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Julius Gets Cold

January 1, 2013

He gets hungry. He is old. He faces difficult suffering, but Julius Rechter is a survivor. He has lived through worse times. When he was a young boy, he was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau where he was tattooed with the number A-4912. Because of his age, he was transferred to a plant where the Germans were making chemical weapons. That factory was bombed by the Allies, but he survived.

Then he was sent to make bricks at another location. As the Soviets approached the city he was in, the Germans took their prisoners on a death march at night from one work camp to the next. Julius ended up in Dorlova, where he worked on rockets for the Luftwaffe. Conditions were hard. There was little food and little rest.

After the war, Julius returned to his home in Berogrovo (Ukraine) to find it empty. His father, uncle, and cousins had all died in Auschwitz. Everything was gone. He lived with his brother-in-law, surviving with the help of soup kitchens. Julius remained in Berogrovo and is now the only living Holocaust survivor of the 1,000 Jewish people who returned.

Julius Rechter lives in western Ukraine, in very difficult circumstances. He is old and feeble, and dependent on others to help him have the basic food that he needs to live. Julius’ dream has been to one day relocate to Israel, but because of his age and his health, it is very unlikely that he will ever be able to live out that dream.

More than 10,000 Jews in his area are living in conditions so deplorable that you and I would consider them to be absolutely unlivable. Now winter is hitting in full force, and many of these elderly Jews, living in poverty, do not have sufficient heat.

I am writing to you today to ask you to help these people. If you act, people like Julius will be warmed and fed. Bridges for Peace is poised to provide heaters and blankets for these needy people of God who are in such desperate situations, but the job is huge and I am asking people to rise up and help.

There might be no other gift that you give this winter
that means as much to people who are so needy.

Bridges for Peace is dedicated to the work of helping and blessing the people and the nation of Israel. We are your hands and feet, providing food and shelter and many other types of practical assistance to Jewish people, in the name of the Lord.

I know that you are being asked by many people to give to many different projects. I trust that as you make your choices, God will direct you to give to the needs that connect with your heart. It is only right of me to tell you about Julius and other Jewish people like him who are unable to return to the Land of Israel, and are in need of very specific help at this crucial time.

By making the most generous donation that you can giveright now, we can provide heaters, blankets, and food for individuals like Julius for the next several months.

I can personally assure you that as you give to this need, Bridges for Peace will carry out this important work and bless these precious, elderly, Jewish Holocaust survivors who are living in such difficulty. We will do it in the name of the Lord, on behalf of Christians who want to be a blessing to God’s people.

This is why I am asking you to give according to what God has given to you. Some of you can give $500 to meet this need. Some are able to give $100, and God has enabled some to give $10,000 or even more to meet such a need as this.

Whatever your gift, it is acceptable in God’s sight, and will be used to bring warmth and nourishment to people like Julius Rechter.

As we minister to Jewish people in Israel, we must also remember the elderly Jewish people, who due to poor health and difficult circumstances will never realize their dream to live in Israel. We must remember Julius. May God bless you as you bless His people, the people of Israel and the Jewish people living in the Diaspora.

Blessings from Israel,

Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO