Talks with Survivors from Krivichi

by Eilat Gordin Levitan

I phoned Yosef Shamir. Yosef is the head of the Krivichi Society in Israel. He was born in Krivichi, where his Polish surname was Szymenczyk. His family originally came from the Ukraine. They fled north and settled in Krivichi following the Kiev pogroms of 1919. Josef’s family was relatively well off. His mother Sonia was a pharmacist (photo below). When the Soviets annexed the region in 1939, they nationalized the pharmacy that belonged to his mother. Yosef, his sister Malka, and his mother Sonia were sent to Siberia the following year because Yosef's father, as a Polish officer, was considered an enemy of Russia. The entire shtetl of Krivichi went to the train station to see the family off. Yosef remembers that someone said to them, “Don’t cry. The day may come when we wish we were with you.” How true that turned out to be! Yosef, his mother Sonia, and his sister Malka were among the few Jews from Krivichi who survived the war.

Yosef's brother Leyzer (Lazar) Szymenczyk (photo below) was killed while fighting for the Polish army. Afterwards, Yosef's parents returned to Poland in search of their family, only to learn that their daughter Raya Torek (photo below) had perished with her daughter Ada. However, Raya's husband, a physician, had survived the war. The family had originally left for Poland on their way to Israel, where Yosef was determined to live. Instead, when meeting Yosef’s brother-in-law, a marriage was proposed. The brother-in-law married Malka (his deceased wife’s sister), and along with Yosef's mother Sonia, they left for Australia, where the groom’s brother lived. Meanwhile, Yosef came to live in Israel, where he still resides.

Raya Torek (née Szymenczyk) was born in Jeziory in 1918 to Tzvi and Sara née Smorgonski. She was married to Moshe. Before and during World War II she lived in Tykocin, Poland. Raya perished in Tykocin in 1941, at the age of 23. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by her brother, a Shoah survivor.

Eliezer Szymenczyk (not Leyzer, shown at left) was born in Terebicze in 1914 to Tzvi and Sara. He was a pharmacist and single. Prior to World War II he lived in Terebicze, Poland. During the war he was in Russia (likely the Belarusian SSR), where he perished in 1942. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by his brother.

Shmuel Smorgonski, brother of Sonia Szymenczyk (née Smorgonski), did not survive the war. He was born in Jeziory, Poland, in 1886 to Eliyahu and Elka née Gershoni. Like his sister, he was a pharmacist. Before and during World War II he lived in Jeziory. Shmuel perished in 1942 at the age of 56 at the Treblinka death camp in Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by his sister’s son.

I talked with Chana née Veissenholtz-Rubin, the sister-in-law of Leon Rubin of Dolhinov. She is the wife of Leon’s older brother Arye. Chana told me that her mother, Sima, was from the Presman family of Dolhinov and her father, Avraham, was from the Visenholtz family of Krivichi. Avraham Veisenholtz was born in Krivichi in 1896 to Chaim and Chaia. He was a carpenter and lived in Krivichi prior to World War II. Avraham perished in Krivichi in 1942, at the age of 54. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted to Yad Vashem by his daughter, a Shoah survivor.

Chana's father had sisters in Kurenets. One of his sisters was named Doba Alperovitz. The family was also related to Jerry Kaydno; the fathers were first cousins. She told me how she greatly admires Jerry Kaydno for his great deeds and his kind heart.

Chana told me that she, her mother, and her sister worked for the Germans during the war. She told me that one day at work they had heard that the Germans were surrounding Krivichi and were killing everyone in sight. Chana, her mother, and her sister immediately escaped and after some days arrived in the Naroch (Narocz) forest, where the partisans had a camp (read more). The three women were alone with no men to protect them, no money or clothing, and no place to stay. They had a very hard time but eventually the Svirsky family of Koblonic took them to their hideout, which was a bunker built deep in the ground in the forest. The sisters and their mother were allowed to stay in this tiny space every night. They were forced to sleep sitting up in these cramped conditions, but they survived the war. After the war they made their way to Israel.

I also called Jerry, who lives in the United States. Jerry and his brother Howard were orphaned during the Holocaust. They were very young boys and survived with the help of their aunt Toyba. They hid in the Naroch forest for a few years.

Rivka Rachel Tauger (née Shulman) was born in Krivichi in 1888 to Jakob Leib Shulman and Chaia née Kopelevitz. She was a housewife and married to Gershon. Before and during World War II she lived in Krivichi Gorne, Poland. Rachel perished in 1942 in Krivichi at the age of 54. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by her granddaughter Rivka Avitan.

Gershon Tauger was born in Poland in 1873 to Mordechai Chaim. He was a factory owner and married to Rachel. Prior to World War II he lived in Krivichi Gorne, Poland. During the war he was in Krivichi. Gershon perished in 1942 in Krivichi at the age of 69. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by his granddaughter Rivka.

Badana Tauger was born in Krivichi in 1911 to Gershon and Rivka. She was single. She lived in Krivichi before and during World War II. Badana perished in 1942 in Krivichi, Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by her brother Chaim of Herzliya, a Shoah survivor.

Yosef Shamir is now responsible for the annual reunions held every April to remember the people from Krivichi who had perished. In the first meetings, about 80 people came to remember their Krivichi families and neighbors. The number is amazing, considering that in any given time only about 400 Jews lived in Krivichi. However, by now most of the people have died. Only 13 people came to the last meeting. Among them were the four sisters of the Shod family, the two sisters of the Viesenholtz family (Chana and Yehudit), the two sisters of the Katzovitz family (Dvora and Masha), the four sisters of the Shod family (Luba, Sara and two others), and Shifra née Bunimovitch and her husband Chayim Tauger.

A reunion of Krivichi natives in Israel

(Pages of Testimony for those who perished can be found at Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names.)

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