As a child survivor of the Holocaust, Janet Singer Applefield has spent over 40 years speaking to raise awareness and understanding of the dangers of prejudice, and leave a legacy of acceptance and love.  Hear the story of her escape, survival, and reuniting with family, and how the experience has led her to a mission of preserving the Jewish legacy and fighting hate speech and injustice by connecting the past and the present.

Welcome to Let's Talk Legacy. My name is Gary

Michels, the host. And we're just so excited to have Janet

Singer Applefield on the show today. As a child survivor of

the Holocaust and social worker, Janet Singer Applefield has

spent over 40 years speaking with 1000s of students,

educators, religious groups, government officials, and others

to raise awareness and understanding of the dangers of

prejudice and encouraging audiences to stand up any kind

of discrimination and leave a legacy of acceptance and love.

Love that part, or memoir Becoming Janet, Finding Myself

in the Holocaust is available now. So Janet, let's dig right

in. It's such an honor to have you here. The word Holocaust

conjures up so many emotions for people, even now, almost 80

years later, you have an incredibly unique vantage point

as an actual survivor of that event. So tell us about your

perspective and share your story of how old you were when when

your home in Poland was invaded, or your small town was impacted

what happened to your family and how this whole thing came about

for you that you're still a survivor?

Janet Singer Applefield: Well, I was born in Krakow, Poland, and

I lived with my family in a little town, 50 miles south of

the city of Krakow. And I had a wonderful idyllic childhood,

first grandchild and the family I was loved. I was pampered

September 1 1939. All this came to an abrupt end. At first, my

family tried many, many attempts to escape, we first ran, ran

away to Russia, then we returned. And after so many

attempts to to escape, my parents ran out of options. And

they made this amazing, most difficult decision of their

lives. And that is to give me a way and score this several,

several years. After that three and a half years to be exact. I

was with different caregivers. I was away from my family, my

identity was changed several times. And I ended up on the

street that was abandoned. And that was picked up by a

righteous Christian woman ended up on a farm where I spend most

of the time with very kind people. I always knew I was

Jewish, but I was able to keep an identified Jewish identity as

secret. I was just seven years old when I was separated from my

parents. But I was able to keep that a secret. And I ended up in

an orphanage after the war. And miraculously my dad found me. No

way. But he found me. And we eventually emigrated to the

United States.

So talk to me. So when you were seven years old,

do you remember coming back from Russia and what it was like to

be separated that actual day or was a kind of a big blur?

Janet Singer Applefield: I remember only that I was, I was

crying. My parents were crying. We were hugging. We were

kissing. My parents said we will be reunited soon, I should be

brave, and I should be good. And that's what I remember about

that fateful day.

And then that lady that became your friend and

helped you did she become almost like a motherly figure, or was

she more of a friend?

Janet Singer Applefield: Well she was a very kind woman, and I

wanted to call her mother and she said to me, you only have

one mother called me. And so I called her aunt ganja. And when

the war ended, my cousin's father, I was with my cousin who

was very brutal to me. First, I was with a one person, one

woman. And then my care was taken over by a cousin who was

brutal and violent and abused me. The war ended her dad Sandy,

but he turned me over to a refugee center in Krakow. And

that's where I ended up. And from there, I went in an

orphanage, and my father found me.

So when you were reunited with your father, he

had been in the slave labor camp. And when he found you, he

insisted you give him all the details of the time you were

separated so he can make sure it was documented. It was those

handwritten pages rediscovered years later that started the new

road of discovery for you. How was your father able to survive?

What what happened to your mother and what was it like

rediscovering the details of your escape as an adult? What

was it like?

Janet Singer Applefield: Well, it was very, very sad and very

tragic, because the day that they gave me away, there was an

order issued that all the people from that town and the

surrounding towns had three days to report in an area outside of

Krakow called via each guy. So they went there. Although

independently because they decided to separate from each

other, their thinking was that if they were separate, maybe one

of them would survive. So when they arrived at that appointed

place, there was a selection. And my father was one of 1000

men, they were selected for slave labor, and other

approximately 1000 old people and children were selected, and

they were directly taken to the forest and shot. And the

remaining people were putting onto boxcars, 53 boxcars, and my

mother was a victim of that selection. And they were sent to

Belle's that's a death camp. And so my mother and my grandmother,

my many of my relatives were victims of that camp.

How were you able to find all that stuff out?

Janet Singer Applefield: So my story has evolved over time, I

first thought that my mother was killed in Auschwitz. And then

later on, I thought she was shot. But in 2012, I was

contacted by a young Polish historian, she had lived in my

town, and she always wondered what happened to the Jewish

population of that town, and she found me on the internet. And

after we were reunited, I learned that she was doing, she

was writing a dissertation on the Holocaust. And she did a

huge amount of research on my family. She was the one who

found out exactly what happened to all my family members, not

only my mom, but my grandparents and uncles and other family

members.

So you are actually able to reunite with

some of the people who will help rescue you during that time,

right?

Janet Singer Applefield: Yes, I've been back to Poland four

times. And each time that ship has been a little different. For

me the first time, I was obviously very nervous, and I

really didn't want to enjoy myself. And I didn't consider it

a vacation. I knocked on the door of the family that saved me

not knowing who I would find. And they were still there in the

same apartment, and greeted me with open arms. Each time I had

been in Poland, I've spoken in different places. And I'm I was

reunited with a family that saved me. Wow. And it was very

emotional. My family stayed downstairs and I climbed up

three flights of steps, and I knocked on the door. And you

know, they opened the door, and the parents were already

deceased, but the children, the adult children are still there.

And it was very emotional. Then my family came up, and then they

pulled out photographs of me, which was amazing. You know, my

family couldn't believe I was there, you know, seven years

old.

Wow, you say the experience changed both your

sense of your gratitude, and also a sense of your own

identity. And what identity really means. Can you explain

about what identity means?

Janet Singer Applefield: Well, for me, it was very confusing

having to change my name several times, it was a loss, because I

didn't understand what was happening here. And no one

really explained what was going on I being so young, I didn't

have the concept of of war, what it really meant. So it's been

slightly hard for me to adjust to the different names and

except those names, because when I came to this country, the

first day of school, my uncle brought me to a school. And he

said to me, what name do you want, you have to have an

American name. So right on the spot, I had to choose a name

again, right again. So I chose to name I said, Jeanette,

because I had a we had a French cousin who lived in Paris. She

used to visit us in the summertime and she was beautiful

and glamorous. She had long red nails and her name was Jeanette.

So I said Janet, and my uncle turned to the school secretary

and said her name is Janet. Lee, I was Janet. So over time, you

know, I thought about changing back my name by that I never

did.

What was your original name?

Janet Singer Applefield: I was born Gustavo. And then my family

company Gija, which means baby. Okay, but I was never Gustavo

again.

That still has a place in your heart.

Janet Singer Applefield: It does.

What was your last name?

Janet Singer Applefield: Singer.

So that's why you have the singer still in the

middle, right?

Janet Singer Applefield: Yes.

So you later earned your Master of Social

Work at Boston University and practice as a clinical social

worker in the court system with perpetrators of the crimes in

the Boston area for 30 years. How did your own personal

experience impact your ability to be effective in that work and

why was it such a passion and a mission for you?

Janet Singer Applefield: I always try to understand human

nature. I didn't understand what what made people, some people,

evil and others good. And I chose a profession of social

work because I thought I could do a little research and get a

better understanding of people and human nature. Because so

many survivors turn to the helping prevent professions.

It's really interesting.

Did you find as you are going through that work,

a sense of forgiveness for the people that wronged your family?

Or is there still a piece of your heart that has a hard time

with that?

Janet Singer Applefield: I am very fortunate, because my dad,

who was my hero did not believe in general responsibility. The

he felt that there were good Germans and bad Germans, good

poles, bad poles. And because of that, I adopted the same

philosophy. I judge people on the basis of their character and

actions. I will never forget what happened. But I'm not

hateful. And of course, I can't, I don't know who I can forgive.

You know, for me, Forgiveness means that someone has to

acknowledge what they did wrong, and then have some remorse. And

then I could forgive. But there's no one yet I can

forgive.

I totally understand. You know, our show

is called Let's Talk legacy. And legacy is such an important part

for so many people. And I'm curious, what does legacy mean

to you?

Janet Singer Applefield: Well, Legacy means that what I leave

behind has some meaning. I speak to 1000s of people a year that

approximately 4000 Students must say, students, middle school and

high school. And I feel that it's my responsibility to try to

stop hate to impress, awareness and understanding of the history

and inspire people to to be good people. Because you know, what's

interesting about my memoir is that ordinary people did

wonderful things and terrible things. And I think I want

people to know that and understand that. Even the

smallest acts of kindness have a ripple effect.

Has there been, you know, from all of your

speaking that you've done at the schools and to adults, is there

a story that you can recall of someone that you did make an

impact with that it changed their life, it changed their

community? You heard the story later on how or what you had to

say change the way they thought or did it reform anybody?

Janet Singer Applefield: A student came up to me, Mary, she

purposely in the sauna secretly, after I spoke to her an

auditorium filled with 1100 students, this young man came

up. And he asked, he said, How do I speak to my family who are

racist? Because here in school, I'm learning about being a good

person, and accepting people for who they are, and not be

hateful. And then at home, I hear otherwise, how do I speak

to them? To them? I was very touched that he trusted me. And

he was able to ask that question. And I gave him few

suggestions. And later on, he emailed me, and I was very

fortunate and very happy that he was able to engage his family in

a conversation that was ongoing. And I'm not sure if he

completely changed their minds, but at least they were having a

conversation.

Wow, I get chills just hearing that. Because

that's it's little small steps at a time, right.

Janet Singer Applefield: And I've had so many students write

to me 1000s of letters. One girl wrote, You are so brave, and

you've helped me to be braver. You know, we all have stories,

and we all deal with difficult circumstances in our lives. It's

what you do with those experiences.

Right? You say that retelling your story in the

story of the Holocaust as a whole represents a connection

between the past and the present, and that it's important

for preserving the Jewish legacy and able to make sure people

must never forget what happened. Talk to us about the connection

between the past and the present.

Janet Singer Applefield: Well, sadly the world today is very

divided more so than ever in my lifetime. And I think hearing my

experiences and hopefully learning some lessons from that.

Hopefully it does help some people to change and to be

proactive and stand up to injustice. And I think Today, we

all need to be proactive and stand up to hatred.

We do, we do. You know, you're just a child when

you had to face score, I mean horror. How do parents and

educators talk to children about difficult topics like hate

speech and prejudice and other evils in the world? Because

there's so many parents that listen to our show? And how do

you have those conversations that are just really difficult

ones to have?

Janet Singer Applefield: I admit, they're very difficult.

But I think it's important to speak with children. Because I

remember, in my situation, my parents did not explain what was

going on. I just knew something terrible and dangerous was

happening, because they were crying, they were whispering,

because they didn't want me to know what was happening. So I

think it's important for children to be to have have some

explanation of what's happening. And the conversation has to be

geared to the appropriate age, you know, the language has to be

correct, so that the children are not frightened, I think it

has to be a conversation that ends with some hopefulness. And

that is not very negative, even though events in our news is

very negative, we still have to be careful how we speak to our

children.

Absolutely. So obviously, part of your legacy

is tied to continuing to speak for the legacy of others, both

other survivors as well as those who did not survive. What would

you say is the other part of your legacy? What is an

individual legacy that you'd like to leave behind?

Janet Singer Applefield: Well, I'm very honored and proud,

because I was invited to speak to the Massachusetts State

Legislature in 2021. Right after that a law was passed genocide

education mandate, to provide this education to all middle

schools and high schools. So only 23 states in our country

have passed such laws. So I'm very proud of that.

Wow. And to think that they're states that don't

want to teach it. It's it's....

Janet Singer Applefield: There's states that have banned books

that teach important subjects.

Wow. Yeah. Well, that's a huge legacy.

Janet Singer Applefield: I think it's important to be informed,

to be proactive, to be kind, and do as much as one can to promote

social justice.

How can people reach you if they needed to get

a hold of you, or wanted to ask you some questions or get a copy

of your book. How would people get a hold of you?

Janet Singer Applefield: I have a website, JanetApplefield.com.

Then I'm on social media, Facebook, and Instagram. And

that handle is at Janet Applefield. And through the

website of the book is available on Amazon and on Barnes and

Noble and all the other bookstores.

Well I'm definitely ordering a copy of

your book and can't wait to read it.

Janet Singer Applefield: Oh thank you so much.

Thank you so much for what you're doing for the

people in our country and in our world for educating them on what

happened and really looking at themselves to not be prejudiced

and be the best you can be to accept everybody for who they

are. So thank you so much.

Janet Singer Applefield: Thank you so much for having me.