THE PTAK FAMILY (Vengrov, 1928)
Front row, l-r: Chaika, Tsivya, Rivim, Hersh Isak
holding Pesach, Ruchel, Leibl. Back row: Moishe, Srul Usha.
Chaika (Clara) Ptak Ingwer (Vengrov, 1936)
I was born Chaika Ptak on December 26, 1916 in Vengrow, Poland. I was the first child — and, as it turns out, the only daughter — of Tsivya (Sylvia) Nortman and Hersh Isak (Harry) Ptak. I had three brothers: Leibl (Leo), Rivim (Ruby), and Pesach (Paul).
We lived in an apartment on the first floor, above the stores. The apartment was one long room that was divided into a kitchen, bedroom, and living room. My bed was near a large window that overlooked the town square. From the window, I was able to see the church, the police station, and the rest of the town. My half-brothers Moishe and Srul Usha (Sol), who were my father’s sons from his first marriage to my mother’s older sister (who had died in a fire) also lived with us, as did my father’s mother Ruchel Ptak. Grandma Ruchel cooked and baked for us, while my mother worked. She was a very smart woman, with a lot of common sense.
Moishe and Srul Usha Ptak
My parents had a shoe store that was about two blocks away from the town square. My mother and half-brothers worked in the shoe store and the rest of us children helped out too. They sold new shoes that my brother Moishe went to Warsaw to buy from the manufacturers. I never wanted for anything, even after my father went to America. My mother gave us whatever she could. I always was dressed beautifully.
Michal Zywicz (Vengrov, 1936)
As a girl, I went to the Polish public schools until I graduated from high school. When I was 16, I started to keep company with a young man named Michal Zywicz, who was very special. His family were wealthy merchants. I also had a girlfriend named Rifka, who lived a few blocks away from us. All of us young boys and girls belonged to a Zionist scout group called Shomer Atzari. We went hiking, put on shows, and had great times together. Rifka, Michal, and his sisters, brothers, and parents all perished during the war.
My father went to America when I was ten years old and my mother was left to take care of the whole family. When my father sent us the documents so that we could all come to America, Grandma Ruchel did not want to come with us because she thought she was too old. My brother Moishe, who was married, stayed in Vengrov with his family and took over the store. They all died in the Holocaust. My brother Srul Usha came to America about a month before the war broke out. He was going to send for his wife and children, but it was too late. They were not allowed out and all of them were murdered in the Holocaust.
We sailed to America on a ship called the Pilsudski. It was a rough trip and my brother Paul was very seasick. We came to New York on Thanksgiving day in 1936 and my new life began.
Srul Usha and Sura Ptak with their daughter
Clara Ptak Ingwer (2008)
Credits: Text and photographs copyrighted © 2008 by Clara Ptak Ingwer. Text edited and page designed by Helene Kenvin. Page created by Helene Kenvin. All rights reserved.