Moshe the Beadle and Vladek Spiegelman Part II

Since I wrote the first part of this post (if you missed it, find it here), antisemitism continues to rear its face around the world. Adding to the list of countries reporting antisemitism - Italy and England - among others. And so I continue to dream and I continue to anticipate Moshe the Beadle's arrival and his warnings of an increasingly dangerous world for Jews...

But, people say, "Don't worry! You live in the USA; you're not in any danger." They are probably right, alas part of me wonders. The folks in Germany and Europe thought that they were okay as well. And what with John Kerry and the White House taking offense at Israel's criticism of Kerry's weak attempt at a ceasefire - leaning heavily on Hamas' demands, I wonder. And as I see President Obama demanding Israel unilaterally ceasefire - he EXPECTS Israel to listen - meanwhile the White House bristles at the "damaging" leak of the private conversation, I wonder. Can it happen here?

As I wrote in part I, there are times I ignore Moshe's warnings, and there are times I take my family and flee to Israel. But often times as well, my dreams turn to protecting my family, I start to dream about places we could hide - if another Holocaust were to happen. I dream about people that would be willing to risk their lives, their family's lives to save mine (and don't worry, I harbor no conscious ill will towards those that I have circled and/or crossed off my dream list of possibilities). After all, Anne Frank's family had the secret annex and folks to provide for them - there must be someone out there for me, right?

But ultimately, I realize that when push comes to shove at times like the Holocaust, survival becomes an "every man for himself" situation. And so I imagine myself as strong as Vladek Spiegelman. Who you ask? Vladek Spiegelman is a Polish Holocaust survivor whose story is told by his author son, Art, in the graphic novel MAUS. As I said, I highly recommend reading both Maus I and Maus II. Vladek's survival, like many survivors, depended on intelligence, preparation, and honestly, a lot of luck.

Like Vladek, I am an analytic planner. And so, like Vladek did back in WWII, as the tide of antisemitism rises in the world around us, my dreams have me planning meticulously. Trust me, I dream about the architectural blue-prints of my house - and wonder where I can build a hiding place like this one detailed in MAUS I:

Here, Vladek hides in a fake compartment built into an attic. Hmmmm...I have an attic. Could I build a secret entrance through a light fixture so that if someone looked up through the 'normal' square opening to the attic, they might not think twice about the false wall I build? Unfortunately, our attic does not have a solid floor between the joists and the old wood would likely squeak and give us away, so I'm not sure it's an ideal place to build a hideout.

Maybe a better idea is to build a hiding place in our basement crawlspace such as this one Vladek hides in during Maus I:

I wonder where I can hide a false entrance above my crawl space. I don't have a coal bin as Vladek did; however, I find this bunker genius.

Believe me, I have pondered every corner and crevice of my house. There's no room in the main basement; we don't have a shed in the backyard in which to take refuge. But there is a fake 'attic' above the garage that is not attached to the main house attic. In fact, I think I could build a false wall that logically lines up with the house line, hiding the fact that it goes deeper beneath the master bedroom. I know I was surprised when I first saw how deep the garage attic stretched into the house. Yes, that will have to do. Like Vladek would do, I will now go take some measurements and head off to Lowe's to purchase some drywall and other supplies.

So even though I know it won't happen here...please, please - if you see Moshe the Beadle rambling along your streets, please let me know. I need to know the right time to stock my hiding spot with food and water - and when we should seek refuge up there.