Monday, September 18, 2006

A Story to Warm Even the Coldest Heart ...


I was reading the news online today and I came across a little story line that caused me pause ...

It was about a man and woman - a brother and sister who were reunited after over 60 years of NOT knowing that one another existed ... both are survivors of the Holocaust or Shoah, and both believed the other had died ...

Thanks to the work of the Yad Vashem: The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Israel, a series of coincidences lead to the long lost brother and sister being reunited ... Their parents have passed on, as have a number of siblings, but there is one other brother still alive ...

I read the story and searched out more about it and it brought tears to my eyes ... It's easy to speak of resurrection ... It is a mind blowing moment when at a time like this - you see it really happening ...

The story of Hilda Shlick (Glasberg) and Simon Glasberg being reunited 65 years after they were seperated by the Shoah is a tremendous one ...

I'm blatantly going to borrow from the Yad Vashem site, because it tells the WHOLE story of how this reunion happened ... If you doubt the existence of miracles - read on:


Reunion of Hilda Shlick (Glasberg) and Simon Glasberg
Hilda Shlick (nee Glasberg) was born in 1931 in Chernowitz, Romania. Her immediate family was comprised of her two parents, four brothers and three sisters.


In 1941, when the Nazis invaded Northern Bukovina, the family was separated. Hilda escaped to Uzbekistan with her older sister Bertha, who took her under her wing. The rest of the family remained in Romania. Bertha, who was many years older than her younger sister, posed as Hilda’s mother. Bertha's husband was an officer in the Red Army who stayed in Romania and was killed during the war. Bertha's daughter Klara also died and Bertha re-married to a Jew from Estonia. After the war Bertha relocated to Estonia along with her second husband and Hilda. Bertha died in 1970 and was buried in Estonia.

All her life Hilda believed that the remainder of her immediate family that had stayed behind in Romania, was murdered in the Holocaust. Hilda married Elye Itshok Shlick and they had two children, Zali and Hertha. In 1998 Hilda immigrated to Israel following in the footsteps of her son Zali's family, who have been living in Israel since 1991. Hilda’s daughter, Hertha, currently resides in the U.S.

During the course of a family discussion several months ago, Hilda’s grandchildren, Benny and David Shlick, learned that their grandmother’s maiden name was Glasberg. In light of the new information, they conducted a search online on the Central Database of Shoah Victims Names' (www.yadvashem.org), in order to find out more about their grandmother's family. Until that time, they believed that their grandmother’s entire family had been killed in Romania during the Holocaust. To their surprise, when they entered the name Hilda Glasberg, their grandmother’s maiden name, they found a Page of Testimony submitted in her name. They learned that Karol Weiner was the person who submitted the Page of Testimony in 1999, where he stated that Hilda was his sister who had perished. They also found out that the name of their grandmother’s mother was Henia Weiner.

Accordingly, David began to conduct additional, more extensive searches. Through the Website of the Montreal Burial Society and online forums of survivors of Chernowitz, he was able to track down Karol Weiner’s son, Dr. Eric Weiner. Karol died in 1999, (the same year that he submitted the Page of Testimony). As a result of subsequent correspondence between David Shlick and Dr. Eric Weiner the entire picture became clear: Hilda Shlick's (nee Glasberg) immediate family, including her parents and siblings, that remained in Romania survived the Holocaust.

- Hilda’s parents, Henia and Bentsion Glasberg lived until the ages of 98 and 92. They died in the 1980s in Montreal, Canada.

- Hilda’s sister Bertha died in 1970 and is buried in Estonia.

- Hilda’s sister Pepi's fate remains unknown.

- Hilda’s brother Karol Weiner died in 1999 in Montreal.

- Hilda’s brother Eddie Glasberg died in 2004 in Montreal.

- Hilda’s brother Mark Glasberg currently lives in Ottawa, Canada, his health is ailing. His son Irwin lives with his family in Israel.

- Hilda’s brother Simon Glasberg currently lives in Montreal, Canada and arrived in Israel a few days ago to meet his sister.

All of the siblings have children and grandchildren who live in Canada, Israel and the United States. Mark and Simon came to Israel immediately following the Holocaust and fought during the Israel Independence War. During the 1950s they immigrated to Canada, following their older brother Karol Weiner, who had already settled there.

For more information visit the Yad Vashem site - just click on the title or click below ...
http://www.yadvashem.org/

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