OSTROWIEC ŚWIĘTOKRZYSKI
UL. 3 MAJA 4
$250.00
| Size | 7,08” long / 1,77” wide |
|---|---|
| Material | Bronze |
| Class | Unique |
Description
The trace of mezuzah
new mezuzah - bronze cast of the trace
The story hidden behind
the home
Wojciech Mazan – our fellow – found a mezuzah trace in the building at 3 Maja Street in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. After this discovery, he met with the building owner, Mr. Jerzy Opidowicz. Wojciech explained to him what mezuzah trace is and why it is worth saving. He also got information that reconstructions will be started soon, and the doorpost with a trace of mezuzah will be removed. Mr. Opidowicz, knowing that the mezuzah trace is an essential part of Jewish legacy, offered Wojtek to take the doorpost for free. Wojtek knew our “Mezuzah From This Home” project and asked us if we can take care of the doorpost. We went to Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski to take part in the process of removing of the doorpost.
the family
The house was built in 1910 by Kiwa Rosset – an Orthodox Jew and among the wealthiest inhabitants of Ostrowiec. He operated a shoe store on the ground floor. In the outbuilding, a local photographer Geel Goldstein had his studio. Kiwa Rosset and his wife Sara Worcman had eight children:
– Beniamin: a member of the Judenrat in the Opatowiec Ghetto; he died in the Holocaust.
– Szprinca: murdered in the Holocaust.
– Zlata: murdered in Treblinka.
– Natan: survived the war, his wife died in the Holocaust
– Sara: murdered in the Holocaust
– Mosze: murdered in the Holocaust
– Yehudit: fate unknown
– Perla Balter nee Rosset: survived the war with three of her children. The rest of her family – her husband and two children – murdered in the Holocaust.Wojciech Mazan – our fellow – found a mezuzah trace in the building at 3 Maja Street in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
THE FAMILY
Perla Balter nee Rosset (also known after the war as Paula Lebovics) and her three children were liberated from Auschwitz – the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp – in 1945. Her daughter, Pesa Balter, recalls: ‘(…) Ten days before the liberation, a German patrol took the last people. On February 7th the Russians entered. They liberated us. Many people have bad memories from those events, but I have good ones. I remember a soldier who embraced me. I remember how I cried because someone showed some interest in me, cared for me. It was incredible (…)’
After being liberated from Auschwitz, Pesa returned to Ostrowiec, but left for the United States after a few months, eventually settling in Los Angeles.
