Out of Siberia

Finding Yocheved Mendlowitz and bringing her home.
This is one of those stories that makes you say, “I can’t believe this actually happened.” The events are too coincidental; it has to be hashgacha pratis (divine providence).

Bubby's mother, Yocheved Mendlovitz

In the late 1990s, a family friend tracked down my Bubby’s Mother’s gravesite in Siberia. I remember the day we found out. We were living at 1647. My Mom came upstairs and gave my Bubby an envelope. Inside were pictures. Tears streamed down Bubby’s face, and all she could say, in Yiddish, was “That is her, she’s the same.”

When she got on the phone with her brother, the story slowly unraveled. Below is the interview with Bubby’s brother Shalom (they pronounced Shoo-lum).

Article that appeared in Israeli newspaper.

When Shalom Medlowitz made Aliya in 1950, he was forced to leave his mother in Siberia. This week he succeeded in bringing her complete Matzeva (tombstone) and remains home, where she was buried beside her husband.

Last week, Shalom Mendlowitz fulfilled a lifelong dream. Fifty-one years since his mother, Yocheved, died in Russia, Mendlowitz managed to bring her body and Matzeva to Israel.

Everything happened quite by accident. About three weeks ago, an old family friend living in New York, travelled to Siberia to visit his father’s grave. When he took a picture, he also caught part of Yocheved Mendlowitz's grave. When he realized who she was, he sent it to her son, Shalom.

"I suddenly realized that the Matzeva is still intact," says Mendlowitz (78). “Since I moved to Israel in 1950, we discussed how to raise the grave. In 1954, my father died. It was then we decided that our mother should be buried beside him. But at the time, it was impossible. The ties between Israel and Russia were strained."

This time, Mendlowitz was able to contact the Russian authorities and obtain permission to dismantle the monument, exhume the coffin and move them to Israel. "My mother was buried at a Christian hospital cemetery in an area allocated to 40 Jewish families by the Russian government. As soon as our friend identified her grave, we filed the papers to transport her grave. We sent him power of attorney and a picture of the gravesite. The Chevrah Kaddisha (burial society) had a large part in this great mitzvah. Thanks to them, we were able to bury our mother in her rightful resting place, next to our father.”

Mendlowitz was very emotional during the conversation, and wiped away tears of joy. "Our Mother was a righteous woman. She died on a Friday and we hope she may be a Melitza Tova (positive advocate) for our family."

His Sarah wife interrupts, “My husband and our children are all excited. Everyone is delighted we were able to rescue the Matzeva. It's definitely an dream come true – and it is still hard for us to believe that we were successful.”

According to Mendlowitz, his mother’s body was preserved in its entirety because of the cold weather. "I recognize my mother’s four gold teeth. Her body was still is intact – I was shocked. When we buried her (in Israel), an member of the Chevra Kadisha approached me and said he was amazed. Just a few weeks before, he exhumed a different grave, but there was no trace of any remains, aside for the marker."

The wood Siberian Matzeva and stone Star of David that Mendlowitz brought to Israel are in excellent condition. They remain in Shalom’s house, waiting to be included in the new Matzeva.

Tante Nushi Mendlowitz at Kever of Yocheved Mendlowitz

The Leather Satchel

I know this sounds clichéd, but Ruchie and I found buried treasure in the back of a closet. Treasure, in the form of Bubby’s tan leather travel bag filled with post-war papers.

For good reason, there seems to be a certain memory gap around WWII. I can only imagine that the climate was so horrific and speaking the memories was too traumatic. I guess Bubby put away the papers, without realizing that someday they would be threads linking to our history. I’m glad they’ve surfaced.

When I opened the time capsule, this is what I found:

Bubby and Zayda's Ketubah

• Bubby & Zayda’s Ketubah
• Naturalizations certificates for Bubby and Mommy
• U.S. Declaration papers
• Mommy’s immigration card
• Bubby & Zayda’s individual testimonies for war reparations, including doctor’s notes.

Though I was so happy to find, scan, and record them, the papers have left me with many gaps and unanswered questions – trying to piece back history.

Bubby's Naturalization Certificate

Mommy's Naturalization Certificate

I suppose this falls into the category of, “You’ll never know what you’ll find cleaning up.” Until we had to go through all of the closets, we did not. And, if all the work was just for this, I’m glad we did.

Mommy – 2 years old

Zayda's Declaration of Intention

Bubby's Declaration of Intention