“Never forget.”
One of the great fears of the rapidly dwindling number of Holocaust survivors is that it will be forgotten.
The horrors of the 1930s and ’40s, the evil that can be done when no one stands up, the lessons learned — all may be lost in just a couple of generations.
Dylan Robbin is 3 generations removed from Nazi Germany. But he is making sure that no one will forget.
Dylan Robbin
Dylan is a typical Staples High School freshman. He plays football, and is part of Inklings, WWPT-FM and the Service League of Boys.
Two years ago, Dylan was preparing for his bar mitzvah. A key part of the coming-of-age rite is a project demonstrating commitment to Jewish values.
Dylan had had heard stories of his family’s personal history in the Holocaust. In some ways, it was similar to millions of others: His paternal great-grandfather, a cardiologist named Samek “Samuel” Rubinstein from Krakow, Poland, was targeted by the Nazis.
In another way though, it was special. Dr. Rubinstein was Oskar Schindler’s physician.
The German industrialist — a member of the Nazi party — saved the lives of 1,200 Jews, by hiring them for his enamelware and munitions factories in occupied Poland.
Dylan’s great-grandfather worked there, treating Schindler and his employees
Dr. Rubenstein’s Krakow ghetto ID card.
But that’s not all.
In 1944, as the Russians closed in on the Eastern Front, Dr. Rubinstein and many of Schindler’s employees were transported to Auschwitz and Mauthausen.
While at the Mauthausen concentration camp — where he helped treat prisoners — Dr. Rubinstein met Simon Wiesenthal. After surviving 4 camps and a death march, Wiesenthal dedicated his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals. The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles is named in his honor.
Yet there may have been no center — and no convictions of Adolf Eichmann, and many other Nazis — if not for Dr. Rubinstein.
At Mauthausen, as Wiesenthal shrank to just 80 pounds, the doctor kept his spirits up.
Simon Wiesenthal (left) and Dylan Robbin’s grandfather reunited after the Holocaust.
In gratitude, Wiesenthal gave him several drawings. Years later while cleaning out his apartment, Dylan’s grandfather found them. The family donated them to the United States Holocaust Musuem in Washington.
A drawing by Simon Wiesenthal, given to Dr. Rubinstein. It is now housed at the United States Holocaust Memory.
Though his great-grandfather was not on Schindler’s list of Jews he saved — memorialized in the 1982 book “Schindler’s Ark” and 1993 movie “Schindler’s List” — Dylan realized that his ancestor’s story needed to be told.
He began researching it. The more he learned — including watching “Schindler’s List” — the more fascinated he became.
There was, for example, the story of Sam Soldinger. He survived Mauthausen — and 6 other concentration camps — and knew Dr. Rubinstein.
Dylan discovered that Sam’s story is told in a museum exhibit in Chandler, Arizona, and that Sam’s daughter Laura wrote a book called “Death & Diamonds: A Holocaust Survivor’s Inspiring Journey of Survival, Faith, Hope, Luck and the American Dream.”
Amazingly, Laura lived just 30 miles from Dylan’s grandparents in Arizona. The 2 families had an emotional visit, sharing stories about their relatives, Schindler, and the journeys their families have taken.
Laura told Dylan’s grandfather, Mark Robbin, “I would not be alive if were not for your father.”
“That’s a story that needs to be shared,” Dylan says.
He has many other stories. And — beyond his bar mitzvah project — the teenager wants to share them with as many people as he can.
One way is through the video he made 2 years ago. (Click here to see.)
“There’s so much antisemitism today,” he says. “There were swastikas in Weston and Wilton. It may never go away. But if people in Westport and the US hear personal stories, it could help.
“I want to get this out. People need to realize the Holocaust was a real thing. It was awful. It was inhumane. This needs to be told. I haven’t done enough of that yet.”
Dylan Robbin, at his 2023 bar mitzvah.
While at Bedford Middle School last year, Dylan’s language arts class read “Night,” by Elie Wiesel. Dylan mentioned his project to his teacher, Alison Antunovich, who suggested he present it to the class.
This year, the BMS Culture Club watched the video.
“People my age know what the Holocaust was. But they don’t understand it,” Dylan notes.
“Personal stories can convey the reality of it. We need this now, more than ever.”
Dylan’s family’s story is certainly personal. After being freed from Mauthausen, and making his way to the US, Dr. Rubinstein changed his name. Samek “Samuel” Rubinstein became Dr. Stanly Robbin.
He had a successful career in this country. In addition to medicine, he founded and chaired the Long Island Holocaust Memorial Commission. He designed the Long Beach Holocaust Memorial Monument in Nassau County. Dedicated in 1987, it received international recognition, and was the subject of an Austrian Broadcasting Corporation documentary.
Long Beach Holocaust Memorial, designed by Dr. Stanley Robbin.
Dr. Robbin’s great-grandson Dylan Robbin now lives comfortably in Westport.
But he will never forget.
And he is doing his best to make sure that no one else does, either.
(Dr. Rubinstein’s stories — and many others — are told in “Schindler’s Legacy.” Dylan used the 1995 book as oart of his research.
