מאגר סיפורי מורשת

Bobba Ada left Kovno Lithuania in 1936

She left behind a brother Label (Arye)  who was married with 3 children. He lived in Ukmerge near Kovno

In 1941 a loudspeaker from the street, announced that the Germans were coming and all Jews were to pack up and take only what they could carry and some transport would pick them up and take them to a safer place.

Label and his wife were on the transport. On the way they realised that they had left the baby behind in the cot. He was born in 1937 so he was almost 2 years.

Label jumped off the bus but arranged with his wife that he would collect  the child Reuven, and meet at arranged place at the end of the town.

When Label arrived at the town edge, he found no wife, no transport and was told by someone that the people were taken to the forest and were all murdered

Label put the child in an orphanage since he was mobilised into the Russian army. He was wounded in 1944 and landed up in a hospital where a very kind nurse attended to him and with whom he fell in love.

They were married after the war, in 1945 and until Label was demobilised, Esther his wife went to the orphanage and brought Reuven up as her own child.

Label and  Esther had another child, Bella, and they all lived in Russia.

When  Bella was 11 years old, Label applied to leave Russia, and to emigrate to Israel. He immediately lost his job.

They realised they had to make another plan.

Since  Esther was born in Poland, she was allowed to visit Poland.

Label and Esther made application to go to Poland for “a wedding”

Meantime they sold off all their possessions, sold up everything, and had enough money to make the trip to Poland and from there to Israel.

The family arrived  in Israel in1956/57. Label cabled Bobba Ada  to say ”The Tante  has  arrived” so Bobba Ada knew that her brother had survived.

"Dead" brother is now alive

Dead" brother is now alive"

In 1958 Bobba Ada brought Label out to South Africa,Johannesburg.

It made headlines in South African newspapers.

Reuven was immediately taken into the Israeli Army at age 20.

They lived in  terrible conditions,in Maabarot, in Tzrifim

The families of  Bobba Ada and Label remained close Thank Hashem.

In October 1992 Bella, Reuven and their sons, Kobi and Zohar, Solly my  brother and Bobba Ada and Zaida Hymie visited Lithuania, and toured  all the places of interest to our families, Ukmerge, Kovno,Kurshan, Shavel, where Zaida Hymie was born, and spent his school holidays respectively.

We visited the forest cemetry of Ukmerge, the 9th Fort where the rest of Bobba Ada’s family were murdered.

It was then that Bobba Ada and Zaida Hymie were able to tell us stories of their lives in Lithuania.

We saw the house where Zaida Hymie, my  father, was born and grew up. We  were afraid to knock on the door of his house as we never spoke the language.

We never found anything Jewish of Zaida Hymie’s memories

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הזוית האישית

סבתא ליבי סטראוס משתתפת בתכנית הקשר הרב דורי יחד עם נכדתה שלהבת טננולד.