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jewish history of sosua
There are two seminal works that give a complete history of the Jewish settlers, their often terrifying journey to get to the DR, the horrific conditions they faced when they arrived, and the astonishing success they made in building lives here. The books are "Tropical Zion" by Allen Wells and "Dominican Haven" by Marion A. Kaplan. There are several other first person accounts, but they remain unpublished.
While Trujillo offered visas to 100,000 Jews at the Evian Conference of 1938, the fact of the matter was that by 1938 there were not 100,000 Jews who could get out, having been stripped of their businesses, bank accounts, and passports. The 700 +/- who did make it endured tremendous hardship in getting to Lisbon to board the ship and faced the constant threat of deportation along the way.
When the war ended and the settlers could get visas to go to the US, and of course, once Israel was founded, most left. They were not farmers; they were dentists and carpenters and teachers, etc., and although they made "40 acres and a mule" work for them, they were educated, urban people who wanted a better education and a more sophisticated life than was available in the DR. Don't forget that there was also a smaller community in Santo Domingo, and a late influx of refugees from Shanghai.
Only a few families stayed; Trujillo had allowed single men to emigrate but not single women, so many intermarried. Earlier this year, the community celebrated the 75th anniversary of its establishment, and approximately 65 people attended. They are now in their late 60s and 70s, as they are the children of original settlers. I was privileged to be invited to join the group on a tour around Sosua and it was fascinating to hear their memories and to see where the bowling alley was, and where the various settlers' houses once stood (and some still stand), etc.
The synagogue offers services very rarely; siddurim are available in Hebrew only or Hebrew-Spanish. There are one or two in Hebrew-English and they are Art Scroll. However, services are decidedly not Orthodox. They're not really Conservative or Reform, either. The cemetery is closed as a precaution against vandalism, and it is always closed on the Sabbath and holidays.
While Trujillo offered visas to 100,000 Jews at the Evian Conference of 1938, the fact of the matter was that by 1938 there were not 100,000 Jews who could get out, having been stripped of their businesses, bank accounts, and passports. The 700 +/- who did make it endured tremendous hardship in getting to Lisbon to board the ship and faced the constant threat of deportation along the way.
When the war ended and the settlers could get visas to go to the US, and of course, once Israel was founded, most left. They were not farmers; they were dentists and carpenters and teachers, etc., and although they made "40 acres and a mule" work for them, they were educated, urban people who wanted a better education and a more sophisticated life than was available in the DR. Don't forget that there was also a smaller community in Santo Domingo, and a late influx of refugees from Shanghai.
Only a few families stayed; Trujillo had allowed single men to emigrate but not single women, so many intermarried. Earlier this year, the community celebrated the 75th anniversary of its establishment, and approximately 65 people attended. They are now in their late 60s and 70s, as they are the children of original settlers. I was privileged to be invited to join the group on a tour around Sosua and it was fascinating to hear their memories and to see where the bowling alley was, and where the various settlers' houses once stood (and some still stand), etc.
The synagogue offers services very rarely; siddurim are available in Hebrew only or Hebrew-Spanish. There are one or two in Hebrew-English and they are Art Scroll. However, services are decidedly not Orthodox. They're not really Conservative or Reform, either. The cemetery is closed as a precaution against vandalism, and it is always closed on the Sabbath and holidays.
You are worse than a mosquito in this thread, @ least a mosquito you can swat.
Do you have anything of value to add here?
i feel that chic has a legit question but cannot put it together properly: what happened to further generations of sosua jews? where do they live? are they not interested in this part of their history? they no longer identify with tropical zion? they are disappointed in today's sosua?
now i am curious myself.
now i am curious myself.
Children and grandchildren galore, but most did not grow up in Sosua. Since there is not really a viable Jewish community (I know: Catch-22) in Sosua, most choose not to return. The only sort of functioning Jewish community on the island is in Santo Domingo, run by Chabad Lubavitch.
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When I tagged along on the 75th reunion, it seemed to me that they are very interested in remembering their connection with Sosua and the DR. They just don't want to live here. If you keep kosher (and most of them don't---the settlers by and large were very secular), it's very difficult here. I know, because I do. And they are very sad about what's happened to Sosua. I mean, how could you not be. I first visited 30 years ago and there was still a bit of a presence; several old-timers were still around, like Mr. Hess, who ran the school, and Mrs. Neumann, the grandmother of the current mayor, and Sylvie Papernick, founder of Tropix Hotel. They are all no longer with us, sadly.
The Sosua Jews hold the DR in nearly reverent esteem, because they know that without the sanctuary they were offered, they wouldn't be alive. Some will come back for a simcha, like to make a bar or bat mitzvah, or on vacation, but the Sosua of their childhoods is gone.
The Sosua Jews hold the DR in nearly reverent esteem, because they know that without the sanctuary they were offered, they wouldn't be alive. Some will come back for a simcha, like to make a bar or bat mitzvah, or on vacation, but the Sosua of their childhoods is gone.
I have two comments:
Hardships to get to Sosua...
I bet there was ... a more recent example was the fall of Vietnam.... and the ensuing 'Boat People'
Spots on those boats were $250,000 each.... families of four arrived in the US.
Ok, a million dollars - a lot of money
Try raising it when the banks are closed and the boat captain is discounting most of what you offer...
Diamonds , jewels, etc.
Maybe gold bars got a fair shake...
Must have been horrendous for both the Jews and thew Vietnamese.
Secondly:
Sosua Dairies (? ) just sold......... a company started by the Jewish immigrants , as I understand it.
$250,000,000 I hear
That's good work in a lifetime and a bit.......... 1/4 of a billion dollars.
Congratulations to them.
and thank our lucky stars we were never under that persecution.
Hardships to get to Sosua...
I bet there was ... a more recent example was the fall of Vietnam.... and the ensuing 'Boat People'
Spots on those boats were $250,000 each.... families of four arrived in the US.
Ok, a million dollars - a lot of money
Try raising it when the banks are closed and the boat captain is discounting most of what you offer...
Diamonds , jewels, etc.
Maybe gold bars got a fair shake...
Must have been horrendous for both the Jews and thew Vietnamese.
Secondly:
Sosua Dairies (? ) just sold......... a company started by the Jewish immigrants , as I understand it.
$250,000,000 I hear
That's good work in a lifetime and a bit.......... 1/4 of a billion dollars.
Congratulations to them.
and thank our lucky stars we were never under that persecution.
@ Will - It was $25MM if I recall the sale over 10 years ago, you have a few extra zeros, Sigma Alimentos' company purchased Productos Sosua, and it was split more than a few ways.
The price wasn't disclosed, as I read it... but you may be right..... drop a zero for me, OK?
still, not chump change.......
still, not chump change.......
generally, you are correct, the world is full of little shyts who are looking to destroy what they do not like, accept or understand. what i mean is that in the community of sosua there is no such desire. ask me how i know the details of how the cemetery looks like ON THE INSIDE...
Yea, but the Jewish refugees considered themselves Dominican, bc Trujillo "adopted" them. It's a complicated relationship. They knew what he was, but they could never forget what he did for them. I have a very dear friend from Fairfield, CT, whose mother was saved in the Santo Domingo contingent. Her mother left the DR in the 1960s, moved to Washington Heights, and astonished all of her Dominican neighbors with her Dominican Spanish. Raised her family there, including my friend Diana. But Diana has never been back, has no desire to come back. She is very religious (more than her mother's family); very grateful to the DR (and tangentially (reluctantly) to Trujillo, but has no desire at all to visit. It's a complicated history. That's all I'm saying.
I am hoping to gain the rights to edit and publish one of the first-person histories. I am a writer/editor with close knowledge to the settler community. The Sosua Jews had excellent relationships with the local Dominicans. I have friends whose mothers were nannies for the first Jewish babies born here; carpenters who worked with Jewish crafstmen, etc. I love my friends whose names are a conglomeration of Shlomo and Rafael and Rifke with last names like Ramirez.
There's a series of clips (5 I think) on Youtube, about the Jews of the DR - part of the Hidden Faith Project. It has some interviews with Sosua jews including the late Dr Louis Hess, and the very much alive Benny Katz..... this is the link to one of them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST2YXypv634
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST2YXypv634