My visit to Minsk and Ruzhany, Republic of Belarus December 7-12, 2010 By Tybie Abrams
My Family's Early Days     It began with an email invitation from my nephew, Erik Seidel.He had previously played poker at a tournament in Moscw and later was invited to play in Minsk. He asked if my mother's family came from that area. I grew up hearing the tales of life in Ruzhnoi (as we called it) by my mother, who was born in 1905. Her maternal grandmother's maiden name was CHVORNIK, her grandfather was VEGOTSKY (or WIGOSKI, or as shown in the Martyrs' list as VYGODESKY).  Her father was Nathan (Nusin) Levin. He came to America and joined his brother and family in Bordentown, New Jersey. He worked, moved to Trenton, and continued to send money, which they never received, as the First World War began. It took close to nine years before money reached them.     I learned of the childhood hardships Mother survived, always hungry. Many starved to death, although the German soldiers were kind enough tp give them rice, as  most of these victims of war suffered from stomach ailments. Grandmother bravely somehow managed to survive and protect the three younger girls. My Mother remembered vividly the crunch of snow and the horrible Shabbos when the men came out of Shul and were shot and murdered by Cossacks. She remembered the sight of red blood splattered on white snow.     Shtetl life was very difficult as my Mother (Ruchil) remembered. One day a relative, who had money, came to visit and asked Sushe “Far vus zinen de maidlach in bet”?  And Bubbe said that the girls were in bed because they were hungry and there was no food. That relative arranged for my aunt Esther to go to someone's house every day for a meal, and she brought much of it back for my Mother and Aunt Anna.     They began their trip to America twice. The first time, as the farmer's wagon proceeded on the outskirts of town, bullets flew overhead. He stopped the wagon and had my Bubbe Sushe, the girls and my Uncle Benny get off and walk back to the town. Later Benny decided to marry his Mashke, so she joined the family on the next attempt to reach Warsaw.     Once in Warsaw, Bubbe stood in line each day to get the tickets for passage. They were there about six weeks. One day a landsman met Bubbe and asked how long she'd been there. He told her that she had to BUY a place on line or she would never get to the front. She did, and succeeded. Their trip from Antwerp was long, and everyone but Mother was sick. For the first time she could have all the food she wanted, as she enjoyed everyone else's portions. They arrived at Ellis Island and a small boat came close to the ship. Zaide was on that boat and spotted his family. My Mother shouted to him “Zug eppis in English,” and he said “Hello,” the first English word she heard. She was sixteen, but completely lost her accent once she was in America. She was such a proud and patriotic American.     I was fascinated with the thought of a trip to the town where some generations of my family lived. I had not yet read the Yizkor Book, just relied on the history my Mother provided. Despite the sad memories Mother had, I am grateful to be able to see where she lived and where others in my family came from. I will try to see the sky and surroundings through my Mother's beautiful eyes. I will try not to think of the sad times. She had good memories of school, but never knew when the language would change from Russian to Polish and back again.
My Trip to Minsk     My nephew Erik Seidel is a world-famous poker player and is in the Poker Hall of Fame. He travels the world. Erik was to play in a tournament at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Minsk and emailed me with an invitation to join him there. Arrangements were made.  Because of Erik, I was treated with respect, attention and true caring. They anticipated my every need, even if I didn't know I had that need.     Traveling on a huge plane in the business section was the beginning of an incredible trip. The seat went all the way back into a bed. The personal screen offered movies, sports, etc. I watched two movies and with the food and attention from the staff, the seven-hour trip went quickly.     We landed in Frankfurt, and after following the signs, I reached the other terminal where my flight to Minsk would begin. It was a smaller plane and the trip was only about two hours. I received yet another kosher meal!     I was met in Minsk by Vasilley and Katya. Vasilley was with the Poker Tournament staff and Katya was my personal guide for the time I was in Belarus. Both were young and warm and concerned with my well-being. When I arrived at the hotel, Anna was there with open arms. It felt like family, and Erik wasn't even there yet! From that moment on I was treated as if I was a very special guest. Meals either appeared in my room, or plans were made for me. I had a massage, and so began my magical time in Belarus.        Katya is a Belarus citizen, Vasilley and Anna came from Moscow. Those three offered humor, companionship and constant care. They also shared their countries' history with me. I learned a lot. Belarus is a war-torn country. It was occupied by the Nazis for four years during the war. Concentration camps filled the country and there are great memorials throughout, noting and remembering the cruelty.     One of our dinners was in honor of Erik and was attended by all the Russian players and the important production people. The food was plentiful, with many choices, all of them delicious. My drink is vodka, and suddenly there appeared a vodka on the rocks. Across from me sat a man who had a full bottle in front of him. I was so impressed with his ability to drink. Their humor (when translated) was fabulous. He stood to toast Ilya, who translated for us. Ilya immediately shot back, that the man who was toasting also had an honor to be recognized--the ability to drink two glasses of vodka simultaneously. So funny. They got around to toasting everyone, and when it was my turn, I stood to acknowledge the honor and spoke about my wonderful visit. We had place cards; I sat between two women, Anna and a young woman from the production company.     I had become so accustomed to my dependence on my new companions that when I left my room to meet them for this dinner, I wandered into a huge casino that was a part of the hotel I had no idea existed. I knew that was not where I needed to be and walked out, and there, down the hall I saw Erik. I was so relieved! He walked with me to the restaurant, which I probably wouldn't have found myelf, although I had been there several times before.
My Visit to the Minsk Jewish Center     On our schedule today, December 9. was the Minsk Jewish Center. Katya had called ahead and they were expecting us. Several one-story buildings connected, cars in the parking yard, and much snow. Our driver left us off, Katya rang the bell, and a man standing nearby directed us to the building in the back. We left our coats with a woman attendant in the coatroom area. We walked down to the basement and met Lisa. The walls were covered with pictures and maps. Many people have contacted this Jewish Center and told them about their families. Lisa asked me to do the same. I showed her the picture I had with me that was taken either in Minsk or Ruzhany. My Grandparents, my Mother and her siblings, brothers Yirshel (Harry) and Benny, sisters Molly and Anna. My Mother was the youngest, about three years old. My Aunt Esther was not born yet. My Grandmother had lost two sons in early infancy. She vowed to G-d that if she had sons who survived, she would never kiss them on the face. To this day we kiss our children on their heads.     Since Lisa did not speak English, we spoke through Katya (interesting after spending days looking at someone's face, as I spoke to them or they spoke to me, and then waiting for the third person to translate). I spoke some Yiddish to Lisa, and she had tears in her eyes as she said to Katya, “It sounds like music to me.” She had 57 close relatives, but her parents were the only survivors from two different camps.     In the translation of the book about Ruzhany, there is a description of the “arrest” of the Jews on the 2nd of November 1942, and their murder on the 28th. Lisa's account of that incident and the dates also included details about a stopping point on the way to Treblinka. The day they were “arrested,” those who seemed unable to be part of the march to their death were shot. About 120 elderly were eliminated before the walk began. The rest walked. Three thousand five hundred people started that walk. On the way some died, and their bodies were abandoned where they dropped. Some who survived the walk arrived in Volkovisk. This was first built as a Russian soldiers' prison. Bunkers were carved into the walls like shelves. But there were too many Ruzhany people and there wasn't room even in the horrendous facility for all to fit in and have shelter. They had designated a special area for the Ruzhany people, but it wasn't large enough. (This Volkovisk facility was originally the stopping-off place for Jews to be gathered and then sent on to camps or some to work in Germany. But it became the last stop for those sent to Treblinka, the death camp.)     They stayed there (a more detailed description of the horrors of Volkovisk is on the Ruzhany web site) until November 22nd. The first transport began and the cattle cars were so full that the people were forced to stand tightly together. Their destination was Treblinka, where they were murdered on November 28th. The Treblinka Death Camp has a stone with the name of every village that contributed to their numbers.  (NYC Public Library has the Volkovisker Yizkor Book in Yiddish and English commemorating the occupants of the bunkers.) A woman from Volkovisk was there in the bunkers when the Ruzhany people arrived and she told the story. Lisa suggested www.Bagnowka.com for additional information.     Lisa related her knowledge of Ruzhany and mentioned the blood libel case in which two rabbis were murdered. A dead Christian child had been tossed into one of their basements. Brian Zakem, the co-coordinator of the translated Ruzhany Yizkor Book is from a rabbinic family in Ruzhany (nine generations), and one of the rabbis involved was his ancestor. The horror of the treatment and murder of Jews and Jewish children becomes even more meaningful when we hear the descriptions almost first-hand and realize how this area was ravaged by the Nazis.        Treblinka had gas chambers and then the bodies were stacked like wood and burned. Right from the cattle cars the two groups were chosen. Some were sent directly to the gas chambers. They were stripped of their clothes and taken to the rooms, the gas tanks were next to the rooms. Those in the “worker group,” usually young men, took the bodies from the gas chambers to be stacked and burned, or to the ovens. Then those young men were killed. There was a bakery in the camp that supplied potatoes and some sort of “bread.” The people who were assigned there worked with the partisans and rescued some children and adults. One of those women rescued her sister and told the story for posterity.     Some Jews were in the camp with others. When they were separated and confined, that was called the Ghetto. The women who were strong were kept alive to sort clothes and cut hair from women. TREBLINKA was a KILLING PLACE, not a place to keep people. Some clothes were given to the Minsk Ghetto. People who needed the clothes often found garments of relatives and that was the first time they knew of the death of those relatives. The Nazis had appointed a man named Kube as governor of occupied Belarus. He went to the Opera House in Minsk with his family to find clothes which were taken from the Jews before they were gassed.     When the Jewish transport trains stopped, there were signs indicating it was a real train station. The horror was so intense that for years after the war nothing was told and much was covered up because the people couldn't bear to look at those war reminders, and the survivors did not want memories. So very little information came for many years. There is a factory now where the bunkers were located.     After the war, Soviet Russia accused survivors (not all Jews) of being spies and sent them off to Siberia. Those Jews who were forced to “work” in the camps were killed. On the internet are stories about twenty Treblinka survivors.     References to “The Pale” always mystified me. There is a map at the Jewish Museum in Minsk that draws a line around most of Belarus. For many years that was the only area where Jews could live (and it made it easier for Hitler and his minions to gather them together for murder). Hitler told his soldiers that all the areas they conquered would be theirs after the war.     Lisa said that when German visitors questioned her about hating them, she just replied that “I never was a Grandchild, that's what was taken away from me.” The Jewish Museum in Minsk would like pictures and stories about families who left the area in time to survive. (See their contact information following this.)
My Day in Ruzhany     My nephew Erik and I spent one day, December 10,  in Ruzhany. It took about three hours to reach by car from Minsk. The first place we stopped at was in front of the Mayor’s office. It so happened that the Governor had come to Ruzhany to inaugurate the initial remodeling  of the Palace, so the Mayor was busy with that event. However, we met a young man in front of the office building, who acted as a guide. This young man turned to me and I was surprised when he handed me a little packet wrapped in plastic and said (in Russian, translated for us by our guide from Minsk), “You should have this. It came from the house of the jeweler.”  It was a treasure!  It is the remains of a Hebrew Pesach Haggadah.. It is so fragile that I read only from the top page, the bottom is singed  (by fire?)  There are no front or back covers. As far as I know, Erik and I are the only descendants of Ruzhany who came for a visit. We do not know who the “jeweler” was, or the location of his house. We plan to turn the Haggadah over to a Holocaust Museum. Photos of some of the Haggadah pages follow this article. Some research by Brian Zakem has led us to believe it was printed in Vilnius, Lithuania in approximately 1922-23.     The town is surrounded by forests and after we walked through the main street, we saw where a huge market used to be. We  continued through the inner streets covered with snow, to the site of the Great Synagogue and nearby Yeshiva building. We were told this was the only one left of the twelve original synagogues.     There was no identification that I felt with this being an 80% Jewish-populated shtetl. Everything was neat, few people walking, I felt neutral to the surroundings, even at the main Synagogue, whose roof it seemed would collapse with one more snowfall. The words I thought of there were “neglect” and “no one caring.” A small plaque describes the year it was built. One could not feel that this was a Jewish shtetl. I could not feel emotion of any kind. We again stopped at the Municipal Building, but the Mayor was still occupied with the Governor. We then went to the Palace and were given a tour. My Mother had never mentioned this very significant part of Ruzhany. I could only think that people cared enough to restore this landmark but not concerned wiith the people who lived in Ruzhany where the Palace is located.     I was anxious to see the cemetery so that I could find names of my ancestors. The road that led to it showed a meticulously kept cemetery decorated with bright artificial flowers. The end of the road is where the snowplow left the pile of snow from the road. We had to climb over that, walk through the forest (grateful for the path the hunters made), and then came to a clearing, an open field covered with snow. There, far away, was a misshapen large “stone,” and we could see two more in the distance. Most of the headstones had been removed and used by the townspeople. Suddenly I felt emotion in Ruzhany -- deep sadness at the neglect of what is left of the Jewish presence, anger that money and interest will restore “the Palace,” but that this cemetery is ignored as well as the heritage of our people.     I learned that all of Belarus was occupied by the Nazis for four years. The scars remain in the many memorials erected by the Russians. There was a feeling of restraint and an artificial demeanor in Belarus. We knew that an election was coming and that was a recognition of the yoke the people endure. No one can own property in all of Belarus; the government owns all the property and the KGB is one of the largest arms of the government. Upon our return I read daily about the brutality of the post-election and the continuing arrests and government domination. How strange it is that the Russian people lived in pain under the Czars and then under Communism. It is hard to realize it is 2011 in the world, but not in Belarus, where citizens really aren't free to choose their government and continue to live in fear.     The people could not have been more pleasant or nicer to me and did not indicate their unhappiness. It is just a feeling I had even as we shopped and people were bustling and talking all around us.     The poker tournament offered a completely different environment with joviality, humor and great luxury. Typical of the government is a sports arena not far from the hotel, which was built over a Jewish cemetery! The saga of the prejudice toward my people continues. The people of Belarus suffered greatly and there were some who risked their lives for the Jews. But the evidence I saw in respecting our people on the whole seems to be contained in the Jewish Museum of Minsk.
Looking Back     As I think back on my extraordinary trip to Belarus, a few thoughts come to mind. I never saw a stork nest! Never thought about where storks iive. I was told they live in nests very high on the trees in Belarus.        In my heart I ached for the enormity of the tragedy that befell our people during the Second World War. My presence in “The Pale,” which was also home to my maternal family, cut deeply into that perception. The Nazis occupied Belarus for four years during the war. Today it still carries the scars. The houses are painted, the city of Minsk is clean and bright and orderly. But underlying all of this are the scars that country will always bear. The stark monuments attest to the horror that occurred there.     I also visited a town that had been completely destroyed. It was an incredible “monument,” as a chimney was built for every house in the exact location where it had stood. An additional haunting reminder was the bell placed at the top of every chimney, and the sound of that bell filled the air in a haunting way as one after another pealed. The roof of the barn has been reconstructed. The Nazis came in and rounded everyone up, herded them into the barn and then set the barn on fire.     There is a frightening, very large figure of a man carrying a child's limp body in his arms. The story is that this man was the smithy, and that he hid in the forest until it was over, and then came back and found his son dead. Another version of this story is that some people believe he must have led the Nazis to this small village because of its isolated position. On this site are many memorials, some to the number of villages lost, some to each of the concentration camps in that area.     I was taken to visit a village that was created to show life in the 1800s. It was fascinating to see the tools and devices used during that period. For example, a bird cage in the kitchen area which was suspended from the ceiling, as a place to keep cheese; a mouse could not get to it and it kept cold in that part of the kitchen. Another device I could not identify was a pole from ceiling to floor and fairly close to the floor was a wooden ring attached to the pole. When children started to crawl they were placed in that ring and when their feet moved, they could go in a circle and still be in the same, secure place.     As a guest and proud aunt of Erik Seidel, whom they honored, I was treated as  a very special person. Those memories of the caring people who watched over me will be with me forever.     I will also remember my visit to the Jewish Museum in Minsk where I learned more details about the death of the Jews of Ruzhany (I still think of it as Ruzhnoi). My day in Ruzhany was difficult because I could not picture my Mother living there. My Grandfather came to America first and before he was able to send for the rest of the family, the First World War broke out. The family remained there until after the anxiety of the war, with the lack of food or money. My Mother said she would not go back to see the town, I did that for her. There's a Castle/Fortress called the Palace referred to in the Yizkor book, which was actually owned by a nobleman who was given all the land. The village people paid rent and provided goods and services. The industries there were weaving, leather works and some other type of fabric manufacturing.     There are still European families who trace their ancestry back to that Castle, and now work has begun on reconstructing it. We happened to be there the day the Governor came to see it and we were allowed to follow him. It won't be open to the public for several months. What struck me was the interest and financial commitment to rebuilding this Castle/Fortress. This was a stark contrast to the Jewish cemetery, where headstones were removed and used by the townspeople.     I believe in fate and I believe in G-d. There remains, for the time being, a huge structure that was the largest of the twelve Ruzhany synagogues. Another snowstorm, and that roof will come crashing down into what was once a beautiful interior. At one time the Jewish population was approximately 80%. There is not a trace of Jewish presence except for that synagogue, once called “The Great Synagogue.” No monuments there.      But as “fate” would have it, I was given a treasure -- the tiny Pesach Haggadah. I hope to donate it to a Holocaust museum as the last remnant of a thriving Jewish community.     A book of remembrances, as well as the history of the Jews in Ruzhany, was written in Tel Aviv in 1956; now the translation from Hebrew is complete. I hope my story will be an addendum to the bppk as well as the Ruzhany web site, the last report to date from Ruzhany, together with the photos I took. Word came back to me that there were no winter pictures of Ruzhany. During my visit it was cold and icy, the entire area covered with snow, and the pictures I took are already on the web site.     My nephew and I are the first family members to visit our family's shtetl. It was a humbling experience. I am grateful to Erik for thinking about our heritage and enabling me to “go back.” I am grateful to him for the very best trip I have ever had. with the dearest, most considerate people I ever met.     This is my rough “journal.” I was given a computer and wrote home every night, although I lost a few emails and hope I have remembered enough to write this essay. Perhaps some day I will write an epilogue. Note: for those interested in contacting the Jewish Museum in Minsk, which is attached to the Minsk Jewish Center, here is their email address:  jewish_museum@mail..ru Their street address is:  V. Khoruzhei St-28                   Minsk 220100, Belarus                   Phone:  37517 2867961
Information to Date about the Ruzhany Passover Haggadah         By Brian Zakem, Co-Coordinator of the Ruzhany Yizkor Book Translation Project     The Haggadah was given to  Mrs. Tybie Abrams on December 10,  2010 in Ruzhany, by a young man who acted as a guide. They were in front of the office of the Mayor, no further identification of the young man is available. He told Tybie that his father told him to make sure this religious service book for Passover should one day be given to some Jewish visitor to Ruzhany, and that it had been found in the “home of the jeweler.”  This remnant, approximately 60 pages, is now believed to be a Haggadah.     In the process of researching the “Ruzhany Haggadah” with the help of research librarians at the Spertus College of Judaica, Chicago, complemented by the extraordinary digging for this sacred book’s facts of origin, with special thanks to Ms. Sharon Horowitz of the Library of Congress, this is what is now known about this partial document. So far, this work of “Judaica” is the only work I know about that has been uncovered from the Jewish inhabitants who lived in Ruzhany between their most probable first habitation since this privately, Sapahia family-owned market town was established in 1552 till the Jewish community’s “final” demise in the Shoah, November 1942.     These pages, all of one Haggadah, consisted of an approximate total of 87 numbered pages, 13 pages of a Roman-enumerated preface incorporating at least 10 images/graphics of various sizes, beginning with its reproduced (copied)  cover page from the so-called “Great Haggadah of Prague,” first published in 1558. Tybie’s unbound copy, a loose-paged remnant, appears to be missing about 10 pages from its preface (in the Yiddish language) and 17-plus pages of the original text.     According to the Yudelov Bibliography of Haggadot, Ms. Horowitz has to date identified four likely publishers and related information. As translated from the Hebrew these editions are listed: 1.    N. Levin, Publisher, Vilna, Lithuania, 1922. Printed by I. Notes and S. Szwajiich, edited by N. Niselovits, approximate size 6-3/4 by 4 inches. 2.    Second edition (same as above), 1923, same size. 3.    Third edition (same as above), 1925, size increased to 9 by 6 inches. 4.    Shelomoh Funk, Publisher, Vilnia, Lithuania. Printed by Express, 1931, edited by H. Niselovits, 9 by 6 inches.     It is hoped that future readers and/or dedicated researchers will aid and contact Brian (bzakem@comcast.net) when they discover any materials that may confirm the actual origins of this so-called “Ruzhany Haggadah.”     Additional facts and narratives concerning this particular and/or related Haggadah (i.e., its contents, how marketed, etc.) may illuminate and further uncover, as part of a meaningful memorial, some Ruzhany’s residents, their rich, very complex, Jewish multicultural, multiethnic and interreligious histories.              Photos of the Ruzhany Haggadah
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