In Their Own Words - “A Living Memorial”

“In Their Own Words” presents stories of the Holocaust from area residents, visitors and others with a connection to our Center.   These narratives can be personal testimonies or records passed on from a relative or a friend.

In 2004, Hatikvah created “A Living Memorial” – the local portion of our permanent exhibit. It contained 34 stories of local survivor families. In 2009 we added eleven new stories to the exhibit. Some were firsthand testimonies from survivors and some were stories told by children and other relatives.

The selections featured on the website illustrate a broad range of experiences. People came from cities such as Berlin, Lodz and Vilna as well as many small towns in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. As the Nazis expanded their rule of Europe, some of these people were forced to flee to Norway, Uzbekistan, Shanghai and the Rudnicki forest to fight with Partisans. Others were sent to slave labor camps, prison and concentration camps.

Taken together the stories show the wide sweep and devastating effect of hatred unleashed. Taken individually they show the fear, constant terror, dehumanization and desperation caused by the Holocaust. But at the same time they show courage and the will to survive. For all of the above reasons, we present these stories in our exhibit and on our website.

 

To submit an article, email administrator@hatikvah-center.org  or mail to Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center, 1160 Dickinson Street, Springfield, MA 01108

 

Zenia Lewinson Bart – was born in Vilna Poland, now Vilnius Lithuania. She lived with her mother, step father and younger brother Michael. When the Germans began bombing Vilna, Zenia had just returned from delivering a package to a close family friend. She found out later that the building was flattened by a bomb shortly after she left... read full story

Leizer Bart – was born in Hrubieshov, Poland…The town had about 30,000 inhabitants; one third of the population was Jewish. Most of the townspeople were very poor and anti-Semitism was high among the local Polish residents... read full story

Marc Futter – In 1939 Marc went to university in Norway. He did not feel an immediate and personal threat because he was well received by and totally involved with his Norwegian friends. In 1941 the Gestapo arrested him... read full story

The Kur and Rotholz families – Meilach Rotholz was the youngest of eight children and the only one to survive the Holocaust. Meilach fled to Russia…and across the war ravaged landscape to Uzbekistan. Brina Kur Rotholz…was the second youngest of twelve children…Her parents urged her to flee…She went to Anikshot-Kurland where the border was open…traveled 500 kilometers by foot, then went through 90 kilometers of swamp”... read full story

Walter Lachman - “I was five years old in 1933 when the Nazi party came to power and Hitler was named Chancellor. Prior to that life was normal, practically good”... read full story

The Smolarz Family – Leon Smolarz was one of seven children. His father was a roofer and to avoid anti-Semitic persecution changed the family name from Lefkovitz to Smolarz, which in Polish means “one who deals with coal and tar pitch”... read full story

The Dawidowicz family – When the Nazis invaded Vilna in 1941 they took over the Kailis Fur factory and started a slave labor camp. Yehuda Leib and Reizel Dawidowicz and their daughter, Regina were sent there… read full story

Sigmund Tobias – “I was born in Berlin and before Kristallnacht attended Hebrew school. Kids from the Hitler Jugend often waited after school to taunt us while throwing rocks and trying to beat us. …After Kristallnacht my father tried to escape"…read full story

Julius and Rosa Schaumberg – (Julius) “I was born in Schweinsberg- near Marburg. My childhood was quiet. Before Kristallnacht nobody talked about the Nazis. But on Kristallnacht we were awakened about 4 a.m. and saw everything burning”... read full story

(Rosa) “I was born in Lodz (Poland). My parents, three sisters, two brothers and I lived a simple life in a crowded fourth floor apartment. I didn’t experience anti-Semitism until the fall of 1939 when the Germans came to Lodz and created the ghetto.”... read full story

Curt Warner – Curt’s father had a home goods store and a car that he drove out to the farmers to sell his wares. In the mid-1930’s when the Nazis came to power, people were told to boycott Jewish businesses. Eventually Curt’s father had to close his store and the family became penniless... read full story

Previous "In Their Own Words" Articles

Traveling Exhibit in Scottsdale - How three generations of one family are working with their Holocaust legacies in unique and varied ways.

Hatikvah fosters reunion between a Polish town’s descendant and a local survivor