Talking a walk back in time...Wroclaw Summer 2019
I have always wanted to visit my mom's hometown of Wroclaw. Both my parents were born in Wroclaw in 1949 to Holocaust survivors. They were in Wroclaw because that was the only place that welcomed the survivors who remained. My father only spent a few early years in Wroclaw and then moved to Warsaw, but my mother's parents created a vibrant life for themselves in this new community. My grandfather was responsible for the team that was to rebuild the city.
My mom was born on August 5, 1949 in Wroclaw, Poland. In 1957, she immigrated with her family to Israel. She joined the youth organization Hashomer Hatzair (the "Young Guard," a group which my grandfather belonged to as an adolescent in Brody). With that group, she went to serve in the army in a branch called NAHAL (Fighting Pioneer Youth). After two years of service she went to Jerusalem to study at the Hebrew University. She graduated with a degree in Hebrew Literature and Bible Studies.
In 1970, she married Joshua Aizenman, her boyfriend from the army.
My grandfather, Henrick Pollack, was born in the town of Brody, Poland (Russia until 1772, Austria until 1919, and Poland from 1919 to 1939).
When WWII broke out, there were approximately 10,000 Jews in Brody. The area came under Soviet occupation following the partition of 1939. The town fell to the Germans in July 1941, at which time persecution of the Jews began immediately. A ghetto was established in January 1942 for the 6,500 Jews who remained, as well as 3,000 refugees from the surrounding towns and villages. The ghetto was completely sealed off when 50 people died a day from typhoid fever and malnutrition. Between Sep. 19-21, 1942 mass extermination of the Jewish community began with deportations to Belzec death came. The ghetto was liquidated on May 21, 1943, when the surviving 3,500 Jews were deported to Majdanek. My grandfather's mother and two sisters, Frida and Regina, were killed in the Schnell forest and only my grandfather and 250 others survived the war. My grandfather survived because he was in the Red Army.
He was discharged in 1946, and he returned to Krakow to learn that his sisters and mother had been hiding in a bunker but they were discovered.
My grandfather wrote that "his heart is aching for this Jewish city with a glorious past, which was wiped out from the diaspora's map, and for the times that were and are no more."
(Photo: Bente Kahan Foundation)
My mom was born on August 5, 1949 in Wroclaw, Poland. In 1957, she immigrated with her family to Israel. She joined the youth organization Hashomer Hatzair (the "Young Guard," a group which my grandfather belonged to as an adolescent in Brody). With that group, she went to serve in the army in a branch called NAHAL (Fighting Pioneer Youth). After two years of service she went to Jerusalem to study at the Hebrew University. She graduated with a degree in Hebrew Literature and Bible Studies.
In 1970, she married Joshua Aizenman, her boyfriend from the army.
My grandfather, Henrick Pollack, was born in the town of Brody, Poland (Russia until 1772, Austria until 1919, and Poland from 1919 to 1939).
When WWII broke out, there were approximately 10,000 Jews in Brody. The area came under Soviet occupation following the partition of 1939. The town fell to the Germans in July 1941, at which time persecution of the Jews began immediately. A ghetto was established in January 1942 for the 6,500 Jews who remained, as well as 3,000 refugees from the surrounding towns and villages. The ghetto was completely sealed off when 50 people died a day from typhoid fever and malnutrition. Between Sep. 19-21, 1942 mass extermination of the Jewish community began with deportations to Belzec death came. The ghetto was liquidated on May 21, 1943, when the surviving 3,500 Jews were deported to Majdanek. My grandfather's mother and two sisters, Frida and Regina, were killed in the Schnell forest and only my grandfather and 250 others survived the war. My grandfather survived because he was in the Red Army.
He was discharged in 1946, and he returned to Krakow to learn that his sisters and mother had been hiding in a bunker but they were discovered.
My grandfather wrote that "his heart is aching for this Jewish city with a glorious past, which was wiped out from the diaspora's map, and for the times that were and are no more."
My mother in the main square of Wroclaw old city, her father was responsible for restoring many of the building in the background in the 1950s.
My grandfather and my mother
My grandfather and my mother (center) at a family summer camp
My grandfather with his mother and two sisters, his mother and two sisters were killed in the war
My grandmother and my grandfather
My grandmother and my grandfather
My grandfather (top row, second from right)
White Stork Synagogue before restoration
White Stork Synagogue After Restoration
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