Non-stop sleuthing produces a story that twists at every turn: Wilno, Warsaw, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, a Righteous Gentile, a hidden slip of paper in a candlestick, the Exodus, American uncles, an illustrious rabbinical family and more.
From left: Shelly Isaacs, Patricia Wilson, Masha Fajnsztajn, Hall of Names Director Alexander Avraham and Daniel Avidar in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem.
Photo: Yossi Ben David / Yad Vashem
Enter Warsaw teacher Marianna Hoszowska, 23, who volunteers to assist members of the Children of the Holocaust Society; Maria Kowalska (Masha Fajnsztejn), 68, a toddler saved by her Righteous Gentile nanny Stanislawa Butkiewicz; and former Londoner, researcher Patricia (Trisher) Wilson, 59, of Ra'anana.
In September 1941, two-year-old Masha Fajnsztejn and her parents Yakub and Chana (Zusmanovicz) went into the Wilno ghetto with their extended families, including her cousin, Daniel (Fajnsztejn) Avidar, then aged nine. Chana made contact with Masha's nanny Stanislawa, somehow managed to bring the toddler out to her and her mother returned to the ghetto.
Chana told the family that she had given Masha to the nanny, along with money, jewelry and a pair of candlesticks with her brothers' names and American addresses hidden inside.
Masha's parents and grandparents, Danny's parents, two siblings, grandparents and other relatives perished. The last time Danny saw Masha was that day in 1941.
Masha tells the story in her cousin Danny Avidar's Kiryat Ono home: Stanislawa went to one brother who refused to help. Another brother wouldn't or couldn't help, but sent her to a cousin in a forest 23 kilometers away who built a special shelter for Masha if the Germans came. A priest gave her a new name - Maria Budkiewicz - and papers, and they lived in the forest for three years.
From left: Danny Avidar and his cousin Masha Fajnsztajn
Photo: Schelly Talalay Dardashti
Stanislawa likely gave the candlesticks and jewelry to the priest who helped her. Although she tried to retrieve them, she was always told to come tomorrow, and understood they would not be returned.
The nanny, who never married, had a photograph of Masha's parents, told Masha she was Jewish and that no one had survived. Maria married and Stanislawa went to live with her in Zielonej Gory, 60 kilometers from Berlin. She died in 1990 at 88, and in 1992, was proclaimed a Righteous Gentile (non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust).
Danny was in several camps: Kaiserwald (Riga), Stuthof near Danzig, on a two and a half month death march to Stettin, and was saved by the Russians. He celebrated his liberation anniversary on March 10. After the war, he and his siblings returned home to see if anyone had survived: No one had. They asked about Masha and Stanislawa; someone remembered they lived in a nearby village, and they ran to look, but the nanny had just left. "We searched and searched and found nothing," recalled Avidar.
Not finding anyone alive, he and his siblings came to Palestine on the Exodus emigration ship, and his sister Dina Fajnsztejn Srolovich of Haifa submitted Yad Vashem Pages of Testimony (PoT).
Marianna had discovered a PoT indicating that Dina Fajnsztajn Srolowicz of Haifa had completed pages for Chana and Jakub (her first cousin); for her own parents Mordechai and Miriam Fajnsztajn, siblings Rywka and Batia; Jakub's parents, Abraham and Ida Fajnsztajn; and her uncle, philosophy Professor Daniel Fajnsztajn, wife Rachel and three children.
In her October 27, 2006 posting to a Jewish genealogy discussion group, Marianna wrote, "Maria didn't know about her [Dina] and the family members until yesterday," adding that Maria was traveling to Israel the following day with the Children of the Holocaust Society. "Do any of you know Ms. Dina Srolovicz or anyone from her family?" Maria, she said, would be happy to meet Dina or her children.
Wilson got to work and located two PoTs from 1957 and 1982. She turned to Bezeq Online, but Dina wasn't listed. In Haifa, a short list of Srolowicz appeared and she decided to call each one.
One man wasn't related, but knew Dina and her husband, with whom he had served in the army. Did he know where Dina lived? No, but he remembered they had a shop. He retrieved a 1999 phone book with the number. Were there children? Yes, a daughter, but he didn't know her first name or married name.
Wilson called, no one answered; she assumed the shop had closed. She e-mailed Marianna that she would call the cemetery to see and ask about next of kin. The cemetery confirmed Dina had died; her daughter Elana had arranged the funeral, and provided the number.
Wilson called, there was no answer. She sent the number to Marianna who she immediately called from Poland. Elana answered, but neither knew the other's language. She was suspicious, reluctant to give information and hung up.
Meanwhile, Marianna had found another PoT from 1982, signed in English by Fruma Nir, for her mother Berta (Batia) Fajnstajn - Dina's sister - daughter of Mordechai and Miriam.
Wilson contacted Kibbutz Ma'anit, Fruma's residence, and the secretary confirmed she was there. "This is about the Holocaust and I don't want to upset her," said Wilson. "Are there children?"
"Yes, her son, Ohad, who is working in the fields now. Here are both phone numbers, call after 6 p.m., he'll be home."
Wilson e-mailed Marianna and sat back to wait a few hours. Before she could call, the phone rang - Fruma's son Ohad, who said Marianna had called his mother who had called him and he called Wilson. "He was so excited that there was a possibility - that after all these years someone might be alive," she recalls. "Where is Masha? I'll go get her and bring her to my mother."
Wilson e-mailed Marianna for the itinerary, and the phone rang again. An older man said, in English, "My name is Danny Avidar and my great-nephew just called me. Fruma is my niece, and the page of testimony was for my late sister. I cannot believe what you are telling me - my cousin is alive?"
"Yes, I believe we have found your cousin Masha."
"That's impossible. Not a chance. The last time I saw her was in 1941."
Avidar went on to describe that he was nine and in the Wilno ghetto. He knew Masha was taken away by her nanny. "It's impossible."
