Project Witness The Weissmandl Rescues
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A railway signal beside the tracks. The film keeps showing empty rails.
A railway signal. For almost two years, the trains that took people away stopped.
Grades 7–8

The Weissmandl
Rescues

We will go one small step at a time. You will meet a brave rabbi, a secret rescue group, a train, and one hard question.

This lesson can read itself out loud. Tap Listen any time to hear a step again.

The town of Nitra, Slovakia, in 1929, seen from the castle hill.
Nitra, Slovakia, in 1929. Rabbi Weissmandl lived and taught in this town before the war. Fortepan / Wikimedia Commons · public domain.
Before we watch

What this story is about.

This is the true story of Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl and a secret rescue group in Slovakia during the Holocaust. Something very sad happens: his wife and five children are killed.

The film does not show anything scary or bloody. You only see empty train tracks, shadows, and a door that closes. If any part of this is hard for you, that is a reasonable response. You can step away, and you can tell your teacher.

Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in an old photograph (USHMM / YIVO).
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl. He fought to save people with his mind and his courage. He did not use weapons.
First, the person

A very smart, very brave rabbi.

Michoel Ber Weissmandl was born in 1903. He grew up to be a brilliant scholar in the town of Nitra.

Here is the surprising part: he did not fight with weapons. He fought to save people using his mind, his courage, and clever tricks. One trick was writing fake letters to fool the Nazis.

Gisi Fleischmann in an old photograph (JDC Archives).
Gisi Fleischmann, who led the secret rescue group. She was a leader, not a helper in the background.
The secret group

Fleischmann led. Weissmandl planned.

A brave woman named Gisi Fleischmann led a secret group in the city of Bratislava. Weissmandl was its planner.

  • They paid a Nazi officer a huge bribe.
  • They wrote fake letters to trick the Nazis.
  • For almost two years, the trains stopped.

We know the trains stopped. Historians are still not sure exactly why.

Watch

When you watch, look for three things: the empty train tracks, a wire hidden in a loaf of bread, and one person who jumps alone.

A Sabbath table with candlesticks and challah bread.
A Sabbath table. In the film, we feel the family through what is missing. There is an empty chair and a name never said.
A pause

One word.

This is a lot to hold. You do not need a big answer. Just one word for how this makes you feel.

The inside of a cattle car with light coming through the wooden slats.
Inside a cattle car. In the dark, Weissmandl cut the lock open with a wire he had hidden in a loaf of bread.
The hardest part

He jumped. His family did not follow.

  1. The Nazis put Weissmandl and his family on a train in a locked car.
  2. He had hidden a wire in a loaf of bread, and he cut the lock open.
  3. He begged his family to jump with him. Then he jumped, but no one else jumped. The film does not tell us why they did not jump. Do not assume that fear or a choice explains what happened.

His wife and five children were murdered at Birkenau. The narration does not tell us why they did not jump.

The Birkenau gatehouse, seen along the rail spur. Buildings and empty space, no people.
The Birkenau gate. The film never shows the harm. It shows only the empty buildings that are left.
What happened after

All of it is true at once.

  • The loss: His wife and five children were killed.
  • The rescuer: A kind Christian man, Julius Natali, hid Weissmandl until the war ended.
  • The sadness: Weissmandl was very sad for the rest of his life.
  • The rebuilding: He built a new school. It still teaches students today.
A dark rye loaf of Slovak country bread. The wire was hidden inside a loaf like this.
A loaf of bread. Inside it, a wire. This was rescue by cleverness and courage instead of weapons.
Step 3 of 4 · Write

Write a short letter.

Imagine you are a stranger at the camp. Weissmandl hands you a small saw to help you escape. Write a short letter to your family (1–2 paragraphs).

What is happening to you. How you felt when the rabbi handed you the saw. What you hope for.

A memorial to the Bratislava rescue group at Kozia 18.
A memorial to the rescue group in Bratislava. A quick check that the key words make sense.
Quick check

Match the word to its meaning.

Tap a word on the left, then tap the meaning that goes with it.

Word

Meaning

Tap a word to begin.

Mount Kisco, New York, today: the Village Hall. The new school still teaches in this town.
Mount Kisco, New York. The school Weissmandl built after the war still teaches students today.
Step 4 of 4 · Reflect

One big question.

Weissmandl could not save everyone. He could not save the people he loved most. Can he still be a hero?

“He could not save them. The school still teaches.”
Michoel Ber Weissmandl · 1903–1957
Before you go

You are here. In this room, now.

Take one slow breath. This was a hard and sad story, and it is okay to feel that. You do not have to have all the answers.

If you’re carrying something heavy, a trusted adult is here for you. If this brings up something difficult, a school counselor or a trusted adult is available to talk with you.