Pinkas Abrahamovic Family – Leah Klapholz

XX All S1 & S2

The Pinkas Abrahamovič and Regina Edelmann Family

¯ Pinkas 19.V.1907

¯ Regina (Rivka) Edelmann 9.IV.1911

¯ Lia (Leah) 27.XII.1935

¯ Adi (Avraham) 20.VIII.1942

Pinkas, his wife, and their children were born in Bardejov. Pinkas was a mason, engraving headstones with names and artwork. He also was a cantor. The family lived on Slovenská Street. On the day of son Adi’s Brith, there was a raid. Pinkas was taken first to Auschwitz and then to Mauthausen. Regina and the children went into hiding, moving from place to place until they joined the partisans and secured Aryan papers. After the war, in early spring 1945, they returned to Bardejov. Shortly after, Pinkas, who was released on May 29, 1945, reunited with them. For a few months they lived on Stalinovo Square. They later moved to Košice and lived there for about three years. In 1949 the family immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City, where Pinkas worked as a mason and a cantor for 42 years. Lia married

and has two sons and two grandsons. Adi, who died on November 15, 2011, also married and had three daughters and six grandchildren.

THE PINKAS ABRAHAMOVICˇ FAMILY

L -R REGINA, ADI, PINKAS, AND LIA

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Begin forwarded message:

From: leah klapholz <hl.klapholz@verizon.net>
Date: April 4, 2014 at 6:58:57 AM PDT
To: Sarah Piehl <sarah.piehl@me.com>
Subject: Victory page – DEAR SARAH, STILL CANT USE MY LEFT HAND TO TYPE. PLEASE EXCUSE THE DELAY. DON’T HESITAT TO EDIT. THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE FOR ME. BEST REGARDS, LEAH

A MOMENT IN HISTORY

MY STORY BEGINS IN SUMMER OF 1942 WHEN THE NAZI REGIME WAS ALREADY WELL ENTRENCHED IN BARDEJOV. I TELL THIS STORY AS SEEN THRU THE LENSE OF A SIX YEAR OLD CHILD AND THUS CAUTION THE READER THAT ALTHOUGH MY MEMORIES ARE EMBEDED WITH STRONG IMAGES AND EMOTIONS, THEY LACK A DEFINED TIMELINE.

MY GRANDPARENTS SHAUL AND ROCHEL EDELMAN LIVED IN BARDEJOV NEAR THE RAIROAD STATION IN A “LARGE” HOUSE WITH THEIR 13 CHILDREN. THE PROPERTY HAD APPLE AND PEAR TREES, A VEGETABLE GARRDEN AND, CHICKEN COOPS.

IT ALSO HAD A SPECIAL SHED WHERE MY FATHER – PINCHAS ABRAMOWITZ Z’L (WHO MARRIED THEIR DAUGHTER RIVKA) WORKED INGRAVING ARTWORK AND TEXT ON MATZEVOT WHICH CAN STILL BE SEEN TODAY IN THE BARDEJOV CEMETARY. I SPENT MANY HAPPY HOURS PLAYING IN THIS SETTING.

GREAT CHANGES WERE OCCURRING DURING THAT SUMMER IN BARDEJOV. THERE WERE ONGOING ROUNDUPS OF ALL JEWS. IN FACT, MY GRANDPARENTS ALL MY AUNTS AND UNCLES WERE DEPORTED OR IN HIDING. MY PARENTS AND I MOVED INTO MY GRANDPARENTS HOUSE. SHORTLY THREAFTER MY MOTHER GAVE BIRTH TO A BABY BOY IN THE SAME BED SHE WAS BORN. LOOKING IN RETROSPECT THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE IMPETUS FOR THEIR MOVE INTO THIS EERILY EMPTY HOUSE

Laura Gutierrez