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Foreword by J.L. Black from A Jew in DeedDr. Imrich Yitzhak Rosenberg called three quite different parts of the world home: Czechoslovakia, Israel and Canada. Born in Austria-Hungary, he grew up in the newly created Czechoslovakia, where as a young man he was active with the Zionist youth movement. As the following chronology demonstrates, the word “active” may be deceiving in that it does not convey the level of energy he devoted to his cause. Because Czechoslovakia was one of the very few countries to recognize its Jewish citizens officially as a nationality, he was able to campaign openly as part of a specifically Jewish political party. It is likely that this possibility provided Rosenberg with an unusual political consciousness, that is, an awareness of how the democratic process—no matter how flawed it became in Central Europe during the 1930s—had both an intrinsic value and could also be made to work to the advantage of everyone. There is no need to repeat the history of Czechoslovakia and the disparate fate of its four official components, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, and Ruthenia (five, if one includes the Sudetenland), during the 1930s and 1940s. Suffice to say for the purpose of this volume that Dr. Rosenberg was a busy participant in the growing Zionist movement and concomitant work, protecting Jews in Europe and in his own country particularly. Rosenberg's fruitful labour on behalf of Jews during and shortly after the horrendous war in Europe is the subject of the essays contained in this book. The story is told by Dr. Rosenberg, who in 1971 used both primary documentation and his own memory of the Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, for a Political Science thesis. The tale is also told in part by Corey Goldman, a student of journalism, who made Rosenberg's achievement in connection with the transfer of 301 orphaned children, who remained in the Theresienstadt concentration camp after the war ended in 1945, the main subject of his thesis. Both research papers were written at Carleton University, Ottawa. These are gripping accounts, yet they reflect only part of Dr. Rosenberg's life. They tell us nothing about his years in Israel and Canada, little of his personal life and his continued dedication to the protection and rehabilitation of the lives and heritage of Jews in Slovakia and elsewhere. The extent of his participation is revealed in the following chronology prepared by his wife, Dr. Truda Rosenberg. Two books related to these subjects have been published recently: Abraham Brumberg has edited a book of materials on the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and Susan Goldman-Rubin has prepared a booklet on the children of Terezin. Both are valuable and interesting, yet neither could begin to bear the personal association represented in Rosenberg's experiences. As a closing remark, I dedicate my participation in this publishing enterprise to Dr. Truda Rosenberg, Imrich's long-time wife, defined in the best possible way: his love, his partner and his friend. J.L. Black, Director |
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