In 1931, the last night Chanukah fell on Friday evening. In Kiel, Germany, a small town with a Jewish population of 500, Rabbi Akiva Boruch Posner was hurrying to light the Menorah before the Shabbat set in.
Directly across the Posner’s home stood the Nazi headquarters in Kiel, displaying the ominous Nazi Party flag in.
Rabbi Posner’s wife, Rachel, snapped a photo of the lit Menorah and captured the Nazi building and flag in the background.
Both the menorah and the photo survived the war, finding their way to Yad Vashem through the loan of Yehudah Mansbuch.
When Yad Vashem was putting together its plans to open the Holocaust History Museum, a team of researchers set out to learn more about this famous photo.
Their research led to Mansbuch, who explained how his grandparents had lived under Nazi rule in Kiel, Germany, before seeking refuge in then-Palestine in 1934.
Today, Mansbuch lives in Haifa with his family.
Each Hanukkah, Yad Vashem returns the now famous menorah to the family, who light the candles for the duration of the holiday before returning the piece of history back to the museum.
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2 Responses
Very very inspiring
The rear of the photo says “Chanukkah 5792 (1932)”
Last day Chanukah 5792 was on 12 Dec.1931
Last day Chanukah 5793 was on 31 Dec.1932
In both years, the last day of Chanuka was on Shabbos so that the photo could have been in either year.
My guess is that the photo was from end of 1932, close to the nazi takeover on 30 Jan.1933.
(The YWN article refers to the “lit Menorah” in the photo, which it is not.)