"The past is not dead…it’s not even past." On Kristallnacht, in memory of Boris Kagan (Z"L)

While reviewing archival film footage for her groundbreaking documentary-in-progress titled After the Final No, my colleague, Phyllis Lee, thoughtfully shared footage she found of D.P Camp Landsberg, knowing that my parents and grandparents had been there as stateless refugees after their liberation from Dachau, Buchenwald, and Stutthoff; my grandfather, Boris Kagan (Z"L), had assumed important leadership roles in the displaced persons camp. The footage had been shot by George Kadish, himself a survivor from Kovno, Lithuania. https://perspectives.ushmm.org/item/george-kadish-the-persecuted/collection/jewish-displaced-persons-in-postwar-europe

About midway through the reel, I pressed the "stop" button and stared in amazement at the screen. You can see in the screenshot above why I felt as though my Zaydeh was sitting right next to me, transcending time and space...and on the anniversary of Kristallnacht! I’m not a superstitious person but this seemed to me to be beshert.

Following his liberation from the Dachau death camp, my Zaydeh vowed that those who perished in the Holocaust had not done so in vain. As a Zionist leader who collaborated with Ben-Gurion, he understood the need for a united coalition of Jews in post-war Germany, and so he conceived of the first united Zionist organization in Germany. Through his efforts, the Histradrut Tzionit Acheda, of which he was Chairman, was established.

A tremendously capable social activist and community organizer, in 1945 Boris Kagan assumed the responsibilities of Vice-Chairman of the Displaced Persons Camp in Landsberg.

Zaydeh had a compassionate and sagacious understanding of human nature. He valued justice and the legal concept of equity---always subscribing to the spirit, not merely the letter of the law. He was a tzadik, but he tempered his piety and love of God with magnanimity and a tolerance for human frailty. For these reasons, he was appointed to the Supreme Court for the Central Committee of the Liberated Jews of Germany.

Later, at the age of 52, he founded and established the Israeli Newspaper and Advertising Agency. The Israeli government, in recognition of his contribution to Israeli trade and commerce, issued Boris numerous awards and honors throughout the remainder of his life well-lived.

But, what I remember most about my Zaydeh, were the wonderful biblical bedtime stories he would tell me when I was a child before I went to sleep each night.

Thank you, Phyllis Lee, for the priceless gift of memory preserved. Can't wait to see your documentary.