The Jews in Oradea

Greetings,

I just finished reading the book Bonhoeffer, a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer written by Eric Metaxas.  It is an excellent read and the author does a wonderful job of capturing the complexity and depth of Bonhoeffer's life.  I have described the book as both powerful and sobering as it traces Bonhoeffer's life as a pastor, theologian, academic, and spy up until the time of his execution two weeks before the end of World War II.  It is extremely difficult for one to dismiss the concept of evil when reading about the atrocities done to those deemed "undesirable" in the eyes of Nazi Germany.  The reading of this book coincided with two other activities in such a way that makes one believe it was not simply a coincidence.

Cristina, our tour guide 

Orthodox synagogue with bullet holes

Shortly after we arrived, one of the students offered to give us a historical tour of Oradea.  She is in the process of trying to develop her skills as a tour guide and what better audience than a couple of green Americans who are very accommodating with broken English.  Cristina took us to several of the typical tourist attractions of Oradea, but she also took us to one of the old Jewish neighborhoods in the middle of town.  She then proceeded to tell us a bit of the story of the Jewish community in Oradea.

As I may have mentioned before, the country of Romania that we know today basically came into existence after World War I with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and other local treaties.  These treaties unified the three large regions known as Transylvania, Moldova, and Wallachia.  Prior to this time, Transylvania, and thus the city of Oradea, was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  But, since they were on the losing side of the war, the A-H Empire lost significant chunks of land as a result of the Treaty.  Thus, the majority of the residents of Oradea after the war ended were of Hungarian ancestry.

The Jewish community had long been a part of Oradea.  At the turn of the 20th century, under the rule of the A-H Empire, they became a thriving community.  They continued to thrive after World War I under Romanian rule and the community grew to about 25,000 people at the outbreak of World War II in 1940.  During World War II, Romania sided with the Allies.  When Hitler conquered Austria and Hungary, he "gave" Transylvania back to the Hungarians as a token of his appreciation for their continued alliance with the Nazi regime.  Thus, Oradea was under Nazi rule and occupation during the first part of the war.  It was during this time that walls were built in the city in order to house the Jews into their own ghetto.  Soon, most of these Jews were deported to concentration camps and exterminated.  Very few remained.  Those that did remain were soon "freed" by the westward march of the Soviet army.  Unfortunately, their fate was not much better under Soviet rule than it had been under the brief reign of the Nazis.  Though they were not sent to concentration camps, the Soviets simply marched them into the streets and shot them.  They would usually shoot every other person so that the "lucky" ones could eyewitness the death of their loved ones.

Reformed synagogue

It has been estimated that there were upwards of 30,000 Jews living in Oradea at one point in time with about 60 synagogues.  Today, there are roughly two active synagogues and a few other buildings that used to be synagogues that are either derelict or being renovated for civic purposes.  The pictures on either side show one of the active synagogues that has recently been renovated.  In the courtyard is a memorial to the Holocaust victims.

Holocaust Memorial

Several weeks after our tour with Cristina, Cheryl and I were having lunch with a couple of our students.  One of the students named Adrian told us of his summer internship with Asociatia Tikvah (Association of Hope).  This is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote understanding and remembrance of the Holocaust and its victims and for basic human rights.  Adrian worked on their website and also did some research on some of the stories of the survivors.  He shared some very interesting stories about those in Oradea that tried to assist the Jews during this tumultuous time.  One such story involved trying to convince the German authorities that there was a typhus epidemic within the Jewish ghetto.  In this manner, the people with "typhus" would be transported outside the ghetto, and thus have a greater chance of escape.  It also meant that very few Germans would be willing to enter the ghetto to check up on any conspiratorial plans.

A few did escape the city, but the problem was in what direction to go.  Going west meant moving toward Germany.  Going north or east meant moving toward Russia.  The fate of the Jewish people in Moldova (Eastern Romania) was simply a different method of extermination.  Going south was the safest route, but the Balkan region had not been a safe haven for any ethnicity, let alone Jews, for centuries.

Although we will never be able to empathize, all three of these "events" helped us to better sympathize with the plight of the Jewish people, and to a lesser extent, the plight of the Romanian people in general.  It is simply not something that Cheryl and I have to think about, have to deal with, or are even exposed to during our daily lives in Holland, Michigan.  Perhaps two of the lasting takeaways from this experience will be a greater sense of gratitude and a greater longer for justice.  The first of these was cemented even further during our FaceTime conversations on Thanksgiving Day.  It was probably the first taste of being homesick as we watched the family celebrations but were unable to participate in the food or fellowship.  It reminded us to have the attitude of the writer of Psalm 118:24, "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."  May this attitude be yours during and after the Holiday season.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom

People

Greetings,

The Management Faculty (the European word similar to department) is having an alumni reunion this Friday and Saturday.  The first class of graduates were in 2002, and we had roughly 50 alumni here today, and expect about 75 for tomorrow.  Seeing all the current and former students reminded me that I have been promising to write about some of the people that have come around us here in Romania.  So, here is the first installment.  I suspect there will be posts in the future about those that have made our time here quite special.

First of all, the fact that we are here for the entire academic year is unique.  There are 4-5 professors (including me) that teach classes that last the entire semester. But, Emanuel also employs another model of instruction that is used quite often in the management program.  This model is to bring guest lecturers from across the globe to teach intensively (about 6-8 hours/day) for brief periods of time (3-5 days).  Most of these guest lecturers arrive from the States.  So, one of the unexpected pleasures for us has been meeting people from the States who have a similar passion and vision for serving Christ in this part of the world.  Although most of the people we are around speak very good English, it is often a welcome relief for us to have lengthy conversations in English and not have to work so hard to get our meaning across.

Janelle and Randy sharing a meal with us

Randy and Janelle Wilt are from Austin, Texas.  They stayed for ten days and this was their first time at Emanuel.  Randy taught an HR class for the week.  Janelle and Cheryl worked at Hospice for a few days, toured the town, and found nice, secluded places for lunch.  We certainly enjoyed their fellowship and miss having them around.  Their hospitality suite was one floor below us and we felt like veterans telling them how to use the showers and teaching them a few words of Romanian.  They were the first guests in our suite as Cheryl made a pot of chili for our Sunday meal.  It is amazing how quickly you can get close to fellow believers as we felt as if we had known them for years.  We hope to visit the Wilts during our "homeless voyage" in February.

Ken, Jim, and Bob at alumni reception

Cammie

Arriving just a few days ago was a rather large contingent of people from Oviedo, Florida.  They are known as the "Oviedo Group" and most of them have been coming to Emanuel twice/year (fall and spring semesters) for close to ten years.  This year's group is made up of Joe Takacs, Ken Calhoun, Cammie Sasser, Bob Matthews, Jim Wade, and Tim Maynard.  They are here for about ten days and teach courses in Sales, Accounting, and Operations Management.  They also assist in the graduate program during the weekends.  Their visit overlapped with the alumni weekend and it was wonderful to see the impact of their faithful service over the years and to see the genuine gratitude expressed by their former students.  I suspect a group dinner with them at our favorite restaurant is in the near future.  

Ann and John sharing a meal with us

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of all has been the visit of John and Ann Lenton.  The Lentons were year-round residents at Emanuel for several years (I think at least nine) and John was the Dean of the Management School during this time.  While John was running the school, Ann was instrumental in improving the rest of the university.  They are from the UK and John is currently the Vicar at a village church in Bramley.  John and Ann were instrumental in helping us discern whether Emanuel would be a place that could benefit from our service, and a place in which our presence would not be a burden.  In 1996, John was sent to Emanuel at the request of Lord Brian Griffiths to do a feasibility study on establishing a Christian Business School in Romania.  In spite of significant obstacles, the Business School opened in 1998 and the first Dean was none other than John Lenton.  John said that he and Ann had no intention or particular desire to move to Eastern Europe.  But, upon hearing the vision and opportunity set before him, stated that Emanuel "captured his heart", and thus changed the direction of their lives.  Seeing them this week brought back such fond memories of our discussion with them while having tea in their home and watching the Queen's Jubilee celebration on the television.

Gene and Arthur sharing a meal with us

As I mentioned, most of the visiting teachers come to assist in the management program.  We do have other visitors that assist other departments as well.  Gene Mims, a senior pastor for Judson Baptist Church in Nashville, joined us for one week and was a great help to not only the theology program, but to other organizations in the community.  They kept Gene pretty busy with roughly 12 speaking/teaching engagements during his time in Oradea.  Gene's wife did not make the trip, so Cheryl and I (mostly Cheryl) thought of ways to make his time here a bit less stressful.  As with our other visitors, we came to love and appreciate Gene and the humble way he serves this community.  The Mims' household is another new entry into the growing list of potential stops for our homeless voyage. Arthur Price is also at dinner with us and he is the young one.  Arthur is from California and is here for the semester working with non-profits, teaching a bit of English, and taking a few classes.  Most of our cantina meals are with Arthur, so it was nice for us to share a meal that was a bit more upscale.

Jenny and Cheryl in the cantina

These were all visitors who have come and gone.  One of the people we see almost every day is the chef.  Her name is Eugenia, but is affectionately known as Jenny.  She has been a real joy and has taken a particular liking to Cheryl.  Jenny and her husband Radu invited us to their church last Sunday.  They asked me to come up front to say a few words about what we were doing in Romania and why we were here.  Well, now you can add this to the list of things I have never done in the States, but have done in my short time in Romania--preached in a pulpit.  After church, we drove to Hungary (about 10 kilometers to the border) and had lunch.  Neither Jenny or Radu speak very good English, and Cheryl and I speak Romanian at about the level of a 2-year-old.  We end up communicating in Spanish!  Since Jenny and I both know some Spanish, we talk in very broken "spaniola", and then translate to our spouses.  Not very efficient, nor at a very deep level, but all in good humor.

Given the number of visitors has been a real blessing as it has allowed Cheryl to exercise her gift of hospitality even though she is not at home.  As you can see in the pictures, it has also allowed us to obey the Biblical imperative of "not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together." (Heb 10:24-25)  We have specifically interpreted this to mean eating out together!  Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but the end goal of encouraging one another is always achieved.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom

  

Observations

Greetings,

I have always thought it a good idea to journal and have "encouraged" my students to adopt this discipline on several occasions, especially during our London excursions.  Well, as we teach in management, excellent and faithful execution usually makes any decision look good.  This is simply my professorial way of saying that I believe writing this blog is a good decision, but it has required more time and effort than I imagined.  I hope it has been a learning experience for the reader as it has certainly helped Cheryl and I to be more observant of the people and things around us.  With this in mind, we thought we would briefly share a few of these observations.

1. Common courtesies - Keep in mind, we have lived in Holland, Michigan for the past twenty years.  For those of you that don't live there, it is a place where nothing moves at four-way stop signs because everyone is trying to let the other person go first.  Opening doors for others is common place.  A smile and a word of hello is the standard form of greeting on Main Street, be it friend or stranger.  We realize this is not the norm across the United States and are reminded of it every time we visit Corrie and Ross in Chicago.  But, for the majority of Americans, common courtesies are still taught and if not expected, they are certainly appreciated.

This is not the case in Romania.  It certainly is the case within our Christian community at Emanuel, but outside of our "bubble", things are a bit aggressive.  Driving is an "every man for himself" proposition, walking down the street takes me back to the days of dodgem cars, and getting through any doorway is a "first come, first in" rule.  The deeper observation comes from the look, or non-look, on the people's faces.  Eye contact is never made, let alone a friendly gesture of greeting.

When we inquire about this, we are generally given two different, but related reasons.  First, during the Communist rule, the last thing anyone wanted to do was to stand out.  The saying was that "any nail that is sticking out will get hammered down."  Showing common courtesies and a friendly greeting were ways in which one stood out.  The second reason provided to us has to do with hope.  There is a certain sense of hopelessness that still pervades the people.  We know that the hope we have within us through Christ is an eternal one that not only influences our future, but also impacts our present.  We also realize that we can have a certain amount of hope because of the opportunities afforded us by living in the United States.  Romania is a country that systematically and proactively eliminated almost all the remnants of spiritual hope while simultaneously eliminating any remnants of earthly hope in the form of opportunity and freedom.  Hope is so closely akin to joy, and when hope is gone, there is very little joy.  Unfortunately, this is what we see in many of the faces.

Choir loft at Emanuel Church

Students singing during Wednesday Chapel service

First-year Management students during Fellowship hour

2. Singing - It is amazing to us, but it seems like everyone in Romania, at least everyone associated with Emanuel University and Church, has a beautiful singing voice.  This is such a foreign concept to me because as many of you know and have heard from experience, I can't sing at all.  We have been so blessed with the singing while we have been here and it is a big part of any gathering.  Perhaps the acoustics are better or perhaps the Romanian language is conducive to harmony and melody, but we have stopped trying to analyze it and have simply enjoyed it.  I tried to upload some videos of the students singing, but I kept getting an error message.  So, our plan is to bring back some CD's so you can enjoy them as well.  It will be one of the fondest memories we have of this place and certainly speaks to the power of music to move our hearts.

3. Salt & Light - The mission and vision for Emanuel has always been steeped in the notion of being salt and light to the community of Oradea and to a lesser extent, the country of Romania.  Sorry that I got a bit preachy during my first observation, but the contrast, in terms of hope and joy, within versus outside of the Christian community is quite remarkable.  Although it is difficult to see from the picture, the stained glass window in the chapel at Emanuel University depicts a sower who is sowing his seed into the city of Oradea.  It is a spectacular sight from the street when lit up at night and is a constant reminder of the purposes undergirding this institution.

Other news items revolve around food.  Although the food in the cantina is nourishing and satisfying, it can be a bit tasteless and is heavy on the starch.  So, Cheryl and I (mostly Cheryl) decided that we needed to eat out at least once/week.  Well, we have been doing this already, but Cheryl had in mind a nice place to eat once/week.  We have found a very nice place that we have come to call our own and are already on a first name basis with the waiter.  We can have an entire three-course meal with tip and tax included for about $16-$20 per person.  The food is top notch and the variety is impressive.  We are usually joined by others who are visiting Emanuel for a brief time and serving in some capacity.  Who we have met and their interesting stories is fodder for future posts.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom