Love after Loss...the story of my grandparents
Both of my grandparents suffered immeasurable loss during the Holocaust, yet them managed to rebuild and find meaning in their lives after the war. Because they did not discuss their past with their children and grandchildren, I know very little about them. But they, and their families deserve to be remembered.
Henric Pollack
My grandfather, Henric Pollack, was born in 1918 in Brody, Poland (then Eastern Galicia, present day Ukraine). He was the youngest of three, and the only boy. His father died fighting in World War 1. His mother Ester was 9 months pregnant with him when he died. He was raised by his mother, Ester, and two older sisters, Frida and Regina. When he was 11 years old, he had to quit school to help support his family by becoming an apprentice in a carpentry shop in Broday. When World War II broke out, he was 18 years old and was drafted to fight in the Russian Red Army to fight the Germans. He did not realize when he left that he would never see his sisters and mother again, however upon returning he learned that they were killed.
He was discharged in 1946, but he quickly realized that he had no home to return to and that his entire town had been demolished. There were only 250 survivors from the 10,000 Jews who lived there before the war. He moved to Wroclaw, where many survivors were going because the city was in good shape. He met another Holocaust survivor who had lost her family, Sabina, and they married in 1948 and had two daughters, Ester (1949) and Ella (1951).
Sara Cerner Pollack (Sabina)
Sabina Cerner was born into a Jewish Orthodox family, in a village near Chrzanow in southern Poland. She was the fifth of seven children. Her father was a tailor. Sara attended both a public Polish school and Jewish school. She was very attached to her older brother Wolf. She was 14 years old when the Germans invaded Poland, she was sent with a group of local girls to a labor camp in the Sudetes mountains of Czechoslovakia where she worked at a cotton processing factory from 1941 to 1945. After the war, she discovered that all of her family was killed except for her eldest sister Regina, which whom she reconnected in Wroclaw. Her name was changed to Sabina and she got a job at Urzad Bezpieczenstwa (Office of Public Security) as a secretary.
Of the 3.5 M Jews living in Poland before WWII, approximately 250 - 500,000 survived. Many survivors left Poland for Israel and North and South America. A large group of Jews who elected to stay in Poland moved to Wroclaw. The city absorbed over 70,000 Jews displaced by the war, many from the Soviet Union or the concentration camps in Lower Silesia.
Jewish life in Poland became relatively stable between 1950 to 1957. 1956 saw massive protests against the communist government of Poland, which resulted in the rise of Gamulka. Gamulka's assumption of power in 1956 transformed the Jewish scene in Poland. Due to his antisemitic and anti-minority policies, the Jewish population of Poland shrunk and eventually was almost completely eliminated by 1968.
During his time in Wroclaw, he attended a course to acquire professional skills that was organized by the local Jewish Agency. Upon graduating, he was appointed as Head of the Wroclaw Municipal Department for Rebuilding and Reconstruction. This was a critical task as the town was in ruins. Henrik was active in local amateur Jewish theater, he enjoyed the outdoors, and he was the goalkeeper of the town's local soccer team.
The Pollak family lived in Wroclaw until 1957, when they left Poland and immigrated to Israel.
Journey to Israel
The Pollack family left Wroclaw on March 14, 1957. They went to Warsaw where they spent the night at Regina's husband, Aaron, brothers house. On the day they left Warsaw, Aaron died. The Polak family had no choice but to proceed with the plans. They traveled from Warsaw by train to Vienna and from there to Venice, Italy, where they boarded a ship (Mesapia) to Israel. After a week-long crossing of the Mediterranean, they arrived in the port of Haifa. The family was sent to Beer Sheva, where they were given a house in Shikun Hey.
Henric bought and operated his own carpentry shop, he ran a successful business until his last days. He died in 1986.
Photo restoration credit: Jean Claude Louis, http://jeanclaudelouis.com/
Story credit: Ella and Esther Pollack
Henric Pollack
My grandfather, Henric Pollack, was born in 1918 in Brody, Poland (then Eastern Galicia, present day Ukraine). He was the youngest of three, and the only boy. His father died fighting in World War 1. His mother Ester was 9 months pregnant with him when he died. He was raised by his mother, Ester, and two older sisters, Frida and Regina. When he was 11 years old, he had to quit school to help support his family by becoming an apprentice in a carpentry shop in Broday. When World War II broke out, he was 18 years old and was drafted to fight in the Russian Red Army to fight the Germans. He did not realize when he left that he would never see his sisters and mother again, however upon returning he learned that they were killed.
He was discharged in 1946, but he quickly realized that he had no home to return to and that his entire town had been demolished. There were only 250 survivors from the 10,000 Jews who lived there before the war. He moved to Wroclaw, where many survivors were going because the city was in good shape. He met another Holocaust survivor who had lost her family, Sabina, and they married in 1948 and had two daughters, Ester (1949) and Ella (1951).
Sara Cerner Pollack (Sabina)
Sabina Cerner was born into a Jewish Orthodox family, in a village near Chrzanow in southern Poland. She was the fifth of seven children. Her father was a tailor. Sara attended both a public Polish school and Jewish school. She was very attached to her older brother Wolf. She was 14 years old when the Germans invaded Poland, she was sent with a group of local girls to a labor camp in the Sudetes mountains of Czechoslovakia where she worked at a cotton processing factory from 1941 to 1945. After the war, she discovered that all of her family was killed except for her eldest sister Regina, which whom she reconnected in Wroclaw. Her name was changed to Sabina and she got a job at Urzad Bezpieczenstwa (Office of Public Security) as a secretary.
Of the 3.5 M Jews living in Poland before WWII, approximately 250 - 500,000 survived. Many survivors left Poland for Israel and North and South America. A large group of Jews who elected to stay in Poland moved to Wroclaw. The city absorbed over 70,000 Jews displaced by the war, many from the Soviet Union or the concentration camps in Lower Silesia.
Jewish life in Poland became relatively stable between 1950 to 1957. 1956 saw massive protests against the communist government of Poland, which resulted in the rise of Gamulka. Gamulka's assumption of power in 1956 transformed the Jewish scene in Poland. Due to his antisemitic and anti-minority policies, the Jewish population of Poland shrunk and eventually was almost completely eliminated by 1968.
During his time in Wroclaw, he attended a course to acquire professional skills that was organized by the local Jewish Agency. Upon graduating, he was appointed as Head of the Wroclaw Municipal Department for Rebuilding and Reconstruction. This was a critical task as the town was in ruins. Henrik was active in local amateur Jewish theater, he enjoyed the outdoors, and he was the goalkeeper of the town's local soccer team.
The Pollak family lived in Wroclaw until 1957, when they left Poland and immigrated to Israel.
Journey to Israel
The Pollack family left Wroclaw on March 14, 1957. They went to Warsaw where they spent the night at Regina's husband, Aaron, brothers house. On the day they left Warsaw, Aaron died. The Polak family had no choice but to proceed with the plans. They traveled from Warsaw by train to Vienna and from there to Venice, Italy, where they boarded a ship (Mesapia) to Israel. After a week-long crossing of the Mediterranean, they arrived in the port of Haifa. The family was sent to Beer Sheva, where they were given a house in Shikun Hey.
Henric bought and operated his own carpentry shop, he ran a successful business until his last days. He died in 1986.
Photo restoration credit: Jean Claude Louis, http://jeanclaudelouis.com/
Story credit: Ella and Esther Pollack
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