Power Players

 The way of a superior man is three-fold: virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear.  Confucius.

Many people, I imagine, when they think of powerful men; that is, what makes them powerful, will point to a lofty position they hold — whether  it be in government, a corporation, sports, or even the arts.   And the manner in which a powerful man achieves (and sustains) this lofty spot usually contributes to the notion they are powerful.

Take, for example, the phrase, “He’s a real power player.”  As defined in the urban dictionary, this is someone, “…who knows where they are, and where they want to go.  Everything they do is for getting them to their destination/goal, whatever that may be. Basically, in their mind, nothing gets in their way. If you’re not helping them, best stay out of their way, because they will move through you like butter and not care at all. They don’t care what side helps them, as long as they help towards making their vision a reality.”

It might be safe to say, then, that power players aren’t very nice guys, certainly not humble, soft-spoken or empathic to the needs of others when it comes to realizing their ambitions.  But one of the most powerful men I ever met was all these good things.  And he also held no high status in an organization, certainly no job that required brutish behavior or Machiavelli cunning to succeed.  In fact, he was a dairy farmer.  And a Holocaust survivor.

His name was George Landecker, and his farm was located in Remsen, a small town in Upstate, New York.   There, he lived with his wife Jessie, and raised two children.  Later he retired in an Octagon-shaped house, one of thousands built in the 1840-50’s.   I had the pleasure once of being inside that rare and uniquely grand house, where his daughter says his grandkids “grew up”.  I was there to talk with George and write about his life as part of the Gross Breesen Project, an initiative led by Steve Strauss, a former photographer for the television show 60 Minutes. George was in his mid-eighties then, but here’s a quick summation of his earlier life courtesy of the Virginia Holocaust Museum:

George Landecker was born on October 1, 1918 in Nordenberg, Germany. In May 1936, when George was 17, he began agricultural training at Gross Breesen. He left in October 1937 to work on a sheep farm in southern Germany. On November 9, 1938, while visiting Frankfurt, George was arrested and sent to Buchenwald.  Because of his connections to Gross Breesen, George gained his freedom on January 1939 along with other Gross Breesen students and staff who had been sent to Buchenwald. In 1940 George obtained a visa to migrate to the United States to work on Hyde Farmlands in Burkeville, Virginia. He worked there from February 1940 through August 1941.

In 1942 George joined the U.S. Army and returned to Europe with his unit. He remained there after the end of the war working to help set up a new government in Bad Mergentheim, Germany. He was discharged in 1946, returning to the States and his wife Jessie McPeters, who he had married in 1943. Soon after, George took up work as a dairy farmer in Remsen, New York, working there for 34 years.

I wish I could say I knew George well.  But the few times I met him was enough for me to form my opinion about his power.  To me, it was forged from his struggles, but his struggles also found a vessel to be forged.  It’s a variation of the old saying, ‘Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”  For George, I  believe, adversity did both things for him.  And as a result, he radiated wisdom, calm, strength and spark.

George was an interesting, invigorating, non-nonsense, and non-conforming, man.  He was also beautifully mannered, extremely cultured and well read.  He truly appreciated the arts, and loved classical music.  So much so that he and his wife named their cows (they had 60 at the farm’s apex) after great opera stars.  George was also a physical specimen of health and vitality, with a body hardened by outdoor work and kept loose with sporting pursuits such as downhill skiing, something he did well nearly until his death at the age of 93.

As mentioned, I never would have met George if it wasn’t for Steve Strauss.  It was not long after 9/11, when Steve reached out to me about Gross Breesen, an agricultural camp and training program created for Jewish youth on the Polish/German border in the late 1930’s.  It is well documented what a dire period this was for German Jews, as Adolph Hitler and the ruling Nazi party began to methodically suppress, restrict and isolate this community with harsh and punitive laws.  Violence against Jews was becoming more and more common, and it was clear that the country would no longer be a viable place for this thriving culture to survive, let alone live.

Knowing the challenges of immigration, Jewish leadership saw an opportunity and a need in less developed countries for people skilled in the agricultural sciences.  Organizing quickly, they established farms like Gross Breesen with the purpose of helping their youth build skills desired by these countries.

In Gross Breesen, this outdoor learning program was buttressed by an intense classroom curriculum during “non-working” hours, including music appreciation, philosophy, and Jewish history.  The goal was to provide them with the practical skills they would need to transition and contribute to their new environments, while instilling in them a sense of who they were as a community and culture.  Moreover, at Gross Breesen, there was always the effort to develop a close-knit family atmosphere, a sense of responsibility for each other, during their time on the farm, and after, no matter where their lives took them.

Tragically, On Kristallnacht, the Nazis attacked Gross Breesen and the Jews age 18 and older were taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. But thanks to a network of supporters of the Gross-Breesener’s, the 130 Jewish youth who completed the program were able to obtain visas and immigrate to accepting countries around the world.

Steve told me all of this when we first met.  He also showed me a range of striking original photos taken at Gross Breesen at that time that had come to his guardianship.  Then he explained to me his idea:  to create a multi-faceted visual arts and educational-focused initiative designed to inspire, motivate and teach people of all ages, ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds, on how to face adversity, overcome obstacles and forge successful futures despite seemingly insurmountable odds against these positive outcomes.  Steve’s passion, and his determination that this story was “just as much about education as it was about survival,” moved me. Also, given the state of the country after 9/11, I knew anything that could help teach people to be more understanding, kind and compassionate to each other was worthy of my help.  So I signed on, and have happily volunteered to help Steve achieve his goals for the Project.

To this end, I am heartened to share that Penn State University, on January 27, 2022, as part of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Harrisburg, PA, will be hosting a mix-media exhibit focused on Gross Breesen.  Among the photos on display will be the first Steve showed me – a black and white print of a barn interior with sunlight pouring through a lone window onto a triangular pillar of grain.  It was this photo, along with the Gross Breesen story, that provided Steve with his motivation to launch the Gross Breesen Project.  More on this event, and the Project, can be found at (https://www.grossbreesen.com/exhibitions).

I believe that the longer you live, the more you realize how tenuous life is.  But longevity also teaches how tenacious we can be in holding on to this precious gift.  George Landecker is an example of this dichotomy.  Here was a man whose world was turned upside down in a blink, who witnessed unexplainable cruelty, destruction, trauma and death.  But in the end he persevered and prospered, becoming someone who could be counted on as a husband, a father, and friend, someone who represented goodness and strength.

As we navigate these continued tough times, a seemingly endless pandemic, political strife, terrorism, crime, and geopolitical struggles, it is important we know that the human spirit is greater than any obstacle placed in our way.  That was George’s great gift, his inability to be quelled or conquered.  This is something that is in us all.  Trust me, we are all power players.  Time to let it shine.

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Photos courtesy of author