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A Survival Story

There aren't many Holocaust stories that feature the state of Virginia, let alone our hometown. But the story of Gross Breesen is one such story.

In 1930s Germany, Dr. Curt Bondy , a protégé of the Jewish educator and philosopher Martin Buber, felt the winds of change blowing in Germany.

As an antidote to increasing Nazi oppression, he established a training farm on the German-Poland border for Jewish youth to teach them agricultural skills that could be of use when they emigrated.

In addition to farm work, the students studied Jewish history and culture, and Bondy inculcated in them a sense of social responsibility and a need to give back to the community. In short, Bondy was a mentor and father figure to many of the youth at Gross Breesen.

This kind of social experiment was, of course, not tolerated for long by the Nazis. They eventually took over the farm. On the infamous night that became known as Kristallnacht, Gross Breesen became a jail, and the Jewish youth became prisoners in their former refuge.

Those 18-years-old and up were sent to Buchenwald; those younger than 18 were imprisoned in barns on the property.

Meanwhile, in 1938, Richmond businessman William B. Thalhimer and his cousin, Morton, purchased the Hyde Farmland in Burkeville, Virginia, as a haven for Jewish émigrés.

There were several difficulties with this plan, not the least of which were the immigration quotas on Eastern Europeans, and Jews in particular. These quotas were relaxed toward the end of the 1930s, but there were never enough spaces for all who wanted to flee Germany.

To get around this, the Thalhimers devised a novel solution. They gave shares of ownership of the Hyde Farmland to émigrés to ease the strictures of the immigration process.

Thirty six Gross Breeseners eventually made it to Burkeville. The great experiment ended in 1941 when the U.S. entered World War II. The farm was disbanded and the occupants scattered far and wide.

Many ended up volunteering for military service, which, if they survived, would guarantee them U.S. citizenship.

Steve Strauss , a professional photographer in New York for 30 years who has also done work for the "60 Minutes" news program, curated the exhibit. He spent the last seven years preparing the show, talking to Gross Breesen survivors, and collecting photographs and stories.

It all started when he went to his 40th high school reunion. One of his former classmates mentioned a story she had written about one of the Gross Breeseners. But, she told him, there was a lot more of the story to be told.

She convinced Strauss to meet George Landecker , a survivor of Buchenwald and a Gross Breesener. He had published a book of photographs of the farm, based on nearly microscopic 1-inch by 2-inch originals.

These tiny photographs are the same ones, albeit much larger, that you will see at the Virginia Holocaust Museum exhibit called " Learning Seeds ." Strauss, through his connections in the photography world, transferred the images to digital archives, and had them blown up without any loss of quality.

Over the years, the Gross Breeseners have kept in touch, corresponding and having reunions about every year. Strauss mentions that there are over 60 years worth of unpublished correspondence between Gross Breeseners, who live in many different parts of the world. So this saga continues even today, though each year there are fewer survivors to tell it.

The full story of Gross Breesen with photographs is on display at the Virginia Holocaust Museum until October 15.