Honoring the courage, legacy of Tess Wise
“Tess Wise was never meant merely to survive,” the rabbi said at her funeral Wednesday. And I’ve been thinking about that statement ever since. Whenever Tess was introduced, the first thing we would say is that she is a survivor, a Holocaust survivor. But the rabbi is right. That was merely one part of her story, and in fact, not the most awe-inspiring part.
Tess was one of the most courageous, committed, and dynamic people I’ve ever known. Far more than a survivor, she was a visionary, a mentor and a role model to me and to many others. She channeled her experience in the Holocaust into a lifelong mission “to use the lessons of the Holocaust to create a more just and caring community, free of antisemitism, prejudice and bigotry of all forms.” Those were her words, and that has been the stated mission of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida since she founded this seminal institution more than four decades ago.
Tess grew up in Poland in the early 20th century, at a time when Jews were persecuted, marginalized and stripped of their rights, not to mention their dignity, simply for being Jewish. Her immediate family were among the six million Jews who were systematically murdered by government decree. And it would have made perfect sense if Tess had made it her mission to ensure that “her” people never faced such hate and persecution again. But that wasn’t what Tess said. Read her mission again. She turned the most horrible, unfair and inhumane tragedy into a personal quest to create a better world for everyone. Everyone.
She not only declared that no one should be persecuted or marginalized for any reason, anywhere. She committed her life to making this a reality. And while sadly, there is much work still to be done, she changed people, changed communities, and changed the world. She most certainly changed me.
When I feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the work to be done to make our world one in which all people are treated with respect, I think of Tess. When I feel dismayed by the fact that nearly eight decades since the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, antisemitism is not only present but in fact rampant and rising, I think of Tess. When I think I don’t have the energy to continue this work, I think of Tess.
Tess Wise was not meant merely to survive. She was meant to spend the majority of her life being present with her remarkable family, while also looking to the future and working for a future when the world would be a better place for all.
Tess Wise was not meant merely to survive, she was meant to be a leader and role model for all of us who believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Tess Wise was not meant merely to survive. And because of that, what will survive is her legacy, her influence, and her impact.
Tess Wise. May her memory be a blessing.
Mark Freid is a past board chair of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida.
Tess was one of the most courageous, committed, and dynamic people I’ve ever known. Far more than a survivor, she was a visionary, a mentor and a role model to me and to many. She channeled her experience in the Holocaust into a lifelong mission “to use the lessons of the Holocaust to create a more just and caring community, free of antisemitism, prejudice and bigotry of all forms.”