KADDISHEL
A Life Reborn
For the Jews of Poland, who lived in fear of police and drunk farmers, this was inspiring. People felt very good upon seeing our own young men walk so proudly in a parade. We felt that we were equal to other people. Our pride and confidence grew tremendous - ly because we knew we had someone to defend us. The Polish government, however, could not tolerate the Jews suddenly acting with chutzpah and arrogance, and at some point, they decided to suppress these groups. They outlawed the paramil- itary uniforms and the appearance of military strength. They closed the Beitar office, but the members continued to meet clandestinely. The Zionist organization my sister and I belonged to, Dror HeChalutz, had wonderful get-togethers, dances, speeches, and pep talks that we were always eager to attend. Many years later, after the war, I joined Kibbutz Yagur, which was founded by mem- bers of this organization. Zionism taught us to have confidence in ourselves and to believe that we were equal to other people. We learned that we should not live in fear.
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