On April 23, Yeshiva University hosted “Yom HaShoah: A Legacy Through Story.” Students gathered in the Wilf Campus’ Belz Hall and heard from Nechama Birnbaum about her late grandmother, Rachel (Rosie) Heilbrun, the subject of Birnbaum’s book “The Redhead of Auschwitz: A True Story.” Full of life as it is of death, “The Redhead of Auschwitz” recounts the victorious life of Rosie, Nechama’s grandmother, who survived Auschwitz with courage and resilience. The event came courtesy of the office of student life and SHEM, the Student Holocaust Educational Movement.
Students performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Hatikvah” before holding a moment of silence in memory of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. But the main component of the evening was hearing from Nechama about her grandmother.
Rosie Greenstein was born in Crasna, Romania, on Feb. 1, 1926. Her naturally red hair was perceived as ugly and her mother tried to dye it blonde, to no avail. Nechama mentioned that Rosie herself cared a lot about how she looked, and even switched tattoo lines in the camps because she noticed that the other tattooist made neater tattoos and she knew she would survive to show hers. She always maintained hope and also provided hope to her sister, Leah, to convince her not to give up; later, her sister paid back the favor when Rosie was ready to die in the death march and Leah inspired her to keep going. “A point that I came away with was that one of [Rosie’s] tools to survive was caring for those around her,” student Ezra Lebowitz reflected. “It reminded me that no matter the severity of the situation, no one can get through it alone.”
Rosie passed away on May 6, 2022.
After the author’s’s speech, six candles were lit in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Those lighting included Stern College’s Rabbi Azi Fine, Birnbaum and Dean Shoshana Schechter. Director of Student Life Dr. Jonathan Schwab concluded the event.
When asked why she decided to speak at the university, Nechama said: “My grandmother was extremely passionate about sharing her story and I feel that there’s so much that we can learn from her story, about her resilience and her grit and her love. She’s not here anymore to continue sharing, but I wanted to do that for her.”
For Lebowitz, “The event reminded me of what our people have had to overcome throughout history, and the reasons we still fight to this day.”
What does Nechama want to tell Jewish Link readers? “It was always my grandmother’s dream to share her story, and it was one that she realized when she was 95 years old.” Indeed, late in life, Rosie had a following on Instagram. “But without her readers, it would never have come true. So thank you so much for reading her story, keeping it alive and sharing it.”
See NechamaBirnbaum.com to learn more. The website also links to stores, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble, where “The Redhead of Auschwitz” can be purchased.
Daniel Brauner is a contributor and former summer intern for The Jewish Link. He attends Yeshiva University and lives in Teaneck. Contact him at [email protected].
