Smithtown High School West teacher, Christina Cone has arranged for a very special guest speaker for her students. Next Tuesday, November 10th, Holocaust survivor, Mordechai Miller, will tell the story of his family and the great lengths they travelled to survive the Nazi regime, Ms. Cone’s students from 8 AM – 9:30 AM. Mordechai Miller, volunteers to speak at schools throughout Long Island, to assure his story and the memory what was endured and what was lost during the Holocaust is never forgotten.
Miller’s story is full of ups and downs. 1939, a proclamation banning Jewish children from schools and forcing all Jewish families into Ghettos was announced, forcing Mordechai Miller and his family out of their home in Poland. They lived by way of bartering family relics, gold and other cherished possessions to survive. He nearly lost his mother, who was beaten by soldiers for sneaking out of the Ghetto for food. However, a refugee Russian Surgeon risked his own life to travel to their ghetto to repair her injuries. In the weeks after, Miller’s ghetto was eliminated and the whole family was able to run into hiding, a task, Mordechai’s mother would have never survived without the courageous actions of the Russian Surgeon.
After hiding in many different places, the Miller’s hid in the forest, where a German soldier spotted the family. Not knowing they were of Jewish heritage, the German soldier offered them work in a kitchen, in exchange for housing and food. The family survived and was treated well for three months, until the SS Viking Division, Fifth Company, Panzer Grenadiers were transferred, leaving the Miller’s with a letter of recommendation. They stayed and worked for the new unit until a local neighbor informed on the Miller’s, stating she believed they were Jewish. They were to be executed the following day, however, fate stepped in again for Mordechai and his family. The following day, the Russians liberated the Millers and they were spared.
Although the whole family suffered massive physical trauma, from malnutrition and muscle loss to lice and loss of teeth, the family endured thanks to a few acts of kindness and fate.
After Mordechai Miller served in the Israeli Army, he moved moved the United States, where he met his met his wife in Brooklyn. Miller moved to Long Island to raise his family. He continues to speak to members of the future generations, knowing in his heart, that they will pass along his story for generations to come.
To hear more of Mordechai Miller’s story, check back with Smithtown Today after his visit to Smithtown High School West.