May 2, 2019: The newly restored Shazar Dakar Grove was inaugurated in honor of Salomon (Sally) Jacob Noach, a prominent Dutch Jewish merchant who worked to save hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish refugees from Nazi occupation. JNF Holland supported the rehabilitation work, which was carried out by KKL-JNF and the Haifa municipality.
.jpg "Unveiling the plaque of the Shazar Dakar Grove. Photo: Dennis Zinn")
Unveiling the plaque of the Shazar Dakar Grove. Photo: Dennis Zinn
On Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, which this year fell on May 2nd, about 50 guests gathered in Haifa’s Romema neighborhood to inaugurate the newly restored Shazar Dakar Grove in honor of Salomon (Sally) Jacob Noach, who saved hundreds of refugees from the clutches of the Nazis while residing in Lyon, France.
KKL-JNF and JNF Holland officials, representatives of the Haifa municipality, Dutch visitors and expatriates, and the descendants of Sally Noach participated in the ceremony.
“It’s Yom Hashoah…the day we bow our heads in memory of the millions who were killed and remember the heroes. My father Sally Noach was one such a hero. Between 1940 and 1942 he saved hundreds of Jews at the risk of his own life”, recounted Sally Noach’s son Jacques, who was present together with his sister Lady Irene Hatter. “We thought it was fitting to hold the ceremony on this day because of the efforts of my father during that terrible period.”
Sally Noach was a prosperous young Jewish Dutch textile salesman living in Lyon France when World War II erupted. In May of 1940, Germany invaded France, Belgium and Holland, and as the fighting progressed, desperate Dutch refugees flooded Lyon clamoring for help. Noach, who spoke both French and Dutch, soon began assisting the local Dutch consul, who could not adequately cope with the crisis. The young streetwise merchant quickly realized that the only way to help as many people as possible would be to use unorthodox methods. Through various business associates, he managed to obtain a stock of blank forms, which he used to save hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish refugees.
“Dad had a personality that could make a stone laugh or sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo”, continued Jacques Noach. “When he walked into a prison and said ‘I am the Dutch consul and I demand the release of so-and-so because he is not Jewish’, the Germans simply believed him and released the prisoner to his custody. The only way to describe that is ‘chutzpah’.”
Elisha Mizrachi of KKL-JNF, who emceed the event, told the participants that KKL-JNF was honored to work together with the Haifa municipality to revitalize the city park in the name of Sally Noach. “It is difficult to perceive the courage he displayed. I close my eyes and try to imagine this Dutch Jew walking into a Gestapo facility and demanding the release of a group of Jews. That kind of bravery is very rare…It is now our duty to tell his story and show that there were people who stood up and faced the Nazis during that terrible time.”
Freddie Rosenberg, the Director of JNF Holland, said that the rejuvenated park was a fitting memorial for the man who did so much to save Jews from the Holocaust. The park had been destroyed in a huge fire in 2016. “I saw this area after the fire”, he related. “It was a huge black patch of burned city landscape. When I look now at this lush, tree-filled park, it reminds me of the work carried out by Sally Noach, only he did not save trees, he saved people.”
Speaking on behalf of the Haifa Municipality, Haifa City Council member Sarit Golan Steinberg warmly thanked JNF Holland and KKL-JNF for the contribution and support the city received to rehabilitate the area. “Three and a half years ago 1200 dunams of public gardens, natural forests, and groves in the city of Haifa were destroyed by a huge fire. Within 48 hours, soot took the place of dense green growth. It was awful. However, thanks to hard work and the advice and contributions from friends such as KKL-JNF and JNF Holland, the quality of life for Haifa residents has returned. We could not have rehabilitated the city so quickly and so well without your support.”
Earlier in the day, Dutch Ambassador to Israel Gilles Beschoor Plug and his wife Louise Wesseling toured the site together with Jacques Noach, Lady Irene Hatton, and JNF Holland Director Freddie Rosenberg. Rosenberg explained the extent of the work carried out, noting that the renovated park is designed to be more sustainable.
“We decided to create the new park using local species rather than the pines that were planted here initially. The broadleaf local species, which are mainly fruit trees, are more fire resistant and suitable for this area. We also forged a new access road for emergency vehicles in times of crises.”
The honored guests were especially thrilled to see the pink Hollyhocks (Alcea setosa) that had managed to survive the intense heat of the 2016 blaze and were now in bloom.
Dutch-Israeli journalist and author Joanne Nihom, who was reporting the event on video, interviewed Ambassador Beschoor Plug. The ambassador told Nihom how amazed he was by the story of Sally Noach. “I did not know about it and I find it impressive how people like him meet their responsibilities under such difficult circumstances,” he said. “The lessons learned are very important, especially today when we see trends that remind us of the 1930s of the last century, before the Shoah. It is very important to keep these remembrance days and maintain parks like this. The story of the Shoah must always be told. It must be part of the collective memory where we tell ourselves and our children and grandchildren that this should never happen again.”
Lady Irene Hatter, who produced the 2018 documentary film Forgotten Soldier on the life of her father, told the ambassador that currently, there exists documentation on some 600 Jews that her father saved, and that researchers believe that the actual figure may be as high as 1500. “The film is about father’s reticence to talk about his actions during the war. It has been screened in many cities around the world, and at each showing, there were people in the audience who had family members who were saved by my father. Last night we held the Israeli premier in Jerusalem, where 30 people raised their arms when asked the question.”
The ceremony ended with the unveiling of the stone dedication plaque by Sally Noach’s children. Afterwards, Liri Eitan-Drai of KKL-JNF's Netherlands and Nordic Countries desk presented the siblings with a framed KKL-JNF certificate.
The plaque and the certificate read:
The rehabilitation of the
Shazar Dakar Grove
was made possible thanks to
family and friends of
Sally Noach and
the Jewish National Fund
Holland in loving memory of the “Forgotten Soldier”
Salomon Jacob (Sally) Noach
who risked his own life for the
benefit of many innocent people
during WWII
“It had to be done”
May his memory be a blessing
May, 2019