Those I Never Knew / Elana Schwadron - Minkow I have lived most of my life ignorant of the fact that some of my relatives died in the Holocaust. Approximately ten years ago we asked my uncle (my father's brother) to tell us about the family. He told us descriptively about the life they led as children of immigrants growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx, New York. He told us in a very vivid manner about their childhood, playing games in the street with children of Jewish and Italian immigrants; about their home full of children; their grandfather who lived with them and taught them Torah, and an uncle, who only recently had arrived from Europe; the Jewish holidays in a religious environment; attending synagogue on festivals etcetera. In short the life of a large, warm and united Jewish family. Afterwards he began telling us about his father's (my grandfather) family, whose mother, sister and brothers, with their families, all of whom had remained in Galicia had perished in the Holocaust. I was shocked. At first I did not even comprehend what he was telling us. It was the first time I had ever heard about my family who perished in the Holocaust. Both my parents were born and raised in the US and were always so "American" that it never ever crossed my mind that there was such a direct link between the Holocaust and our family. From that very moment I was captured by a fierce passion to discover as much as I could about our relatives who had perished in the Holocaust. Since then I have conducted a passionate search trying to know and comprehend who these people, whom I never ever knew, were. Many avenues along which I searched proved to be barren. Although information was not easy to find and only trickled in from time to time, the more I searched the greater was my desire to know more about them.
When I called my Aunt in the USA, she told me that she had a letter that my grandfather had kept and cherished all his life. It was written in Yiddish and she did not know what was written in it. She sent me the letter with a photograph of the author. I gave the letter for translation into Hebrew and was most distressed on reading its sad content. The letter was written by one of my grandfather's cousins, who related to him how "our family was annihilated " My Aunt also sent me a picture of my grandfather's mother with his sister and a child. During my search, I finally came into contact with people from the town of Mikulince, where my grandfather was born, who knew my family. Meeting them was an extremely exciting experience for me. I felt that I was now so very close to my family that I could almost reach out my hand and touch them A few years ago, I travelled to Mikulince with a companion, a Holocaust survivor, who had known some of my family there. In the meantime, we began wondering who were my husband's relatives who perished in the Holocaust. We knew very little about them as well. We found pictures of them and more sad and formidable information on the fate of the family in Latvia and Belarus. Here too, we found sad letters written by a (non-jewish) Latvian relative to my mother-in-laws family. Today it is clear to me that there are many things about our family that we will never ever know. A few years ago I began painting portraits of my husband and my family members, who were murdered during the Holocaust. Through painting, I felt that I am getting closer to them and getting to know them. I also felt that I wanted to perpetuate them, to extract them from the dark abyss into which they had been forced. I wanted to give them an identity, a shape and a face and revive the memory of people forgotten, people who even their family did not know of their existence and tragic end. I wanted to make known that these people once lived on the face of this earth; beautiful and good, intelligent and talented people, who lived and loved and raised families, until the Germans arrived.
About the Painting When I began painting the portraits, I wasn't completely sure of how I wanted them to appear finally. It was crystal clear to me that I would be painting in black and white. While painting, I realized that the painting had to look like a painting from an old photograph, exactly the same as the photograph I was painting and, to viewers, it would be clear that this is an old photograph that is not "disguised" as a painting "of a portrait from nature." I also wanted the images to look as if they were emerging from darkness. While working, I also found the types of charcoal colors that appear to me to reflect appropriately what I wanted to portray. I also painted a picture of houses that are linked to our family, which, I felt, added another dimension and facilitated a feeling of comprehending their lives and identities. There is at least one painting in which I intentionally painted blurred facial lines because the photograph was blurred and I wanted to remain true to the original. The paintings that I completed are only of people whose photographs we have. Regretfully there are even more relatives who perished on whom we have no information at all. We do not know of everyone; the names of spouses, how many children they had; their names and, of course we do not have any pictures of them. The paintings are with charcoal on paper Size 100 x 70 cm Special thanks to Niusia Schweizer-Horowitz and Zelig Spierer from Mikulince, Galicia; And to Yozefa Herzberg-Golanzer and Abraham Herzberg from Talsi, Latvia.
Fuhrenwald June 18 th, 1947 My Dearly Loved Cousin Shmuel I would like to inform you that I received your kind letter that truly made me happy, because I was hoping to get an answer from you finally. You cannot imagine a situation like this, when others receive many letters from relatives and friends in America and abroad and, while I also have relatives, I have not received any letters from them until now. It is as if I am made of stone that nobody from abroad cares whether I am alive or has any interest in me. Life here is worth nothing anyway, after losing your parents, brothers, sisters and relatives. Then you turn here and there, but cannot find either a friend or relative at all. After the war people became very mean and self-centered, caring only for themselves and there is no one to befriend and no one to whom you can pour out your heart. Because all good has been annihilated, all we can say is A pity for those who are lost, but they are not forgotten. Man does not live as he wishes, but carries on surviving just because he has to and we must be in the vanguard of building a new generation. We have to be strong and prepare for resistance, because life is a constant struggle and we can say that we survived just because we fought, because the Jewish people had never experienced anything like the downfall that we suffered. What can we do, this was our fate.
You have asked me me when your poor mother died. I wasn t in Mikulnce at the time. People just told me that your mother perished in Mikulince on 16 th of Elul, 1942 and your brother Moshe and his wife and children perished in Zbarazch on 14 th Tishrei, 1943. That is how our family was annihilated. What can we do, We must find comfort, but who knows in what. I received a letter from Moshe-Leib from America. He wrote that he has sent two parcels of goods, but that is not all, a kind and true word is better than all. I also received a letter from Brazil from my sisters. They would like to take me in but are unable to so. I have decided to go to Eretz-Yisrael illegally but for now I must wait. Please write to me often and tell me what is happening with you. How are your darling children and your dear wife? With this I end my letter. I wish you a Happy New Year and all the best for the coming year and bless and kiss you, your wife and children from the bottom of my heart. From me, your cousin Michel P.S. Dear Shmuel, I presume you know who I am - I am the youngest son of your uncle Leib, the Shochet from Mikulince. Best regards
Street in Mikulince, Galicia
Schewie Schwadron nee Nassel Born in Zlochow, Galicia, 1866 The wife of Elias (Eliyahu) Schwadron, a Cohen Schwie perished in the actzia in Mikulince, Galicia, 28.8.1942
Slova Schwadron Daughter of Schewie and Elias (Eliyahu) Schwadron Born in Mikulince, Galicia, 1905 Perished in the Holocaust
Pinchas (Pinie) Schwadron Born in Mikulince, Galicia, 1921 Son of Moshe and Hudie Schwadron, grandson of Schewie Schwadron. Perished with his family in Zbarazch, on 14 th of Tishrei, 1943
A aron Minkow Son of Rasha (Rachel) and Jacob Minkow Born in Minsk 1911 Perished in the Holocaust
Betty Jacobson nee Feiertag Born 1875, in Mitau, Latvia, Daughter of Josef (Jossel) and Jenny Feiertag During the war she was sent to the Liepaja ghetto, where she remained until October 1943, when the ghetto was demolished Betty Perished in 1943
Hedwig Jacobson-Gershon Born 1905, in Talsen, Latvia Daughter of Jenny and Magnus Jacobson, wife of George Gershon. A lawyer by profession, also a gifted pianist During the war she was sent to the Liepaja ghetto, where she remained until October 1943, when the ghetto was demolished. Hedwig Perished in 1943
George Gershon Born April 21, 1904, in Pilten. Son of Elias and Klara Gershon, brother of Fanny Gershon, husband of Hedwig Jacobson Profession - Pharmacist Bacteriologist. During Nazi occupation he was sent to the Liepaya ghetto, where he worked as a pharmacist for the ghettos health services. George remained in the ghetto until October 1943, when the ghetto was demolished. Perished in the holocaust. His parents Elias and Klara, and his sister Fanny, were killed in 1941 in Riga.
Mellusi - Latvia A holiday home for the Jacobson family
Moses (Max-Mosus) Feiertag Born April 22, 1869, in Mitau, Latvia Son of Josef (Jossel) and Jenny Feiertag. A pharmacist by profession On August 16, 1941, he was sent to the Riga ghetto Perished in 1941
Dorothea Feiertag Born July 11, 1902, in St. Petersburg Daughter of Moses (Max-Mosus) Feiertag Dorothea was an architect by profession Dorothea moved to Plestine (Israel) on Mrch 4, 1935, but returned to Latvia on March 5, 1937. On April 6, 1938 Dorothea travelled again to Plestine (Israel), returning to Latvia on July 22, 1938 On August 15, 1941, Dorothea was sent to the Riga ghetto. Dorothea perished in 1941
Johanna Feiertag Born March 5, 1878, in Riga, Latvia Daughter of Lipman (Ludvig) and Liba-Rivka (Laura) Rosenthal On October 15, 1941 Johanna was sent to Riga ghetto Johanna was killed in 1941 in Riga.
Margarete Feiertag-Kiwowitsch Born July 17, 1908, in Staraya Russa Daughter of Jeannot (Schanno, Ivan) and Johanna Feiertag In 1935 she married a citizen of Poland Kiwowitsch and left to Poland Perished in the Holocaust.