Warning! The text retains the original spelling of surnames and place names by an Israeli researcher; in many cases it may not be correct. Fragments that could contain current personal data have been removed from the interview.

Name of Interviewee: Ilana Ben Yehuda;

Interview subject: Rivka Zussman (her mother).

Rivka was born in July, 1917, in the town of Czyżewo [Czyżew] in Poland.

She was named after her aunt, who had been very clever.

The name 'Zussman' means 'sweet man'. Her family had for generations been merchants among others trading in confectionery.

She had a very large family. Her mother married her father, who was a widower with five children, and her mother, Fruma, gave birth to six more children. Together they formed a warm and loving family, in many ways due to her mother.

There home was a very religious one, because that was the custom and because her mother came from a dynasty of rabbis.

Rivka had a very religious upbringing, and the languages spoken at home were Yiddish and Polish. Holidays and Sabbaths were very traditional, especially Passover, the preparations for which commenced several weeks in advance with the spring cleaning of the house and taking out the special cutlery and crockery for the holiday, stored for the rest of the year in the attic.

Rivka said that there was terrible anti-Semitism in the city, yet despite that life was orderly and good.

Her father traded in grains and they had a grocery store. Her mother worked in the store and at home they had a maid who helped with the household chores and raising the children.

As a child she began learning with tutors at home, because the gentiles would not accept Jews at the school. Thanks to the intervention of a Jewish doctor, they consented to accept the Jews. Rivka was in second grade when she started school. They were a small group of Jews among many gentiles.

Initial acclimatization was difficult, the gentiles kept their distance, but over time they became accustomed to each other, got to know each other and even became friends.

Rivka was a good student and some of the gentiles asked for her help in school and became friends. Others would harass her from jealousy and because she was Jewish.

One of the teachers was an anti-Semite and she would hide their books and then shout at them at the end of the lesson because they could not find them. When this was discovered the school reacted.

At school she read a notice in the newspaper written in red letters, saying "Bloody riots in the Land of Israel". This fired in her the light of Zionism and she became active in the HeHalutz movement which had a league movement for working the land in Israel. Rivka was active in this league, but did not have any voting rights because she was too young.

She continued in the Hehalutz movement until going on Hachshara, where her living conditions were very difficult and she worked in a plywood factory. Emissaries came from the land of Israel to the Hachshara and spoke to them about immigrating to Israel. The Hachshara lasted eighteen months.

In 1939 she received permission to immigrate to Israel and she did so illegally on a ship called the Colorado, which was transporting cattle. The cattle served as camouflage on deck, while the immigrants were down below – some 400 people cramped in tough conditions without room even to lie down.

When they approached the shores of Israel and saw the lights they were very excited, they collected their meager belongings and waited to disembark. Suddenly they heard shots, a British ship approached, British soldiers boarded the ship with guns drawn and took the captain, They were afraid the British would send them back to sea, but the ship was escorted into Haifa where they were quarantined for two weeks. There were many sick on the ship and they were taken off board, while the others remained. Locals came to visit and they received food from the "Worker's Kitchen" in Haifa – mainly bread and sardines. The food was not enough and they had to eat from the ship stores, which contained worms.

After two weeks they were allowed to go ashore and to their great joy were then allowed to leave ship completely and were taken to camp near the "Shemen" factory. In the camp men and women were segregated and conditions were hard.

After being released from camp Rivka went to the Ashdot Yaakov Kibbutz. Several days later World War II broke out.

In 1942 Rivka married Joseph. Their first home was a hayloft with no amenities.

Rivka worked as in the accounting for many years. She had three children – Ilana, Amos and Sara.