The Girl Who Survived
By Arie Shevach (Szewach)
In the large home of Mordechai (Motel) and Sonia Brudner in Krasne dwelt a Polish
lady named Kierczowa who worked as a midwife. She was childless and became greatly
attached to the family's children- Noah-Mairem and Rivkah.
When all the Jews of the town of Krasne were put in the ghetto, the lady's apartment
was annexed to the ghetto area. She obviously received a "compensation"
for her apartment-the house of a Jew by the name of Yudel Monin- one of the
wealthiest men in town, his house was located outside of the area of the designated
for the Jewish ghetto and was seized from him. Knowing that he was well off
you can understand that the house was quite big, and it was split to two. The
second half was given to a different non Jewish resident who lived there with
his family and children.
When Kierczowa moved out to her new and enlarged home, she offered to take Rivka,
the Brudners' young daughter to reside and remain with her. The family knew
that the girl would be much safer there than in the ghetto.
As it was done in many houses in the ghetto, the new Jewish inhabitants of the
Brudners' house [many families lived in the small numbers of homes that were
designated as the ghetto] worked hard to secretly build a hiding place, "malina".
This hide out was to be used at times when the Germans would come to the ghetto
in order to randomly catch some Jews and slaughter them. Kierczowa's apartment
was given to Shmuel Dovrovsky, a Jewish dental technician. This man worked for
the German local officers. To allow him to complete his job for them, his apartment
was connected to and electric supply. This fact was well exploited by the Jews
who were not allowed to have outside contacts. A radio that was put in the hiding
place [Jews were not permitted to own radios] was secretly connected to electricity
and in this way, all who knew of the secret would gather at night hours in order
to listen and be informed of the current situation in the front.
On March of 1943, the day of the massacre of the Krasne ghetto, the Germans
discovered the radio on which Kierczowa's name was written. They took the trouble
to find her. Being a German "folksdeutsch" she managed to quickly
seem innocent in the eyes of the Germans. Her one problem was the Jewish girl,
Rivka, whom she secretly kept in her house all that time.
In 1944 the area was freed by the Soviet Union. When I came back from the war
at the middle of August 1944, the town was still under a Soviet military rule.
The military authorities appointed me as head of the local council (something
similar to a mayor of a town council). This lasted for maybe two or three weeks.
After that a local Soviet board was put up, composed of unknown outsiders as
it was always done in the Soviet State.
One day, a local citizen who was required to serve in the army came to see me.
He asked me to write him down as essential person who is needed here in the
rear so that the military authorities would release him of the service. And
this was his story: "I was Kierczowa's neighbor and I helped her hide a
Jewish girl who was in her house when the Germans came knocking on her door
to question her about the radio. Therefor now, you as a Jew, are obliged to
save me from a sure death at the front. I, a father of four, how can you refuse
to spare my wife and children?"
I told him to find the girl and bring her to me, and then we would talk the
matter over. I had no clue of who and what he was talking about. Two weeks passed
and in the midst of a bright day, the man reported to me with a little girl,
frightened and starved. She was dirty, her clothes were torn, and she was crying
and lacking the ability to speak.
It appeared that after Kierczowa "solved" the radio problem she had
to get rid of the Jewish girl whom was in her custody. A woman from one of the
villages was willing in return for payment, to take the girl under her care.
The woman quickly kept the payment and left the girl outdoors on her own. The
girl started wandering from village to village, working as a shepherdess. She
dwelled with the farm animals, eating leftovers that were given to her and her
life was constantly in danger being at the hands of every passerby who could
recognize her and report her as a Jew to the Germans.
From that point I became her keeper. Being 19, without a family this was not
a simple task for me.
At that time, a Jewish family who survived the war came to live in the town
and received housing in the old house of Alter-the Jewish blacksmith. The family
consisted of a mother, her three young children and the mother's sister. It
was one of the only houses that survived the fire that the Germans set at their
retreat. The financial state of Fina and Sonia Averbuch (the two sisters) was
quite bad while mine was by then fairly good, perhaps very good. I was appointed
as a manager of seven local factories spread out in the area, which produced
turpentine, heavy oils and wooden charcoals as a by-product.
The sisters took upon themselves to take care of Rivka. The task was not easy,
it took some time until she calmed down, started talking and coming back to
herself. I had no problem supporting the six mouths while at that time the war
was still going on not far from us.
With the liberation of Vilna, a school and dormitory was opened. The studies
were held in Yiddish and Russian. I signed Rivka up and continued in watching
out for her up until the authorities decided to close down the school. Rivka
was then taken back to the sisters' home in Krasne. When I decided to come to
Israel I of course took Rivka with me.
When I arrived in Israel, I came to know that my grandfather, Shimon Sklut [My
mothers' father], was the brother of her grandmother, her mother's mother. We
also found more relatives- Azriel and Taibel Goldin from Krasne, her sons Hirshel
and Noah and her daughter Chiyna. Likewise, we found her father's brother Noah
Brudner, his wife Maraisha of the Kaplan family from Olshany and their sons-
Reuven and Benjamin Brudner. Luckily they all fled to Russia at the beginning
of the war and managed to escape the Germans. When the war ended they were sent
away to Poland as they were former Polish citizens and from there came to Israel.
Rivka is today happily married, a mother of two- a son and a daughter, and a
proud grandmother to their children.
In the large home of Mordechai (Motel) and Sonia Brudner in Krasne dwelt a Polish
lady named Kierczowa who worked as a midwife. She was childless and became greatly
attached to the family’s children- Noah-Mairem and Rivkah.
When all the Jews of the town of Krasne were put in the ghetto, the lady's apartment
was annexed to the ghetto area. She obviously received a "compensation”for
her apartment- the house of a Jew by the name of Yudel Monin- one of the wealthiest
men in town, his house was located outside of the area of the designated for
the Jewish ghetto and was seized from him. Knowing that he was well off you
can understand that the house was quite big, and it was split to two. The second
half was given to a different non Jewish resident who lived there with his family
and children.
When Kierczowa moved out to her new and enlarged home, she offered to take Rivka,
the Brudners’ young daughter to reside and remain with her. The family
knew that the girl would be much safer there than in the ghetto.
As it was done in many houses in the ghetto, the new Jewish inhabitants of the
Brudners’ house [many families lived in the small numbers of homes that
were designated as the ghetto] worked hard to secretly build a hiding place,
“malina”. This hide out was to be used at times when the the Germans
would come to the ghetto in order to randomly catch some Jews and slaughter
them. Kierczowa’s apartment was given to Shmuel Dovrovsky, a Jewish dental
technician. This man worked for the German local officers. To allow him to complete
his job for them, his apartment was connected to and electric supply. This fact
was well exploited by the Jews who were not alowed to have outside contacts.
A radio that was put in the hiding place [Jews were not permited to own radios]
was secretly connected to electricity and in this way, all who knew of the secret
would gather at night hours in order to listen and be informed of the current
situation in the front.
On March of 1943, the day of the massacre of the Krasne ghetto, the Germans
discovered the radio on which Kierczowa’s name was written. They took the
trouble to find her. Being a German “folksdeutsch” she managed to
quickly seem innocent in the eyes of the Germans. Her one problem was the Jewish
girl, Rivka, whom she secretley kept in her house all that time. In 1944
the area was freed by the Soviet Union. When I came back from the war at the
middle of August, 1944, the town was still under a Soviet military rule. The
military authorities appointed me as head of the local council (something similar
to a mayor of a town council). This lasted for maybe two or three weeks. After
that a local Soviet board was put up, composed of unknown outsiders as it was
always done in the Soviet state.
One day, a local citizen who was required to serve in the army came to see me.
He asked me to write him down as essential person who is needed here in the
rear so that the military authorities would release him of the service. And
this was his story: “I was Kierczowa’s neighbor and I helped her hide
a Jewish girl who was in her house when the Germans came knocking on her door
to question her about the radio. Therefor now, you as a Jew, are obliged to
save me from a sure death at the front. I, a father of four an how can you refuse
to spare my wife and children?”
I told him to find the girl and bring her to me, and then we would talk the
matter over. I had no clue of who and what he was talking about. Two weeks passed
and in the midst of a bright day, the man reported to me with a little girl,
frightened and starved. She was dirty, her clothes were torn, and she was crying
and lacking the ability to speak.
It appeared that after Kierczowa “solved” the radio problem she had
to get rid of the Jewish girl whom was in her custody. A woman from one of the
villages was willing in return for payment, to take the girl under her care.
The woman quickly kept the payment and left the girl outdoors on her own. The
girl started wandering from village to village, working as a shepherdess. She
dwelled with the farm animals, eating leftovers that were given to her and her
life was constantly in danger being at the hands of every passerby who could
recognize her and report her as a Jew to the Germans.
From that point I became her keeper. Being 19, without a family this was not
a simple task for me.
At that time, a Jewish family who survived the war came to live in the town
and received housing in the old house of Alter- the Jewish blacksmith. The family
consisted of a mother, her three young children and the mother’s sister.
It was one of the only houses that survived the fire that the Germans set at
their retreat. The financial state of Fina and Sonia Averbuch (the two sisters)
was quite bad while mine was by then fairly good, perhaps very good. I was appointed
as a manager of seven local factories spread out in the area, which produced
turpentine, heavy oils and wooden charcoals as a by- product.
The sisters took upon themselves to take care of Rivka. The task was not easy,
it took some time until she calmed down, started talking and coming back to
herself. I had no problem supporting the six mouths while at that time the war
was still going on not far from us.
With the liberation of Vilna, a school and dormitory was opened. The studies
were held in Yiddish and Russian. I signed Rivka up and continued in watching
out for her up until the authorities decided to close down the school. Rivka
was then taken back to the sisters’ home in Krasne. When I decided to come
to Israel I of course took Rivka with me.
When I arrived in Israel, I came to know that my grandfather, Shimon Sklut [My
mothers’ father], was the brother of her grandmother, her mother’s
mother. We also found more relatives- Azriel and Taibel Goldin from Krasne,
her sons Hirshel and Noah and her daughter Chiyna. Likewise, we found her father’s
brother ;Noah Brudner, his wife Maraisha [born in 1900, the daughter of Rivka
nee Skloot and Leib Kaplan from Olshany] and their sons- Reuven and Benjamin
Brudner. Luckily they all fled to Russia at the beginning of the war and managed
to escape the Germans. When the war ended they were sent away to Poland as they
were former Polish citizens and from there came to Israel.
Rivka is today happily married, a mother of two- a son and a daughter, and a
proud grandmother to their children.
Dear Arie!
Maybe I didn't tell you in so many words that I keep a warm corner in
my heart for you and always will, as you were the one, which after the
war, took me from the christian family I stayed with. The christian
family who kept me, did not know that I was Jewish and probably without
you I would have stayed there forever.(They wanted to adopt me)
I remember the day when the man you sent entered the house and told the
family that they have a Jewish girl with them.
I did not know where to hide from fear and shame that I have lied to
them all that time when they thought that I was a Christian orphan.
I knew that I could not remain there any more and yet I was afraid to
go with a man I did not know.
Albeit as I did not have what to loose I went with the man you sent and
brought me to your care, and the rest of the story is known to you...
I shell never forget what you did for me and I shall be thankful to
you for ever.
Love Riva
8.7.2003