Rescued Jewish Children
Aharon Avidonis
Who Am I?
Aharon Avidonis
From: Smuggled in Potato Sacks
Fifty Stories of the Hidden Children of the Kaunas Ghetto
Editors
Solomon Abramovich and Yakov Zilberg
In 1957, when I was about 16 years old, my mother, Malka Avidonis, passed away. Only then, for the first time in my life, I was told by our neighbours that Avidonis Rouven and Malka were not my biological parents. It appears that in 1945 I was taken by them, both Holocaust survivors, from the Jewish Orphanage in Kaunas. The same neighbour told me that she had heard that my family had lived before the war in the old city of Kaunas.
My birth certificate states that I was born on 15 May 1941. Most probably I was born before the war, since I was circumcised, so I guess this is not my real date of birth. I tried in vain to find out what was my name and surname at birth, who were my parents, what happened to them, how and by whom I was rescued, and who had brought me to the orphanage. I deeply regret that I did not ask for more information from my adoptive father.
After my service in the Soviet Army, I worked as an electrical technician, got married and in 1967 our son was born. We emigrated to Israel in 1991 and I worked in my profession till retirement in 2008. I would like very much to find out about my roots, but I do not expect such a miracle will happen.
First published in 2011 by Vallentine Mitchell
London, Portland, OR
Aharon Avidonis
From: Smuggled in Potato Sacks
Fifty Stories of the Hidden Children of the Kaunas Ghetto
Editors
Solomon Abramovich and Yakov Zilberg
In 1957, when I was about 16 years old, my mother, Malka Avidonis, passed away. Only then, for the first time in my life, I was told by our neighbours that Avidonis Rouven and Malka were not my biological parents. It appears that in 1945 I was taken by them, both Holocaust survivors, from the Jewish Orphanage in Kaunas. The same neighbour told me that she had heard that my family had lived before the war in the old city of Kaunas.
My birth certificate states that I was born on 15 May 1941. Most probably I was born before the war, since I was circumcised, so I guess this is not my real date of birth. I tried in vain to find out what was my name and surname at birth, who were my parents, what happened to them, how and by whom I was rescued, and who had brought me to the orphanage. I deeply regret that I did not ask for more information from my adoptive father.
After my service in the Soviet Army, I worked as an electrical technician, got married and in 1967 our son was born. We emigrated to Israel in 1991 and I worked in my profession till retirement in 2008. I would like very much to find out about my roots, but I do not expect such a miracle will happen.
First published in 2011 by Vallentine Mitchell
London, Portland, OR