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Rēzekne Families Stories and Pictures

The Connection between the LEVIN and MEIROV Familes

Summary of the article: Between Rezekne and Ein-Gev", which appeared
in the Israeli newspaper "Yediot Hakibbutz"-14.12.13

Summary by Esther Rechtschafner

Ora Armoni went to meet with Gessa Nun (95) in Kibbutz Ein-Gev. She decided to contact Gessa, after reading about Gessa from Rezekne in the Latvian newsletter. She took an old family album, in which she kept all the old family information and photographs, with her. It contained both family and HaShomer Hazair organization photographs. Ora was very excited about this visit.

Ora and Gessa spoke about their families and about Rezekne. Gessa's daughter Amy was also present.

Ora's mother Sarah was born in Rezekne, on Chanuka, 1914. She barely spoke about her past and about her life in Rezekne. She did tell a bit about the physical beauty of the area and about the river. Ora's mother and aunt Yehudit had come on Aliyah in 1934. The rest of the Levin family (parents [mother Rachel, father-Yitzchak], 5 brothers and 3 sisters) remained in Rezekne. Only the brother Ya'akov survived the Holocaust. He was a soldier in the Red army. He lived in Russia. He and Ora's mother met afterwards in Latvia.

Gessa was born in Rezekne on 18/8/1971. She came from a small family (parents: Rachel and Isyoel Meirov, her brother Shimon and her sister Zila). She was active in HaShomer Hazair. Only her brother survived the Holocaust, for he had been exiled to Siberia. After the WAR he returned to Rezekne, remarried and came on Aliyah with his new family.

Gessa arrived in Palestine on 1/9/39 (the day that WWII broke out). She came here illegally. She spoke about the physical beauty of the area, the religious and cultural life, the education of the children, youth movements, and of the social aid in the community. She married Ya'akov Zimmerman and they settled in Ein-Gev. He was killed in the battle for Ein-Gev in the Israeli War of Independence, in 1948. She remarried 7 years later, to Mendel Nun. She is still a very attractive and gracious lady.

Her oldest daughter Amy, who is married to Muki Zur, is named after her mother. Her name "AMY" is derived from the Hebrew word "IMA"(mother). Nessa visited Rezekne in 2000. She was thrilled to find her parents' house. The oven had been repainted from turquoise to beige.

The article tells about the Holocaust in Rezekne

Ora got up enough courage to shoe Gessa the album. They turned the pages together. Suddenly Gessa stopped and looked again and again at a particular photograph. She was very excited and shouted "Rayia , my Rayia..". Her finger was pointing to Ora's mother's younger sister Raya. She explained that they had been in the youth movement together. This photograph was taken 74 years ago. Then she discovered a photograph of Reuven, who had been her boyfriend. She spoke of visiting Rayia in her home, the road there and even seeing my mother.

Ora told of how she found a booklet of Hebrew songs when going through her mother's drawer. Gessa said that she also has such a booklet in her drawer. It is a booklet of Hebrew Zionist songs that they sang in the Zionist youth organization.

On her way home, Ora decided that she must visit Rezekne.

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