rescued jewish children
Dalya Hofmekler-Ginzburg
I was born on January 29, 1939, in Kovno (Kaunas) Lithuania. I was the only child to my parents Perale Radziunski and Michael Hofmekler.
My mother came from Seirijai in the Alytus District daughter of Arie (Leib) Radziunski Radziunski and Zlata Arulianski and had 6 brothers and two sisters. My father was born in Vilnius. His father Motl (Mordechai) was a musician, played the Cello and the Contrabass. His mother Berta (née Blinder-Stupel) was a housewife. My father, was the oldest of five children in his family, was a violinist and conductor. His brother Lola (Arie) was a Pianist and an Orchestra conductor, Donia (Daniel) was a Cellist, Ruva (Reuven) played the Cello and Wind instruments, his sister Zhenia (Zelda) was not a musician.
My parents lived well and my father’s career was flourishing: he was a well-known musician and as early as 1932 he was presented with a medal from the President of Lithuania for his contribution to the musical culture of his country.
In the ghetto we lived in a house built of bricks with six rooms on 56 Linkuvos Street and there was a family in each. My parents and I lived together with my grandfather Motl and grandmother Berta in one room. In the other room lived the family of my cousin Katia Segalson, who was five years older than me.
My mother was a strong energetic woman, ready to take on any kind of work and apart from other tasks she even used to clean the office of the ghetto commandant Geke (Wilhelm Göcke). My father, on the other hand, was weak-willed and did not want to turn his mind to anything but music. After the first big intellectuals action (The Intelligentsia‘s Action), musicians were afraid to admit what their profession was so the Jewish Council (Judenrat) decided that it was the best way to save them to employ them as policemen and gave them uniforms. When the Policemen action was taken, only the musicians were not taken to the 9th Fort to their death.
In the ghetto when rumours spread of an approaching Children’s Action tension was around the ghetto population and there was a need to get me out of the ghetto, the only way was to find someone gentile that will be able to take me under their care. It was very difficult and to my mother courage had no limit. While working in the office of the ghetto commander Geke she called Mania who on these days was working in a factory in Kovno and they reached an agreement that Mania will take me.
Before the war Marijona Rudzianskienė – Mania was working in the house of my cousin Katia Segalson as a housekeeper. Mania supposed to take Katia but for my best luck a Lithuanian family friend of the Segalson family Genutė Pukaitė offered to take Katia and that’s how Mania was free to take me.
The smuggling from the ghetto was taken short time before the big Children's Action around March 1944. My mother spoke to a Vermacht Soldier that was known to the Jews as a helper to smuggle young kids. His role was to guard in one of the ghetto gates, his name was Bretter and he of course agreed. My mother explained to me that we are separating and she hopes we will meet again soon and that Mania will take me to her relatives, a poor old couple in small village near Jonava.
My mother set with Mania that she will wait in the other side of the gate, she found a wagon driver and asked him to deliver a small kitchen cupboard outside the ghetto. I was put inside the cupboard that had two doors and two drawers and the wagon driver together with the guard Bretter let the wagon pass through the gate. Bretter even opened one of the drawers that I can breathe better. That’s how I separated from my mother into Mania’s loving hands. Mania brought me to her relatives in the village I can’t remember the name of.
The life in the village was not easy. The old couple was poor and hardly earned their own living, they had few pigs and a small vegetables garden. I was presented in the village as the daughter of Mania, the priest of the village was a family friend and came home to christen me as Catholic. The Polish name Jadvyga was given to me. I was taught to pray in Polish. Mania was visiting me and bring candies. The days of Mania’s visiting were the happiest days while I was in the village. Genutė was also coming to visit me few times.
On the 1 of August Kovno was liberated by the Red Army and Jonava area have been conquered. Mania came to the village and for the first time I was able to go out to the garden and street. Mania said she heard that they are establishing a Jewish Orphanage house for Jewish kids that survived and she will take me there. I don’t remember when exactly Mania took me to the Orphanage house number 4 in Kovno in Rastyčių Street.
It must be mentioned that the story of my rescuing was not for any payment or reward, not Mania, not Bretter and not the old couple, it was all done for human love by taking big life risk. Thanks to this wonderful people I’m living to tell and remember these days.
After the ghetto had been knocked down, my parents had been sent to concentration camps: my mother to Stutthof and my father to Dachau. All the other members of the family had been killed during round-ups or during isolated incidents of brutality. The whole of my mother’s family from Seirijai was killed during the first few days of the War. Yet my parents had survived.
Here comes a long story of another separation from my mother and another orphanage house in Vilna, my mother as I was to find out later, was sentenced by the soviets to 8 years, hard labour in the town of Nizhnij Tagil in the Urals. Thanks to the efforts of some high-ranking Lithuanians, who knew my father well and valued him, she was released early, two years after her conviction. As a former political prisoner, my mother was not permitted to live in Vilnius and she was not allowed to take me back home with her. In 1952 my mother was allowed to take me home with her and here started my happy days together with my mother. In 1956 my mother decided to leave for Israel.
In Israel I completed my secondary education in an agricultural school and then went to serve in the Army. During my army service where I met my future husband, Dov Ginzburg who was born in Israel. He gave me many happy years and my beloved daughter Einat (Natty). After my army service I studied to become a librarian and worked for 36 years in the Ashdod library. My mother used to live with us died in 1981 at the age of 67. Natty got married to Avi and have two children Ori, 20 serve the army and Noa 15, still at school. My husband died from Leukemia on 1990.
I am now living as a pensioner. I have four dogs and three cats, not to mention various others who call at my flat to be fed. All my animals were brought in as strays from the street. I currently live two minutes away from my daughter. Her family consisting of her, her husband and my two grandchildren is my great joy.
Israel, 2009
My mother came from Seirijai in the Alytus District daughter of Arie (Leib) Radziunski Radziunski and Zlata Arulianski and had 6 brothers and two sisters. My father was born in Vilnius. His father Motl (Mordechai) was a musician, played the Cello and the Contrabass. His mother Berta (née Blinder-Stupel) was a housewife. My father, was the oldest of five children in his family, was a violinist and conductor. His brother Lola (Arie) was a Pianist and an Orchestra conductor, Donia (Daniel) was a Cellist, Ruva (Reuven) played the Cello and Wind instruments, his sister Zhenia (Zelda) was not a musician.
My parents lived well and my father’s career was flourishing: he was a well-known musician and as early as 1932 he was presented with a medal from the President of Lithuania for his contribution to the musical culture of his country.
In the ghetto we lived in a house built of bricks with six rooms on 56 Linkuvos Street and there was a family in each. My parents and I lived together with my grandfather Motl and grandmother Berta in one room. In the other room lived the family of my cousin Katia Segalson, who was five years older than me.
My mother was a strong energetic woman, ready to take on any kind of work and apart from other tasks she even used to clean the office of the ghetto commandant Geke (Wilhelm Göcke). My father, on the other hand, was weak-willed and did not want to turn his mind to anything but music. After the first big intellectuals action (The Intelligentsia‘s Action), musicians were afraid to admit what their profession was so the Jewish Council (Judenrat) decided that it was the best way to save them to employ them as policemen and gave them uniforms. When the Policemen action was taken, only the musicians were not taken to the 9th Fort to their death.
In the ghetto when rumours spread of an approaching Children’s Action tension was around the ghetto population and there was a need to get me out of the ghetto, the only way was to find someone gentile that will be able to take me under their care. It was very difficult and to my mother courage had no limit. While working in the office of the ghetto commander Geke she called Mania who on these days was working in a factory in Kovno and they reached an agreement that Mania will take me.
Before the war Marijona Rudzianskienė – Mania was working in the house of my cousin Katia Segalson as a housekeeper. Mania supposed to take Katia but for my best luck a Lithuanian family friend of the Segalson family Genutė Pukaitė offered to take Katia and that’s how Mania was free to take me.
The smuggling from the ghetto was taken short time before the big Children's Action around March 1944. My mother spoke to a Vermacht Soldier that was known to the Jews as a helper to smuggle young kids. His role was to guard in one of the ghetto gates, his name was Bretter and he of course agreed. My mother explained to me that we are separating and she hopes we will meet again soon and that Mania will take me to her relatives, a poor old couple in small village near Jonava.
My mother set with Mania that she will wait in the other side of the gate, she found a wagon driver and asked him to deliver a small kitchen cupboard outside the ghetto. I was put inside the cupboard that had two doors and two drawers and the wagon driver together with the guard Bretter let the wagon pass through the gate. Bretter even opened one of the drawers that I can breathe better. That’s how I separated from my mother into Mania’s loving hands. Mania brought me to her relatives in the village I can’t remember the name of.
The life in the village was not easy. The old couple was poor and hardly earned their own living, they had few pigs and a small vegetables garden. I was presented in the village as the daughter of Mania, the priest of the village was a family friend and came home to christen me as Catholic. The Polish name Jadvyga was given to me. I was taught to pray in Polish. Mania was visiting me and bring candies. The days of Mania’s visiting were the happiest days while I was in the village. Genutė was also coming to visit me few times.
On the 1 of August Kovno was liberated by the Red Army and Jonava area have been conquered. Mania came to the village and for the first time I was able to go out to the garden and street. Mania said she heard that they are establishing a Jewish Orphanage house for Jewish kids that survived and she will take me there. I don’t remember when exactly Mania took me to the Orphanage house number 4 in Kovno in Rastyčių Street.
It must be mentioned that the story of my rescuing was not for any payment or reward, not Mania, not Bretter and not the old couple, it was all done for human love by taking big life risk. Thanks to this wonderful people I’m living to tell and remember these days.
After the ghetto had been knocked down, my parents had been sent to concentration camps: my mother to Stutthof and my father to Dachau. All the other members of the family had been killed during round-ups or during isolated incidents of brutality. The whole of my mother’s family from Seirijai was killed during the first few days of the War. Yet my parents had survived.
Here comes a long story of another separation from my mother and another orphanage house in Vilna, my mother as I was to find out later, was sentenced by the soviets to 8 years, hard labour in the town of Nizhnij Tagil in the Urals. Thanks to the efforts of some high-ranking Lithuanians, who knew my father well and valued him, she was released early, two years after her conviction. As a former political prisoner, my mother was not permitted to live in Vilnius and she was not allowed to take me back home with her. In 1952 my mother was allowed to take me home with her and here started my happy days together with my mother. In 1956 my mother decided to leave for Israel.
In Israel I completed my secondary education in an agricultural school and then went to serve in the Army. During my army service where I met my future husband, Dov Ginzburg who was born in Israel. He gave me many happy years and my beloved daughter Einat (Natty). After my army service I studied to become a librarian and worked for 36 years in the Ashdod library. My mother used to live with us died in 1981 at the age of 67. Natty got married to Avi and have two children Ori, 20 serve the army and Noa 15, still at school. My husband died from Leukemia on 1990.
I am now living as a pensioner. I have four dogs and three cats, not to mention various others who call at my flat to be fed. All my animals were brought in as strays from the street. I currently live two minutes away from my daughter. Her family consisting of her, her husband and my two grandchildren is my great joy.
Israel, 2009