Bilky (Bilke, Bílky), Ukraine Holocaust

Bilky Holocaust

The day after Passover 5704 (16 April 1944), the general roundup of all Bilky's Jews began.
They were all taken to the ghetto, where they cowered for a month or so and then were transported to Auschwitz.

~ Bilky Auschwitz Album Photos ~

In April 1945, Lili JACOB from Bilke was liberated from the Dora-Mitelbau concentration camp by the American army. When she heard that the camp was liberated, she came out to greet the soldiers, but collapsed from weariness. Other inmates carried her to one of the deserted German barracks. When she regained consciousness, she was cold, and searched in a cabinet next to her bed for something warm to put on. There she discovered a photo album, and as she looked through it, she saw photos of people from her hometown Bilke, including her own brothers (pictured below) and grandparents. Lili kept the album. She returned to Bilke in July 1945, hoping to find her relatives, but of her whole extended family—parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles—only she survived. Friends and acquaintances learned about the existence of the album and came to look through it, to see their loved ones who had perished. Some asked to keep the photos of their families, and Lili agreed—explaining why some of the original photos are missing today. One of the missing photos is displayed below.

Source:
Yad Vashem

[ Click the image to view a larger image. ]

JACOB brothers
Photo: Auschwitz Album

Left to right: Yisrael (Sril) and Zelig JACOB from Bilke, brothers of Lili JACOB, contributor of the Auschwitz Album

Missing Auschwitz Album Photo
Photo: Bilke Memorial Book

Left to right: Zalman FRIEDMAN, brothers Meir BERGER and Ya'kov BERGER, all from Bilke

~ Bilky Holocaust Data ~

(Clicking a link opens a new web page.)

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (database)

Yad Vashem Archives - Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names (database)

~ Bilky Yizkor (Memorial) Books ~

(Clicking a link opens a new web page.)

Bilke Remembered (1995)

Sefer zikaron li-kedoshe kehilat Bilkeh veha-sevivah (The Bilker Memorial Book) New Rochelle, NY (1998)

Sefer Zikaron Li-Kehilat Bilke (The Bilker Memorial Book) New Rochelle, NY (1998)

Hebrew/English images

English translation

~ Bilky Holocaust Survivors ~

(Clicking a link opens a new web page.)

Shelly SPAR (b. ___ in Bilke) - Remembrance

Miksa (Mike) MECHLOWITZ (b. ___ in Bilke) - Biography and Oral History

Erna GÁLOSI (b. 1910 in Bilke) - English | Hungarian (3 pages)

Isidor REISMAN, USA (b. 1920 in Bilke) - Video (2 segments)

Eliezer SHVIMER (b. 1924 in Bilke) - Video (7 segments)

Lili REINER (b. 1925 in Bilke) - English | Hungarian (3 pages)

Murray LYNN (b. 1930 in Bilke as Moshe LEICHT) - Biography and Oral History | Video

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Created by:
Marshall J. Katz, USA
Compiled by:
Mitch HOLLANDER, USA
with assistance from:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (database)
Amos Israel ZEZMER, France
and the following:

JewishGen members/descendants and
contributors of Bilky Jewish families:

Mitch HOLLANDER, USA

Updated: 07 September 2020

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