RelatioNet DE RA 37 ZA PO
DEBORAH RAIMAN
mail:
First Name: Deborah
Last Name: Shraiber
Previous Name: Raiman
City of birth: Zamosc
Country: Poland
Zamość
The Jewish Community of Zamosc
The town of Zamosc located in the Lublin province of eastern Poland, was established at the end of the 16th century on the grounds of a former village by Jan Zamoyski.
Jan Zamoyski , who was well known for his tolerant attitude, invited new settlers to his town that included in addition to Poles, people from other nationalities and non-Catholic denominations: Armenians, Greeks, Italians, Hungarians, Scots, and Jews. This policy helped in strengthening the economic and cultural life of Zamosc and creating an island of tolerance in a period when other Catholic countries in Europe persecuted the Jews and the Protestants.
The first Jews settled in Zamosc in 1588, eight years after the founding of the town. They were Sephardim (Spanish Jews) coming from the Ottoman Empire and Venice and, consequently established the northernmost Sephardi community in Eastern Europe. They were granted equal rights that included tax exemption for 25 years and the right to establish their own community on condition they accept into their community only Jews of Spanish and Portuguese descent.
The Jewish quarter was located around Rynak Solny (The Salt Market), Ulica Zydowska (The Jewish Street) (now Ulica Zamenhofa), and Ulica Pereca, in the northeastern section of the town center.
While the Sephardi Jews were active in the finance, some of the later Jewish inhabitants of Zamosc established small commercial enterprises that dealt in timber, grain, and cattle. Others were artisans; mainly tailors, locksmiths, tinsmiths, and carpenters. In addition, there were Jews who rented out plots of land.
Between the Two World Wars
Since the end of 1918, Zamosc has been part of the Polish Republic. In the period between the two World Wars, and even with a continuing emigration that was strong particularly among the young, there had been a significant increase of the Jewish population from 9,383 in 1921 to about 12,000 at the beginning of WW2, which represented about 45% of the total population.
The population of Zamosc, unique Renaissance town recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was 40 percent Jewish on the eve of World War II. Today, the estimation is that there is a handful of Jews in the town of 65,000. However nobody really knows for sure, since people here often still hide their Jewish roots, scarred by the trauma of the war and the anti-Semitism of the communist era that followed.
Jews were elected to the Town Council of Zamosc. In 1928 half of its 24 members were Jewish, but in 1929 their number declined to six only (a quarter of the total), and remained unchanged in 1939, when the last elections were held. The general attitude towards the Jews worsened during the 1930’s because of the growing anti-Semitism in Poland. In Zamosc it was expressed by boycotts of the Jewish business as well as by violent attacks against Jews and their property.
In 1941 when the Zamosc Jews had to move into New Town, many houses there were empty. It was from this part of the town that most of the Jews had escaped to the Soviet Union. The deadline for moving was 1 May 1941. The Judenrat conducted a census immediately after the establishment of the ghetto and discovered that it contained 7,000 Jews. The ghetto was not "closed", but exit from it by Jews was only permitted at certain times
On 11 April 1942, deportations from Zamosc began. Around noon of that day, the ghetto was surrounded by police and SS. In command of the deportation was Bruno Meiers, head of the Gestapo in Zamosc, although the actual chief of operations was one of his assistants, an SS-officer named Gotthard Schubert.
The Jews were assembled in the market square, where they were forced to wait without food or water until 9 p.m. Scores of Jews who were discovered hiding in the ghetto, as well as elderly and sick people, were shot in their houses or in the streets. 3,000 Jews were marched to the train station and boarded 30 wagons destined for Belzec. Behind them they left the several hundred bodies of those who had been shot.
The Nazis killed the rest of the Jews left in the Zamosc Ghetto in March 1943. Most of the remaining labour camps around Zamosc were dismantled in May 1943 and the slave labourers, numbering about 1,000 in total, were sent to Majdanek.
After World War II, Zamość started a period of development. In the 1970s and 1980s the population grew rapidly (from 39,100 in 1975 to 68,800 in 2003), as the city started to gain significant profits from the old trade routes linking Germany with Ukraine and the ports on the Black Sea. During the years 1975–1998 Zamość was the capital of Zamość Voivodeship.
Deborah's Childhood
Deborah Shraiber was born under the name of Dorka Raiman in 1937, as the daughter of Leizer and Bracha Raiman.
Deborah was born in the city of Zamosc that is located in the area of Lublin in Poland.
Deborah has one brother named Zvi and one sister named Nina.
In Zamosc Deborah and her family lived in their own house with her grandmother and her father’s family lived in another town not far from them.
Deborah’s father was a carpenter and he had his own carpentry shop.
It's is very difficult for Deborah to remember her childhood in Poland. Her strongest memories are from the German’s shelling.
During the War
When the war started, Deborah’s family decided to leave their home in Zamosc and to escape to Russia. Deborah’s grandmother who lived with them in Zamosc refused to leave because she wanted to stay and defend the family’s house and their property.
When Deborah’s family arrived to Russia they settled down in the city of Kazan. In this city the citizens spoke only the Tatarit language. For Deborah as a young child, it was very easy to learn both languages , Tatari and Russian.
The weather was very cold in Kazan, and Deborah’s mother got very sick. Therefore , Deborah’s father decided to leave the city and move to Makhachkala. In Makhachkala ,Deborah’s father started to work in a weapon factory.
When the Germans started to approach Russia, Deborah’s father joined the Russian army and Deborah with her mother, her sister and brother were expelled from the city and had to live in the streets. Due to the tough conditions, Deborah became very sick and had to go to the hospital. Since the only hospital in the area was the military hospital, the doctors refused to take care of Deborah and Deborah’s mother had to stay with her. After a few days, the doctors told everyone to evacuate the hospital due to the approaching German attack. Deborah and her family had to run away from the hospital even though Devora was still very sick.
Deborah and her family escaped from the hospital together with all of the other refugees. They all ran away to the nearest port. Even though there were so many other refuges Deborah’s father succeeded to help Deborah’s family to board a boat and therefore escape from the Germans’ shelling. That was the last time that Deborah saw her father.
One of Deborah’s strongest memories was seeing all the bodies that had been killed from the German’s shelling that had hit their boat. They were all thrown overboard into the ocean.
Deborah doesn’t remember exactly where they got off the boat, but she does remember that they arrived to Kolkhoz in Kazakhstan. Deborah remembers the terrible feeling of hunger that she and her family were suffering from . Deborah s brother was staying with a family in the Kolkhoz that had no children and he was fed and was treated well. Deborah’s mother was happy that at least one of her children did not suffer and had some food to eat.
Deborah began to lose her eyesight because of the lack of food.
A few weeks later, Deborah and her family moved to the city of Shymkent . where they lived in a small hut on a hill. Deborah’s mother hid all their food in big holes under the hut.
To support her family, Deborah’s sister went out each day to the market to sell water to the farmers. She always took Deborah with her to stand in the line to receive their daily food allocation. Deborah remembers that it was very difficult for her to stand in the line because she was so small and many people were very brutal to her and pushed her out of the line.
One day there was a colonel passing by the line and saw little Deborah crying. He came to her and told the person giving the food to give Deborah first. From that day Deborah got the food every day without being pushed aside.
Deborah’s mother did not work because she was afraid to get out of their home. Deborah’s mother had a Jewish appearance unlike Deborah and her sister & brother .
Towards the end of the war, Deborah asked her sister about her dreams when the war would end. Nina, Deborah’s sister replied that she dream about their father coming back home.
When the war ended, Deborah and her family moved back to Poland. They joined the rest of the Jews that want all together to the trains to Poland.
Deborah’s mother decided to go to Zamosc to see if someone in her family was still alive. When she arrived to their home she discovered that there were non Jewish people who lived there. The neighbor that was a good friend of hers advised her to immediately get out of there. It was still very dangerous to be there.
Immigration to Israel
After the war Deborah and her family were determined to make Aliyah to Israel. They were in Germany in a special camp, and Deborah started to learn in the first grade. For the first time in her life she used a pen and notebook. In this special school ,she learnt Hebrew and finally got back her childhood.
Deborah’s brother decided that he wanted to make Aliyah and to come to Israel to fight England who at that time in controlled of the land . He did not tell anyone and took a boat to France and from there to Israel. When the family received his letter they were all very proud of him.
Deborah and her family got to Israel on a boat called “PanYork”.
Deborah in Israel
When Deborah’s family arrived to Israel they settled in an abandoned apartment in Jaffa. Adjusting to Israel was difficult, Deborah’s sister worked, and Deborah helped her mother in temporary jobs.
Because of Deborah’s help, she could not play with her friends outside.
During the school vacations, Deborah worked and thus she helped in the home finances. When Deborah was about 16 years old , she had a full-time job selling in the store,and she studied at night.
When Deborah was 19 and a half years old, she got married in Hod HaSharon.
She was not satisfied to being a housewife, therefore she volunteered at various organizations such as “Akim” ,” WIZO” and “Ha'aguda Lema'an Hachayal”.
Her family moved from Hod HaSharon to Arad and then to Herzliya, were she studied parent group training , and at the same time she worked at a baby clinic.
When Deborah’s husband became ill, she had to stop working and volunteering, to help her husband. When Deborah’s husband passed away, she decided to move to a Nursing Home.
Deborah has three children: Atalya, Eliezer (Eli) he is named after his grandfather, his Mom's father and Shai.
And three grandchildren Hadar, Mayan and Matan.
Deborah's father
After Deborah and her family boarded a raft they didn't see their father again. Deborah's mother spent a lot of time looking for her husband.Deborah thought a lot about what happened to her father, and when her mother died she started looking for information about him. She searched in various places and organizations.
After Deborah searched on the internet she was assisted by Zigy-a young German graduate student, that volunteered to teach Deborah how to use computers.
Deborah received a letter from Yad Vashem in the letter she was told that there is a website in which she can find details about her father. In this website were many names of people and details about them. Deborah's father was registered: "Leizer Raiman Abramovich (Abraham son), fought in Berlin, buried in Poznań.
Debora and Zigi communicated with people in Poznań by computer. They connected her to Christian man from the community ajd he was able to locate her father's grave.
Later ,Deborah flew to Russia, where she walked at the “Museum of the Great Patriotic War”. There she decided to search archives in the museum for information about her father. With the help of the workers of the archives, she found documents about her father.
Two weeks later, Deborah flew with her grandchildren and her son Eli to Poland.There ,they held a Jewish memorial for Deborah's father, which was an impressive and honorable ceremony.
Leizer Raiman was killed two days before the end of the war and received a medal of honor.
A- Zamosc, Poland
B-Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia
C-Makhachkala
D-Kolkhoz, Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast, Russia
E- Special camp, Germany
F- Jaffa, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel