ʻI he fakataha mo ʻetau “Ngaahi Hoa ʻi he Tokanga” polokalama ʻoku fakapaʻanga ʻe he UJA-fetulolo ʻo Niu ʻIoke, ʻe fakahoko ʻe he Y ha ngaahi ʻinitaviu mei ha kau hao fakalotofonua ʻe toko ono ke mahino lelei ange ʻa e talanoa ʻo e tokotaha fakafoʻituitui takitaha. ʻE fakaʻaliʻali e ngaahi ʻinitaviu ko ʻení ʻi he Tāpanekale Hepeluú “Aʻusia ha Taimi ʻo e Tau pea Fakalaka Atu Ai: Ngaahi ta ʻo e kau Siu longomoʻui”. ʻE fakaava ʻa e Gallery ʻi he ʻaho Falaite Novema 8.
Pearl Rosenzveig has been a member of the Y since 1998.
Mataʻitofe Rosenzveig (Photograph by Yael Ben-Zion: www.yaelbenzion.com)
Pearl (Friedman) Rosenzveig was born in Simleu Silvania, Romania on February 22, 1919. The Friedman’s were the only Jewish family in Simleu Silvania. Her father owned a liquor, tobacco, and grocery store. She has a sister, Esther, who was born on January 21, 1921. Her mother’s side of the family resided in a town about 3 hours away by train. Pearl remembers her mother as a loving person, who was also a business woman. She described her mother as a conservative Jew.
In Simleu Silvania, there was only one school for all the children to attend, however there was no high school. Pearl recalls attending that school until her 7th year. She was a gifted gymnast and states that gymnastics was her favorite subject in school. When asked if Pearl experienced any anti-Semitism as a child, she remembered a story from her time in school. Pearl and her sister were in a play about Romania and all of the states within the country. Each child was given a state to play, while Esther was given the part of Romania. When the class performed the play for the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister asked the teacher why a Jew was playing the part of Romania.
Even though the Friedman’s were the only Jewish family in Simleu Silvania, they still practiced Judaism. They celebrated every Jewish holiday and they kept kosher. On Friday, Pearl’s father would travel to a nearby Hungarian town where there were more Jews and would attend Shabbat services. On high holy days, Pearl and her mother would travel to a town called Silvaniei to go to synagogue.
When Pearl was 15, the Prime Minister of Romania put restrictions on Jewish owned businesses. The Friedman’s lost their business and was forced to move to Simleu Silvaniei. Pearl attended community college in Simleu Silvaniei, but was told that she failed her classes because she was a Jew. This did not make any sense to Pearl because when the gym teacher was absent, Pearl was called to replace her because she was such a talented gymnast. Even though Pearl tried to fight her way to stay in school, she did not win. By age 17, Pearl left the school. When she realized she had limited opportunities in such a small town, in her early twenties Pearl moved to Budapest where one of her uncles lived. She needed to learn a skill in order to survive so Pearl learned to sew. Pearl wanted to maximize her opportunities to make a living, which is why she decided to move to Budapest. She took great interest in sewing, but wanted to improve so she took a class in pattern making. Pearl remembers that later on that she began sewing yellow stars onto clothing. She recalls, “When we were in the ghetto, we needed yellow stars on each item.” Pearl had been told many times that she did not look like a Jew. When Jews were unable to shop at stores, Pearl made the courageous decision to take off her yellow star and go shopping. One time she was stopped by a Hungarian police officer who asked her why sometimes he sees her with a yellow star and other times without the star. He told her, “You’re not Jewish. Take that star off forever.”
While in Budapest, Pearl was able to correspond with her parents by sending letters. However, she lost touch with her parents in the early 1940’s and Pearl knew that she had lost her parents forever. When reflecting on her feelings about the war, Pearl believes that the Hungarian government is responsible for the deaths of the Jews in Hungary.
After being in the ghetto for about two and half years, Pearl and the rest of the Jews were rounded up. She prepared by packing up her belongings. Pearl was sure to pack her mother’s jewelry and all the valuables that she had. In addition, she bought as much nonperishable food as she could so that she would not go hungry. One morning, the police came to the door and told her that she had five minutes to gather her belongings and leave. The police gathered a few thousand Jews in a lot. Pearl recalls that the police were extremely unorganized and eventually had to send all of the Jews home because they did not know what to do with all of them. She hoped that this would be the end, but it was not. In October 1943, she heard the knock on her door and once again she left the house. This time, it was for good. She remembers walking for what felt like forever. There were several thousand Jews that were forced to march day after day. When they would stop at night, Pearl remembers that they were given very little to eat. They served liquids only and she remembers the food being disgusting. She had no choice but to eat it. The Hungarian police orchestrated the march. Pearl felt disappointed, sad, and weak. She found the strength to carry on each day throughout the march. On the march, Pearl saw a woman coming out of her house. Pearl ran over to the woman and offered to give her the sweater she was wearing in exchange for any food. Pearl did not care that winter was coming. She was so hungry; all she could think about was getting food. The woman went into her house and came out with a lot of food for Pearl and she took the sweater.
Pearl recalls the march lasting from October to December. The weather got so cold, Pearl is glad that she did not lose her fingers on the march. She knew that she was walking to Germany, but she did not realize that she was walking to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She reached Bergen-Belsen in January 1944. When she got to the concentration camp, all of Pearl’s jewelry including her earrings and watch were confiscated. She was stripped of everything; including her clothes. She was given clothing that was full of lice. On the days that it would snow, Pearl would strip herself down to nothing and wash herself with soap in the snow. When she was done, she had to put her dirty clothes back on and go back to the barracks. When more people would come to the camp, Pearl would do what she could to make room for people in the barracks. This would leave her without a place to sleep. She stayed in the cold corridor and became very ill.
When the camp was liberated, Pearl saw British soldiers coming to the camp. She recalls them intimidating the German soldiers. After a week, Pearl was moved from Bergen-Belsen to a better facility in Germany. She remembers being fed a little better. Everyone was still very sick from the filth of the camp. A nurse came to help the refugees including Pearl who had come down with shingles. Eventually the Swedish came and opened their borders to the refugees and offered assistance to them. In 1945, Pearl decided that she wanted to go to Sweden. She was taken there along with other refugees. The refugees were taken care of by doctors and admitted to hospitals if they needed extra medical attention.
The refugees were put into Swedish summer homes outside of Stockholm. She recalls being placed with Czech, Hungarian, and Romanian refugees. She stayed there for two years. Pearl was very happy when she was there. She was given new clothes every season so she could be comfortable. After several years in Sweden, Pearl wrote to an uncle she found in New York. Her uncle immediately sent her $100. She used this money to buy herself a watch and to get her teeth fixed since they had been damaged from the war. Once she got herself fixed up, Pearl asked her uncle to help her come to America. Even though Pearl loved her life in Sweden, she wanted to be in New York with her family. She thought she would have to wait years to get to America because the Romanian quota was so small, but she and her uncle were able to work out a way to get Pearl to America as quickly as possible. The first affidavit that her uncle was able to get for her was not enough to get her into the country so her uncle asked a friend of his for help. This friend helped get Pearl an adequate affidavit to come to America.
On June 14, 1948, Pearl arrived in New York City. Her aunt was at the harbor waiting for her. She recognized Pearl by the pictures she had sent. She then lived with her aunt and uncle, and worked as a seamstress.
Pearl never imagined that she would marry an American man. She recalls that she met her husband when she was visiting a friend. She married Max Rosenzveig and they had 2 daughters. Pearl has six grandchildren.
This interview was transcribed (from a previoulsy recorded interview) by Halley Goldberg of the Y’s Partners in Caring initiative and belongs to the YM&YWHA ʻo Uasingatoni feituʻu mo e papa. ʻOku ʻikai ngofua ke fakaʻaongaʻi ʻa e naunau ko ʻeni taʻe ʻi ai ha tohi fakangofua mei he Y mo e interviewee. ʻIlo lahi ange fekauʻaki mo e ngaahi hoa ʻi he polokalama tokanga ʻi heni: http://ywashhts.org/partners-caring-0
Tāpanekale Hepeluú Armin mo Estelle kapakau koula Galleryʻi he hoa hikisia moʻa e YM&YWHA ʻo Uasingatoni feituʻu mo e papafakaafeʻi koe ki heʻetauNovema/Tisema, 2013 Fakaʻaliʻali“Aʻusia ha Taimi ʻo e Tau pea Fakalaka Atu Ai: Ngaahi ta ʻo e kau Siu longomoʻui” mo e ʻū taá mo e tā-tongitongí ʻe he: YAEL PENI-SAIONE, PITA BULOW mo ROJ RODRIGUEZ. ʻI he fakataha mo ha tokoni makehe ʻi he manatuʻo e75Taʻu th ʻo Kristallnacht-ko e po ʻo e sioʻata kuo maumauMaʻu ʻo e ngaahi tokoni mo e tokotaha ta valivali, Falaite, Nōvema, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Ko ha fakamatala mei he Y : ” Kuo laui taʻu ʻa e hoko ʻa e feituʻu Uasingatoni/papa ko Y, pea hokohoko atu ai pe, ko ha hūfangaʻanga maʻanautolu ʻoku kumi hūfangaʻangá, fakaʻapaʻapaʻí mo e mahinó. ʻOku tokolahi ha niʻihi ʻoku nau hū mai ʻi hotau ngaahi matapaá ʻo kau ʻi heʻetau ngaahi polokalamá kuo nau moʻui ʻi ha ngaahi ʻahiʻahi mo ha ngaahi faingataʻa ʻoku ʻikai ke tau lava ʻo fakakaukau atu ki ai. Ki ha niʻihi, ko hai ʻe kau ʻi he fakaʻaliʻali ko ʻení, Ko e taha ʻo e ngaahi meʻa fakalilifu pehee kuo ʻiloa ia ʻe he mamani ko e "kau Siu" – ʻa e fakapoongi pau ʻo e kau Siu ʻe toko 6 million ʻo ʻIulope.
ʻOku tau manatuʻi ʻi he Y ʻa e kuohili, fakalāngilangiʻi ʻa kinautolu naʻe moʻui mo pekia lolotonga e taimi ko iá, pea maluʻi ʻa e moʻoní ki he ngaahi toʻu tangata ʻo e kahaʻú. Koeʻuhí ko kitautolu mo ʻetau fānaú, kuo pau ke tau tukuʻau mai ʻa e ngaahi talanoa ʻo kinautolu kuo nau foua ʻa e ngaahi kovi ʻo e taú. ʻOku ʻi ai ha ngaahi lēsoni ke ako ki he kahaʻú. ʻOku fakamatala ʻa e ngaahi ʻinitaviu ʻe Halley Goldberg, ko ha supavaisa ʻo e polokalama "Hoa ngāue ʻi he Tokanga". Naʻe malava ʻa e polokalama mahuʻinga ko ʻeni ʻo fakafou ʻi ha foaki ʻofa mei he UJA-fetulolo ʻo Niu ʻIoke, fokotuʻutuʻu ke fakaleleiʻi e ngaahi va fetuʻutaki mo e ngaahi fale lotu ʻi Uasingatoni feituʻu mo e papa. “
ʻOku ʻi heʻetau fakaʻaliʻali ʻaati ha ngaahi ta mo ha ngaahi ʻinitaviu ʻo e kau Siu, ʻAna Eisner, Siale mo Lilli Friedman, Mataʻitofe Rosenzveig, Fredy Seidel mo Ruth Wertheimer, ʻa kinautolu kotoa ko e kau memipa ʻo e Tapanekale Hepeluu, ko ha fakatahaʻanga Siu naʻe hola ai ha kau Siu Siamane tokolahi mei he kau Nasi pea monuʻia feʻunga ke haʻu ki ʻAmelika, kau ʻi he konga kimui ʻo e 1930. ʻIkai ngata ai, te tau fakaʻapaʻapaʻi foki ʻa e tokotaha kumi moʻui ʻa e kau Siu Gizelle Schwartz Bulow- faʻe ʻa ʻemau tangata ta valivali ko Pita Bulow mo WWII tokotaha kumi moʻui Yan Neznanskiy – Tamai ʻa e ʻofisa pule ʻo e polokalama ʻa Y, Vikatolia Neznansky.
Ko ha Ouau Makehe ʻi he Sāpaté, mo e kau leá, ʻi he fakamanatu ʻo e taʻu 75 ʻo Kristallnacht (Ko e Po ʻo e Sioʻata Maumau) muʻomuʻa ʻi hono fakaava ʻo e fakaʻaliʻali koula Gallery/Y:Kamata leva ʻa e ngaahi tokoni ʻi he 7:30 pm. ʻOku fakaafeʻi ʻa e tokotaha kotoa pē ke kau mai.
Ki he ngaahi houa ʻoku ava ai pe ki ha fakamatala lahi ange kataki ʻo telefoni ki he fale lotu ʻi he212-568-8304 pe vakaihttp:://www.hebrewtabernacle.orgFakamatala ʻa e tokotaha ta valivali: Yael Peni-Saionewww.yaelbenzion.comNaʻe faʻeleʻi ʻa Yael Peni-Saione ʻi Miniʻapolosi, MN pea ohi hake ʻi ʻIsileli. Kuo ne ʻosi mei he Senita fakavahaʻapuleʻanga ʻo e polokalama ako fakalukufua ʻa e faitaa. ʻOku maʻu ʻe Peni-Saione ʻa e ngaahi foaki mo e ngaahi pale kehekehe, kimui ni mai mei he fakavaʻe Puffin pea mei NoMAA, pea kuo fakaʻaliʻali ʻene ngaue ʻi he ʻIunaiteti Siteiti pea ʻi ʻIulope. Kuo ne pulusi ha monographs ʻe ua ʻo ʻene ngaue. ʻOku ne nofo ʻi Uasingatoni feituʻu mo hono husepaniti, mo ʻena ongo tamaiki tangata mahanga.
Fakamatala ʻa e tokotaha ta valivali: Pita Bulow: www.peterbulow.com
Ko ʻeku faʻee ʻi heʻene kei siʻi, Naʻe toitoi lolotonga e kau Siu. ʻI he fakalau atu ʻa e ngaahi taʻu, meʻa naʻá ne aʻ, pe ko e meʻa ne u fakakaukau ki ai ko e meʻa naʻa ne aʻusia, kuo ne maʻu ha ivi takiekina lahi kiate au. ʻOku hasino ʻa e ivi takiekina ko ʻeni ʻi heʻeku moʻui fakatautaha pea ʻi heʻeku moʻui fakaʻati. Naʻe fāʻeleʻi au ʻi ʻInitia, nofo kei siʻi ʻi Pealini pea hiki ki he US mo ʻeku ongomatuʻa ʻi hono taʻu 8. ʻOku ʻi ai hoku kau pule ʻi he ngaahi ʻaati lelei ʻi he ta-tongitongi. Ko au foki ʻoku ou maʻu ha foaki te ne fakaʻata au ke u ʻai ha ngaahi busts polonise ʻo e kau Siu naʻe hao moʻui. Kataki ʻo fakaha mai pe ʻoku ke fie kau ki he ngaue ni.
Fakamatala ʻa e tokotaha ta valivali :Roj Lotilikesi: www.rojrodriguez.com
ʻOku ha mei hoku sino ʻo e ngaue ʻa ʻeku fononga mei Hiusitoni, TX – feituʻu naʻe faʻeleʻi mo ohi hake ai au – ki Niu ʻIoke – ʻa ia, fakaʻaliʻali ki hono fakamatakali, kehekehe fakafonua mo fakasosiale pea mo hono vakai makehe ki he kau hikifonua– Ne u maʻu ha fakaʻapaʻapa foʻou ki he anga fakafonua ʻa e tokotaha kotoa pe. Kuo u akoako mo ha kau photographers kuo fokotuʻu lelei, fononga lahi ʻi he mamani pea collaborated mo ha kau palofesinale tuʻukimuʻa tokolahi ʻi he malaʻe. Talu mei Sanuali, 2006, kuo hoko ʻeku ngaue maʻuʻanga moʻui ko ha tokotaha faita tauʻataina ko ha founga ke fakahoko ai ha ngaahi ngaue faita fakatautaha ʻoku maʻu mei he mahino kiate au ʻa e founga ʻoku tau vahevahe ai ʻa e mamani mo fakaʻaongaʻi ʻetau mohu founga.
