TED WERBEL pauses on the side of the Alps.

Ted Werbel traces family roots in Austria

By Deborah Moon

article created on: 2008-09-15T00:00:00

Portlander Ted Werbel went back to his roots in Vienna and with the help of the Austrian government walked the halls and hills where his family had lived before the Holocaust.

Werbel, 22, was one of the first three Americans to participate in the annual Back to the Roots/Spurensuche program of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Health, Family and Youth. Since it’s creation in 1994, only Israelis had been invited. This year, 12 Israelis and three Americans joined 15 Austrian youth to “retrace the roots of their persecuted ancestors by the Nazi regime,” according to the ministry certificate Werbel received after the program.

A grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland enabled Werbel to fly to Austria for the program, which was totally funded by the ministry. Werbel learned about the program when Jill Neuwelt, the Holocaust survivor outreach coordinator at Jewish Family and Child Service, sent his father Wayne an e-mail about it.

“I found out more about my Judaism on birthright Israel (in 2005) which made me more interested in my family,” said the son of Portlanders Lynne Phillips-Werbel and Wayne Werbel. “When I learned about this program I jumped on it.”

From July 13 to 23, Werbel said he experienced highlights on many levels—family history, Jewish, tourist and activity.

On the family front, thanks to research of the Austrian Ministry before his arrival, Werbel saw the wedding certificate of his great grandparents Chaim and FannieWerbel and a letter written by his grandfather Fred Werbel. He walked the hallways of the apartment building where his great-grandparents and grandfather lived before the Holocaust. He visited a candy store at the same address as the candy store run by his great-grandparents.

Jewishly, he said the highlight of the trip was visiting Mauthausen Concentration Camp, which he said was “very powerful.”

When I walked up the steps, I could feel the history,” he said. “At first I was sad, then I became really angry and wanted to kill somebody. But I realized if I acted on those emotions, I’d be no better than they (the Nazis) were.”

“It was interesting to see the Austrians reaction to it,” Werbel said. “They were not Jewish. A lot were very distraught. A lot of people broke down crying.”

“I felt it hit the Israelis very hard,” he added, noting they put together a memorial service outside of the camp.

As descendents of Holocaust survivors, Werbel said he felt the Americans and Israelis shared a bond.

“I’m proud of the people who survived,” he said. “Sometimes surviving is all we can do and all of our families had to do that.”

As a tourist, he said he was very impressed with Vienna and how civilized and supportive of art the city is. He said he especially enjoyed the visit because “if the Holocaust never happened, I’d be in Austria.”

Activity-wise, he said hiking in the Alps was incredible.

Like his birthright trip, where he said for the first time he didn’t feel like a minority, he said that the program in Austria was a life-changing experience.

“I feel like I’m a better, more culturally sensitive person,” he said, noting that a large part of the program was geared to helping the young people from three cultures understand each other. “I went in expecting people to hate Americans. But I left with an appreciation for different cultures and wanting to learn more about different cultures and different countries.”

Werbel said he also hopes to return to Israel to visit his new friends there.

He has another goal as well—he wants to let other Americans whose families in Austria survived the Holocaust know about this program. He said anyone who wants to hear more about his trip is welcome to contact him at thewerbler@yahoo.com.