
Susan with her children: Left to right- Rachel, Ben, and Josie
By Tasha Ackerman
Across Jewish communities, there are certain artifacts that carry profound significance. Passed down from generation to generation, crossing borders and changing geopolitical landscapes, they keep traditions alive and tie us to our heritage. The Megillah, or Scroll of Esther, is traditionally a handwritten scroll that is read each year on Purim, to tell the story of Queen Esther and how the Jews were saved from the evil Haman and his plan to annihilate them. Along with the many traditions around these readings, the scrolls themselves are oftentimes stored with a sense of pride in Jewish homes, housed in special cases with intricate and artful covers.
This past year. The Together Plan recently received a special gift from Susan Dawson, a member of Finchley Reform Synagogue (FRS) in London. Susan donated a family Megillah in memory of her late mother Connie and father John Stanton. This precious family heirloom had been in her family for generations, and after her mother’s passing, Susan knew that donating it to the Belarusian Jewish community would both honour her mother’s respect for her heritage as well as provide a resource where Judaica is needed to help preserve Jewish traditions. When speaking with Susan recently, her story reminded me of the significance of such heirlooms and traditions, and how these stories we tell are reflective of our changing world but still manage to keep us rooted in our heritage.
Susan Dawson grew up in Finchley, a large district in North London. There, she is part of the Finchley Reform Synagogue. Sixteen years ago, Finchley Reform hosted youth from Belarus who were invited to participate in a summer programme and live with host families. The idea was to create connections across borders. Susan’s family hosted two girls that were close in age to Susan’s triplets (two daughters and a son). This was a special bonding experience, and Susan’s family remains close to the family they hosted. From there, The Together Plan (TTP) CEO Debra Brunner saw the value of connecting FRS with Jewish communities in Belarus, which is when the early stages of building TTP began. Susan joined Debra on a trip to Belarus. On the trip, she was able to connect with the Jewish community in Vitebsk, as well as learn about the history of locations such as the Minsk Ghetto.
Susan had known that her great-grandmother had come from somewhere within the Russian Empire, though as this region has had inconsistent borders over the years, she did not know her specific origins. However, after her mother Connie retired, she began digging more thoroughly into the family history. Connie discovered that Susan’s great-grandmother, Annie Grossman (nee Balaski), was born on May 2nd, 1876 in Orsha, a city in the Vitebsk region of modern-day Belarus, the same region Susan had visited with FRS! In a town of about 13,000, over half were Jews. In 1896, Annie travelled from Orsha to London, to marry Marks Grossman, who had also come from Orsha. It’s understood that this was a shidduch, or an arranged marriage.

Annie and Marks Grossman Wedding photo (with permission of Susan Dawson)
Beyond biographical facts, the research that Connie did into her family’s history also began to tell the story of what life was like for their ancestors. When Annie arrived in London’s East End, in 1896*, the city was experiencing its peak in Jewish immigration. Not even a decade after Annie’s arrival, the Aliens Act of 1905 was enacted as the UK’s first immigration act which aimed to restrict the entry of “undesirable” immigrants. While the act contained vague language, antisemitic rhetoric was on the rise in the political sphere. This act was passed to limit the entry of those who did not have the means to support themselves financially, which was the case for many of the thousands of Jews fleeing life in the Pale of Settlement and settling in London’s East End.
The sentiment of the time, the weariness of immigrants in a neighbourhood that experienced poverty and hardship, is reflected through the details Connie was able to unveil about her family’s past. Marks discovered that life in the East End of London was very difficult. Marks had a wife and three young children and he worked as a cabinet maker. Marks’s father, also affected by the financial hardship had attempted to torch down the cabinetry business, but then fled to America leaving Marks with the paranoia that his father’s troubles would fall on him and he would be blamed. These woes were reflected in letters he had sent to relatives in Russia. In one letter, he warned a cousin not to come to London because “he would be only a slave.”
On April 28, 1905, Marks did not come home from the workshop, so Annie went looking for him, only to discover that he had hanged himself in the shop. He left a note in Hebrew which said, “I ask you to see that the children are brought up as true Jewish children, true to the nation, and also to the country where you live.” Connie’s extensive research found a report in the newspaper on the trial where Annie stood up in court and, through a translator, explained how she had found her husband. His death was ultimately ruled “death by misadventure: intentional hanging” The judge concluded by stating that London would be better off if more people were of the same mind as her deceased husband. the financial hardship and limited opportunities, stood in stark contrast to his aspirations for his children. He had a desire for them to mutually maintain a Jewish identity and prosper in a new land. Yet, the tragedy of his death was dismissed in the court and public record. His story serves as a testament to the resilience of the Jewish diaspora, demonstrating a desire to maintain traditions amidst harsh climates.
Yet, the matriarchs of Susan’s family continued to persevere. Annie, found herself suddenly widowed with three young children, but she was to face further tragedy when her youngest son, Isaac, passed away shortly after in March of 1906. To support herself and her two young children, Kitty and Louis, she relied on charity from the Jewish Board of Guardians, which later became Jewish Care. At the time, charity workers would come to the houses of those receiving aid to check that the families were not living above their means, even lifting up the lids of saucepans to inspect what was being cooked. When Kitty shared with the aid workers that she aspired to be a secretary, they put her down – thus creating an inferiority complex which she harboured for most of her life. Eventually, Annie worked for Ardath Tobacco Company, hand-rolling cigarettes. At age 15, Annie’s oldest daughter Kitty joined her to help provide for the family. The family remained in the East End through Kitty’s marriage to her husband Nat, where they were wed in a synagogue that has since been converted to a mosque. Kitty’s only child, Connie, was born in the East End in 1931.

Annie Grossman (with permission of Susan Dawson)

Kitty Mellows (nee Grossman) and Nathan (Nat) Mellows (with permission of Sue Dawson)

Susan Dawson with mother, Connie Stanton, and brother, Richard Stanton
Despite the hardships of the East End, growing up as immigrants with little money and few opportunities, it seems that Marks’s hopes for his children came to fruition. Across the generations, his family found more comfort living in greater London while upholding their Jewish heritage. Susan would end up working for Jewish Care, the rebrand of the organisation that supported her great-grandmother and grandmother after Marks passed away. After her own experience raising a child with disabilities, Susan found herself in a role supporting caregivers of people with illnesses and disabilities. This eventually led to her involvement in a project with Jewish Care – “Singing for Memory” to support people with dementia. Susan explained how when someone who may have become nonverbal or has lost much of their memories, when they hear something familiar such as a Shabbat prayer that they have heard their whole lives, even if they can’t say the words, their eyes will light up because it’s something they recognise.

Susan in the red shall with husband, Robin, in the red beard at The Together Plan fundraiser at Finchley Reform Synagogue sing-a-long screening of Fiddler on the Roof. Friends.

Susan with her children: Left to right- Rachel, Ben, and Josie
Susan intentionally shares these stories with her family and has kept Jewish life active with her children who were raised within Finchley Reform Synagogue. Her daughters watched and participated in the shows in care homes and were active at Friday night Shabbat dinners. They went to a Jewish school, where their grandmother Connie visited to share her experiences in the Second World War and life in the East End. Her daughters even went to Belarus with Debra Brunner to participate in a Together Plan summer programme, gaining their own experiences rooted in their family’s traditions and heritage.
When Susan went to Belarus with FRS, her mother was pleased that Susan was taking notice of her family’s story and that she took the opportunity to travel to the place of their family’s origins. It was very important to her that her family’s story was maintained, believing it is important to know where you come from. Beyond her own family, by sharing her family’s story with others, Susan helps to preserve Jewish life and form bonds and connections that unite us. Annie’s travel document that granted her permission as a Jew residing in the Pale of Settlement to London in 1896 is now kept in the Jewish Museum in London, along with her cigarette-making tools.

Annie Grossman’s cigarette-making tools on display at the Jewish Museum London.
Next year, Susan’s family’s Megillah will have a new home in Belarus. And though the holiday has just passed, we can take this time and momentum from the pride of Purim to remember our stories and keep the spirit of Jewish life active. It serves as a reminder of our collective identity, as we integrate our individual experiences with our shared traditions such as reading the Megillah and dressing in costume. We remember, we retain, and we revitalize. As Jews, we have suffered, and in the face of adversity and tragedy, we rise up. Susan’s story and her Megillah demonstrate Jewish resilience, reminding us that when we carry our stories, traditions, and rituals throughout the generations, we strengthen our capacity to endure.

Megillah, belonging to Susan’s great-grandfather. Origins unknown.
*In 1881 Tsar Alexander II was assassinated, with blame cast on the Jews. This gave rise to the first wave of bloody pogroms leading to mass immigration.
Sources:
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11780-orsha
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/establishing-jewish-east-end-london-1880-1914
https://papuraunewydd.llyfrgell.cymru/view/4152001/4152004/
Alien’s Act of 1905