The Relles Family

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George Relles supplied the following:
My father, Rabbi Mayer Relles, born in Skala,  was the son of Nachman and Leah Relles of Skala. Nachman was a builder.  He is the uncle of Dora Relles who wrote a chapter in the Skala Yizkor book. Both Nachman and Mayer are mentioned in that chapter.  My father survived only by being in Italy during the war. An audio and transcribed interview of him can be found here: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/HolocaustSurvivors/Relles.asp
and

Page 273 of the “Skala on the River Zbucz” Yiskor book begins a chapter by Dvora (Dora) Zandberg. Dvora is the daughter of one my Father's sister, Sara (nee) Relles. My father Mayer Relles and his father, Nachman Relles, are both mentioned in this chapter. 

My father survived by living in Italy when WWII broke out. He was interned by the Italians and escaped to Switzerland before the Nazis took over Italy. His story has been memorialized by the Wisconsin Historical Society  and a transcript of interviews of him can be found here http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/HolocaustSurvivors/Relles.asp

I am told that Dvora survived the war and was one of the people who helped document the fate of Skala residents, including my grandfather and his family.

Dvora Sandberg was clearly named after her mother Sara's (and my father's) oldest sister, Dora Relles. Dora Relles married, moved to Vienna and took on the last name of her husband, Knie. However, she died in 1918 in the great flu epidemic and I have visited her grave in Vienna's Jewish cemetery.

Dora Relles Knie left behind 2 young daughters, Edith and Risa. Edith died near me in Santa Barbara, but her younger sister, Risa is still live and quite active in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles. She is 97 years of age and you can search Risa Igelfeld on youtube and watch her performances of songs in Yiddish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVXcokHv4l4

All this leads up to a picture I want to share of Risa (16) and Edith (18) when in 1934 these two “city girls” visited my grandparents Nachman and Leah (Hersher) Relles in Skala. Dvora Zandberg is also in this picture.

In the attached picture Risa is shown in the far right back row. On the far left back row is her sister, Edith. Between them is Dvora Zandberg, the daughter of Sarah Relles, another sibling of my father. The other children in the picture are Dvora's siblings, whose fate is unknown to me.  

I hope you find this interesting. 

Best wishes.

George Relles


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Updated Nov13, 2018. © Copyright 2005 Skala Research Group. All Rights Reserved.