German colleagues. He earned numerous medals for his tireless efforts on the front, but as the persecution of his people came to a tipping point, not one fellow German he had previously been lauded by would come to his aid.

Rosenak is remembered today with immense admiration. He led his entire life with the essence of doing right and in every sense was a humanitarian. If every human could strive to act with just a portion of his kindness our world would be a far better place.

By Elizabeth Kniffin and Sara Tegge

Words of Advice for the Young and Ambitious

If you have decided to emigrate and travel on your own, be sure you can count on our assistance. The Jewish Association for the Protection of Girls and Women, based in London, and the Jewish Committee against Women Trafficking in Hamburg [“Jüdisches Zweig-Comitee des Deutschen National-Commitees zur Bekämpfung des Mädchenhandels”] are there to help women traveling alone and make sure they reach their destination safely.

Agents of our associations work in major ports, ready to assist female travelers in trouble. They can help you reach your relatives who are expecting you, get safely to your destination or find temporary accommodation at one of the local women’s shelters.

If you are planning to emigrate but are unsure about the arrangements made for you, there is also help and advice available in your hometown. Talk to your rabbi! He will be informed about the ways human traffickers operate and will be in the position to assess your situation. Our women-envoys are likewise active in your region and trained to advise women in need and inform them about educational opportunities.

Keep in mind that regardless of the distance you have already put in between yourselves and your family, there is always help available, and there is always a chance to return! Please do not hesitate to get in contact with any of us if you ever feel the need! And take care of yourselves!

By Rapahel Drobner and Saskia Barbe

Participants

Rabbi Rosenak’s Dream

Rabbi Leopold Rosenak of Bremen (1868-1923) had a dream. He wanted to stop a flood.

At the turn of the 20th century, when poverty and rising anti-Semitism had sent thousands of East European Jews in search of a better life in the New World, hundreds of Jewish women each year fell prey to human-traffickers. Lured by gangs of professional criminals with promises of a better life, girls from East European shtetls were taken on journeys of no return. Before reaching their final destinations in the brothels of Buenos Aires, New York, or Shanghai, many of them passed through the port of Bremen.

Rosenak, already involved in social work with local Jewish refugees, decided to join in the wider Jewish and non-Jewish efforts to stop this form of human trafficking. A member of the German Committee Against the Trafficking of Women, he used his authority as a rabbi to raise awareness about the problem and seek support for women in need. His dream was to initiate a Yiddish-language newspaper for distribution in Eastern Europe, warning women against the danger of trafficking before it was too late. The project was never realized, as Rabbi Rosenak died suddenly at sea in 1923, during one of his fundraising journeys.

On the 110th anniversary of Rosenak’s public appeal to launch the newspaper, and on the 90th anniversary of his death, a group of Bremen history and art students came together to make his dream come true. In memory of Rabbi Rosenak, and of all the Jewish women who fell victim to human traffickers, we have created the front page of the fictitious paper Naye Velt: A Journal for Travelling Women, which both depicts the plight of trafficked Jewish women and honors the work of Rabbi Rosenak.

Magdalena Waligórska & Elianna Renner

Di Naye Velt Zhurnal Far Yidishe Meydlekh Unter Vegns Falshe Hofenung

False Hope

Participants

Rabbi Rosenak’s Dream

Di Naye Velt
Zhurnal Far Yidishe Meydlekh Unter Vegns
Falshe Hofenung