I am probably the most a-technical person on the planet. Fixing things is just something I am not equipped to do—it is why I admire people who can repair things. I love a show on the BBC called The Repair Shop. It is a British television show that aired on BBC Two for Series 1–3 and on BBC One for Series 4 onwards, where family heirlooms are restored (for their owners) by numerous experts with a broad range of specialisms.
Last night, they had Gary Fisher as a guest who brought in the prayer book he inherited from his grandparents, Emanuel and Gisela Fisher.
They were unable to leave Austria after its annexation into Germany in 1938. They eventually were rounded up and sent to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. They put their son and Gary’s father, Harry, on the Kindertransport to England. Though many of Gary’s family did not survive the camps by the war’s end, Emanuel and Gisela did survive. They were liberated, along with the book, signed by many of the camp’s other residents. It’s an important record of the era and a treasured family possession.
The book was in disrepair when they brought it to Jay Blades and his team at The Repair Shop, with the pages falling apart, faded, and torn in some places. The Repair Shop bookbinder, Chris Shaw, was tasked with fixing the item—brought in by Gary Fisher.
“My grandparents, they were in a concentration camp and they never knew when their time was going to be up, but they had their religion, they had their faith and that must have been a real comfort to them to never give up,” said Gary.
In 1942, Emanuel and Gisela Fisher with other family members, were transported to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia. Gary Fisher explained that Theresienstadt was a show camp, often shown to foreigners as proof of the fair treatment of Jewish people. Because of this, his grandparents were allowed to keep the prayer book with them rather than have it confiscated, as would have happened in other concentration camps.
“But, it was only a mile and a half up the road where people were murdered in a gas chamber like there were in many other Nazi death camps.” Mr. Fischer was clearly very emotional, and his eyes filled as he described how his great-grandparents, his great-aunt, and a 10-year-old nephew were all murdered in the gas chamber. “My grandparents were very lucky,” he added.
Mr. Fisher wanted to restore the book, to share it in a proper place for others to see. While at the camp, Mr. Fischer’s grandfather wrote a poem and drew a picture of the Jewish star hidden behind a drawing of the camp. He read the poem to the experts at The Repair Shop, stopping halfway as emotion got to him.
Below is an extract of the poem read by Mr Fischer that his grandfather wrote in his treasured prayer book, translated into English:
“Do you know we were also there,
We stood together through summer and winter,
Bind our arms and legs together and ease the pain of sleepless hours,
And soon a new day will come when we will part from one another,
But you will be prepared for when we see each other again,
And on that day we will all be free from tyranny.”
Bookbinder Shaw got to work repairing the book. He was clearly nervous because it was an important book, and Shaw said it was the most important book he ever worked on. When the day came to reveal the final product—there wasn’t one dry eye in the house. Ahead of the unveiling, Mr Fischer said, “I feel like my grandparents are here with me.” When they revealed the book’s beautiful, renewed cover—Mr. Fischer broke down in tears. “Welcome back,” he whispered, adding, “It’s amazing—it’s just a complete work of art.”
Uniquely, the other liberated survivors signed the prayer book with more than fifty signatures immortalised in the book’s pages. It also includes a German phrase from one prisoner, “So…it’s finally over.”
It is stories like this that indicate that the Holocaust is still near to so many people and will be for years to come. It is still a living history for many.
Sources.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0017g52/the-repair-shop-series-10-episode-2
https://www.geni.com/people/Emanuel-Fischer/6000000080814212826
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/bbc-repair-shop-viewers-applaud-23999510
History of Sorts 
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