Upstanders: How Author Janet Singer Applefield Is Standing Up Against Antisemitism, Racism, Bigotry, and Hate
BE KIND. Befriend the newcomer. When I arrived in this country in 1947, the teacher referred to me as “the little foreign girl.” I felt marginalized and inferior. Luckily, a small group of girls befriended me. To this day, I’m still friends with many of them.
An upstander is the opposite of a bystander. A bystander is someone who stands by while others are being bullied, maligned, or mistreated. An upstander is someone who stands up to protect and advocate for the victim. We are sadly seeing a surge of hate, both online and in the real world. Many vulnerable minorities feel threatened and under attack. What measures are individuals, communities, and organizations taking to stand up against Antisemitism, Racism, Bigotry, and Hate? In this interview series, we are talking to activists, community leaders, and individuals who are Upstanders against hate, to share what they are doing and to inspire others to do the same. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Janet Singer Applefield
As a child survivor of the Holocaust and a clinical social worker, Janet Singer Applefield has spent over 40 years speaking with thousands of students, educators, religious groups, government officials, and others to raise awareness and understanding of the dangers of prejudice while encouraging audiences to stand up to any kind of discrimination and injustice. In her engaging and touching memoir, Becoming Janet: Finding Myself in the Holocaust [May 2024], Janet shares her story of trauma, and the trauma experienced by her family, and provides a powerful and personal connection between the past and present. At 88 years old, Janet continues to be an avid reader and international traveler: she has three children and five grandchildren and lives south of Boston, MA.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I was born in 1935 in Krakow, Poland. I was the first grandchild in the family, doted on by aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I was blessed with a “good look” — this is not my term, but that of several Poles I met when I returned to Poland several decades after WWII. I had fair skin, blonde hair, and green eyes. In other words, I could pass as a non-Jew. Strangers would stop my parents pushing my stroller in the street to admire my features, comparing my complexion to a porcelain doll. I remember many things from before my 5th birthday: riding in my Uncle Arthur’s motorcycle sidecar; getting lody, Polish for ice cream, with my mother; my grandmother’s adorable dog, Ceta; and my grandparents’ bustling hardware store on the rynek (town square). It was an idyllic childhood shattered on the morning of September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. The actions of a handful of extraordinary Upstanders and my “good look” helped save my life. I “grew up” — if that’s the right term — hiding in plain sight, keeping my identity a secret.
Can you share a personal story of how you experienced or encountered antisemitism, racism, bigotry, or hate?
When I was 10, I was in an orphanage in Zakopane, Poland established by Lena Küchler-Silberman, an amazing woman who smuggled over 100 parent-less children to Israel after the war. Antisemitism in Poland after the war was so rampant that the children’s home was regularly attacked by groups of extreme nationalists. Fortunately, Lena was successful in having a machine gun mounted on the roof which was used to fend off these violent mobs.
How did that experience shape your perception and actions moving forward?
In the 1970s, I went to graduate school to become a Social Worker. I wanted to learn more about human behavior. Why did I survive when one and a half million children died? Why did some adults want to save me, but others wanted me dead? I joined discussion groups for children of survivors; I embarked on a series of trips back to Poland to find my rescuers, and, most importantly, I began speaking publicly about my experience.
Can you describe how you are helping to stand up against hate?
For the past 40 years, I’ve spoken to between 3,000 and 4,000 middle and high school students in the Greater Boston area every year. I deliver an illustrated presentation showing photos of my family and I explain the dire consequences of prejudice, bigotry, racism, and, most important, complacency. I stand before students as proof that the courage and goodness of a few individuals can make a profound impact on the world. I explain how one act of kindness has a ripple effect and how my rescuers not only saved me but by extension, the lives of future generations. To echo the motto of Facing History and Ourselves, a nonprofit organization that I work closely with, “People make choices. Choices make history.”
What inspired you to take up this cause?
For years I devalued my own story because I was not in the camps like my father and his generation were. How could I compare my situation with the hell they endured? But in my late 40s, I began to get curious about my early childhood. I wanted to know who I was before I became Janet, the suburban American wife and mom. I write about this in my memoir. And I wanted to thank the righteous people who saved my life. I wanted to find a way to “pay it forward.” I joined several peer discussion groups and organizations for children of survivors, but I realized I was repeating my story to the same people. I didn’t change any hearts and minds. That is when I sought out Facing History and began developing my presentation “Combating Hate and Prejudice” through which I aspire to promote greater awareness and understanding of the dangers of prejudice and intolerance and the imperative that we should all be Upstanders, not Bystanders.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your work as an Upstander?
When I first began this work in the early 80s, I was invited to participate in a research project at Harvard University led by a social psychologist named Mona Sue Weissmark. She paired the children of Holocaust survivors with the children of Nazis (she also did this with descendants of American slaves and descendants of slaveowners) to study and dismantle entrenched transgenerational tensions between historically opposed groups. In the first sessions, there was a great deal of mistrust, misunderstanding, and animosity. My Jewish peers were agitated, and one person left the group. She could not manage her emotions. My attitude was different. My father — a survivor of three camps — gave me the gift of patience and tolerance. He did not believe in the concept of a nation’s collective responsibility. I was open to understanding these individuals whom I was expected to hate. I heard stories of their trauma, guilt, and remorse for wrongs they did not commit. I realized that they were wounded like we were. The experience deepened my empathy and forced me to look at my own biases. It was an amazing lesson.
The most interesting stories grow out of short conversations with the thousands of kids I encounter every year. For example, last spring I was speaking at a Catholic high school outside of Boston. After my presentation and the Q&A concluded, a group of students came up to take pictures with me and say thanks. When the auditorium cleared, a shy boy approached me. He spoke quietly as he shared that his parents were racist. He looked confused and embarrassed. He didn’t know how to speak to them. I told him he was courageous to come to me and we explored ways he could safely talk with his parents. The conflict between the ideas he was learning at school about kindness, tolerance, compassion, and the importance of standing up to bigotry, and the messages he received at home stirred his inner sense of right and wrong. He was building character, finding his voice, and taking a stand. I strive to engender and support this kind of awakening of conscience.
Could you share an inspiring story that demonstrates the impact your efforts have had on an individual or community?
I focus on making a difference school by school, student by student, but that changed when I was asked to deliver my talk to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The lawmakers were debating the Genocide Education Act mandating state-wide Holocaust education in all public middle and high schools in the state. On Dec. 21, 2021, the bill was signed by the Governor, an event I witnessed in person. Today 23 states require schools to provide Holocaust education.
In your opinion, why do you think there has been such a surge of antisemitism, racism, bigotry, & hate, recently?
Honestly, I do not know. It seems too obvious to point to the rancor and incivility we see today among American politicians as the source. We all know this climate has sanctioned — and even incited — hateful speech and violence, and it also seems simplistic to blame the accessibility, speed, and anonymity of social media. The question is what underlies these contributory factors. In the context of my work, the solution lies with education in history, ethics, reading, writing, and critical thinking.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
In the US, hate speech, protected by the First Amendment, is frequently taken to an extreme where it incites violence, but several European countries have passed laws criminalizing this destructive behavior without jeopardizing free and open dialogue. I would like to see similar laws enacted here.
Secondly, as I mentioned, less than half of the states have mandated genocide education. We cry out “Never Again,” but genocides persist nearly 70 years after the Holocaust. More kids and teachers need to study history to know what this phrase means. Raising awareness about past atrocities fosters empathy for human rights.
Lastly, our society rewards success more than service. I know it’s corny but true that it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice. Adults must lead by example and promote acts of kindness in everyday life such as helping others, showing appreciation, and being courteous.
What are your “5 Things Everyone Can Do to Be an Upstander”? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.
BE KIND. Befriend the newcomer. When I arrived in this country in 1947, the teacher referred to me as “the little foreign girl.” I felt marginalized and inferior. Luckily, a small group of girls befriended me. To this day, I’m still friends with many of them.
COURAGE. Speak up when you witness an injustice. While I was in New York City I visited a Polish butcher shop. I overheard the counterman say, “Hiter’s work wasn’t done.” I shrunk in fear and I was at a loss for words. I have learned that when I have been silent, I feel terrible about myself. Be brave and speak up.
EMPATHY. Always try to put yourself in the other person’s place — understand their position. Don’t pre-judge. When I worked in a state psychiatric hospital in 1981, the medical director was a German-born psychiatrist. I wanted to find out what he and his family did during WWII. He admitted to me that he was in the Hitler Youth and that his brother was killed in combat. After he emigrated to the US, he experienced tremendous prejudice. I felt empathy for him and was pleased that I could feel another human being’s pain.
OPEN-MINDEDNESS. When I meet someone, whose position is contrary to mine, I ask questions to understand where the person’s views are coming from. I educate myself and broaden my perspective. At the same time, I don’t alienate or insult the other person.
BE WELL-INFORMED: Read, travel, and keep learning about the unfamiliar.
How do you handle the emotional toll that comes with being an Upstander?
I am energized whenever I tell my story, especially when students and teachers share how I’ve helped them grow. When I give of myself, I get so much back.
If you were in charge of the major social media companies, what would you do to address the hate on the platforms? Could you share specific strategies or policies that you believe would be effective in addressing hate on social media platforms?
That’s a tough one, but I’m optimistic about ways to safeguard users from posting hate and misinformation. I would explore the use of high-tech filters and reporting mechanisms for users. I would partner with the government to sponsor a nationwide campaign to teach kids how to evaluate online content. I would show how social media is more than a means of delivering information. It can generate, shape, distort, amplify, and spread misinformation. It’s frightening and with AI this is just the beginning. It is, and must remain, a tool we control.
I want to be completely authentic: I’m eighty-eight years old and like most Americans, I’m a fan of playing games on my phone like Wordle and Rummikub, connecting with old friends on Facebook, and following my grandchildren on Instagram. And it goes deeper than just passing the time. If it weren’t for my website where I post family photos dating from before the war and updates about my speaking engagements, Dr. Karolina Panz, a sociologist living in the town in Poland where I grew up, would never have found me in 2013. After exchanging hundreds of emails with her over the course of her doctoral research, she unveiled a mystery that had haunted me since I was a little girl: the fate of my mother. The last time I saw my mother was in 1942 when I was seven years old. Thanks to online resources, I know the time and place of my mother’s final days. I’d be a hypocrite if I blamed all our troubles on digital media.
How would you answer someone who says: “Hate speech is permitted under the US Constitution? Why are you so worried about permitted, and legal speech?”
Something can be legal without being morally acceptable. And when speech insights violence, it is no longer protected.
Are you optimistic that we can solve this problem in the United States? Can you please explain what you mean?
I’m hopeful. Many democratic countries in Europe have strict laws about hate speech which do not curtail open, wide-ranging discourse. I think we can implement similar measures.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an Upstander but doesn’t know where to start?
I would tell them that anywhere there is an opportunity to change something, they had better know what they stand for and what they want to say. In other words, Upstanders need to know the issue, know themselves, and have the courage to do something about it. This is not about superficial “correctness.” This is about being thoughtful and principled.
I also would advise them to find where their voice will be most heard. While divisive, the internet can also be an amazing unifier — facilitating activism and empowering affinity groups.
In what ways can education be leveraged to combat antisemitism, racism, bigotry, and hate?
I’ve observed that students come alive when a guest with relevant lived experience is invited to speak in the classroom. My testimony about the Holocaust and antisemitism is at once personal and historical, and that makes it more impactful than a textbook. There’s no shortage of older adults with deep reservoirs of lived experience like my own. We need to tap into these unsung authorities.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
He who saves one life saves the world entire.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Oprah — I’m a huge fan. I find her to be inspiring, insightful, and accessible. I share her values and respect her courage, charisma, and intellect.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
WEBSITE: janetapplefield.com
INSTAGRAM: @JANETAPPLEFIELD
FACEBOOK: janetapplefieldauthor
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you continued success in your important work!
Upstanders: How Author Janet Singer Applefield Is Standing Up Against Antisemitism, Racism… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.