Letter regarding Holocaust documentation and education

This is a letter from Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, to Mr. Elie Wiesel, dated October 28, 2003. In the letter, Mayor Bloomberg thanks Mr. Wiesel for sending him a copy of his new book, "Wise Men and Their Tales: Portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Masters." He expresses his interest in the book, describing it as an "interesting exploration of some compelling figures in Jewish history and religious text," and states that he looks forward to reading it. The letter concludes with an appreciation for Mr. Wiesel's work.

Rebecca updates her sister-in-law Maria on family news, reflects on the status of American literature in Europe, and describes governance issues at the Orphan Asylum following the fire and the efforts of the Central Phrenological Society of Philadelphia.

Anna Czerwinski, nee Estera Pomrok, was born in 1906 in Radom, Poland into a wealthy, kosher family. She attended public school and worked briefly in a Hashomer Hatzair farm in Lublin. In 19301 she married Lucien Finkielsztein, an assimilated Jew who changed his name to Czerwinski and served in the Polish Army. They lived in Warsaw for a time, but then prompted by her husband, she relocated to a small town, Opole Lubelskie, where it would be safer. Anna and their two children passed as Catholics, hiding in Opole Lubelskie with Polish friends whom she paid. Her daughter was sheltered in a convent until the nuns discovered her Jewish identity and abandoned the child. Many close encounters are related. In 1944, the family fled to Falenica, where Russian soldiers helped them. Postwar, Anna regained her mother’s store in Lublin and her husband prospered in business in Reichenbach Niederschlesien. In 1950, continuing antisemitism prompted their departure from Europe. After two years in Israel and travel to France and Brazil, the Polish quota permitted their emigration to the United States in 1958. Also see her 1979 interview in Polish, 1 tape.

Ephraim Glaser, born in 1922 in Cluj, Transylvania, Romania, was the son of an orthodox shochet, mohel and chazan. He describes pre-war Cluj and recalls a pogrom that took place in the courtyard of his family’s home when he was five years old. He describes changes that occurred when the Hungarian occupation began in 1940, including beatings and exclusion of Jews from public schools. He attended cheder and yeshiva until 1943, when he was taken to a forced labor camp. He escaped in 1944, and because of his Aryan appearance and ability to speak German, was able to pose as a Hungarian Christian and join a German army unit as a translator. After several months, suspected of being a Bolshevist, he ran away and found refuge in a factory, whose owner, a baron, hid him in an unused oven. His sister and her family, hidden in a Czechoslovakian monastery, were deceived by a German promise of safety and returned to their home in August 1941. They were then seized and sent on the last transport to Auschwitz. His brother-in-law, an opera singer and cantor in Bratislava, was shot while singing for the Germans. Ephraim fled to Miskolc in the Russian zone and was liberated at the end of 1944. He briefly mentions Russian plunder of the local population. After his return to Cluj, he was active in the Zionist underground movement, Bricha2, transporting Jews illegally to Palestine. Accused of being a fascist by former friends who had become Communists, he went to Palestine and worked on a kibbutz in1946. He describes the difficulties encountered among kibbutz members who stigmatized survivors like himself as being cowards who willingly submitted to their own slaughter. That experience caused him to remain silent for many years, not even telling his children about his experiences until later in his life. He explains how his silence and then finally talking about the Holocaust affected his children. See also Ephraim’s second interview conducted in 1989 during which he discusses more in-depth about his experiences in the German army unit. Interviewee: GLASER, Ephraim Date: August 10, 1988

Rachel Hochhauser, née Swerdlin, was born July 2, 1928 in Krzywice, Poland. She was the only child of a religious family. Her grandfather was Rabbi and Shochet of the shtetl. Her grandmother and parents operated a general store. She describes religious education and a comfortable life, pre WWII, and friendly relations with Polish and Russian neighbors until September 3, 1939. She details restrictive occupations under Russians and subsequent persecution by Germans and local collaborators in summer of 1941. When her father was killed she went into hiding with her mother and other relatives after warnings from non-Jews, including the police Kommandant for whom she worked. The family hid on several farms from April, 1942 until 1944. They were protected for 20 months by a Catholic farmer’s wife, Anna Kobinska, with whom Rachel continued to correspond after the war. When forced to move for the final time, they went into a partisan-occupied area. She describes the privations of living in a swamp during the winter of 1943-44. A log bunker built for them in the woods in exchange for 20 rubles of gold sheltered ten people until spring, 1944. The Russian Blitzkrieg and deserting Germans drove the group to return to their homes in Krzywice, where her family was welcomed home by neighbors. They adopted an orphan girl found in their house and moved westward to the DP camp at Foehrenwald. Rachel describes her education there in an ORT school. She immigrated to the United States in April, 1951. Recorded at the 1985 American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors in Philadelphia, PA.