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: Jehudith Hinda Genia Glanz (nee Zamiczkowski [Zamieczkowski]);
Interview Subject: Zamiczkowski Family, Zalcberg Family and The Bund movement;
Date of the Interview: June – July 2008;
Interviewer: Shimon Ben Oliel.
Jehudith Hinda Genia Glanz nee Zamiczkowski was born in November 1943 in Chebarkol [Chebrarkul], Ural Mountains, Soviet Union.
Jehudith's parents
Her father, Zisza Zisman Zamiczkowski, was born in November [18,] 1920 in Łódź, to a secular family. In fact they were totally atheist and active members of the Bund communist (?) [socialist] anti-Zionist movement. Zisza went to a primary school of the Bund Jewish Primary School Network. Afterwards he started working in a textile plant.
Her mother, Tajbe Zalcberg, was born on November 20, 1920 in Krynki, not far from Bialystok, a small village with a 90% Jewish population. As there were seven at home, Tajbe was sent to Pabianice not far from Łódź, to Aunt Szprinze, her mother's sister. Aunt Szprinze ran a pastry shop, a cukiernia. She was murdered during the war. In Pabianice, Tajbe was a member of the Bund movement, where she met Zisza Zamiczkowski when she was 14. They were never to part.
Zisza and Tajbe married in October-November 1939 and had three children.
Jehudith's paternal family
Her grandfather Menachem [Chaim] Mendel Zamiczkowski was born in Łódź. He was secular and used to work in the textile industry. He became ill and died ~ 1928 – 29 [1929].
Yehudith's grandmother Leah Laja Rachel Zajdman was born on July 20, 1892 in Łódź. Her parents were Jozef and Hinda Zajdman. She lived with her son Zisza's family once he got married. She survived and immigrated to Israel in 1950. Leah died in 1978 in Israel. Zisza was their only child.
Jehudith's maternal family
Her grandfather Nachum Zalcberg was born on November 5, 1890 in Pabianice. His parents were Abraham and Ruda Zalcberg. From the time he married, he worked as a tailor in a small workshop. During WW1, Nachum volunteered to the Piłsudski army (Piłsudski was a Polish hero and Polish Prime Minister). The Piłsudski army cooperated with Germany against the Soviet Union. He was decorated for his service by the Germans. For some time his unit was near Krynki, where he met Chaja his wife.
Jehudith's grandmother Chaja Szuster was born on July 16, 1898 in Krynki. Nachum and Chaja had five children:
- Tajbe, the interviewee's mother.
- Rosa, married to Vardi Werobejczyk from Suwalki, north of Białystok. They had four children, among them: Perla Penina and Sara. The family survived and immigrated to Israel in 1950.
- Gitel, married first to Kalman X after the war and had one daughter, Channa, born in July 1947. After she divorced, she immigrated to Israel in 1950; she married Moshe Rubin in Israel and had two sons.
- Abraham, was born in 1931. As a child he was in the Soviet Union, where he was a member of the Hashomer Ha-Tsair socialist Zionist youth movement. He immigrated to Israel in 1948 with his Hashomer Ha-Tsair group. In Israel he married Stella from Bulgaria and had two daughters.
- Gerszon Grisza, was born on 18.5.1932. As a child he was in the Soviet Union. He immigrated to Israel in 1950.
Nachum and Chaja survived and immigrated to Israel in 1950. He died in 1962 and Chaja died in the 80s, both in Israel.
In September 1939, the whole family was in Pabianice. Under the pressure and the leadership of grandfather Nachum Zalcberg, the two families decided to run away to the Soviet Union. Grandfather Nachum, who served in the Piłsudski pro-German army during WW1, applied to the German Werhmacht and demanded a laisser-passer to the Soviet Union for the whole family, in recognition of his services to Germany… and on the 19.10.1930 he got it (see documentation pic no 0007) The laisser-passer allowed free movement from Pabianice to Krynki, located directly on the border, and had validity until November 3, 1939.
Before the families left Łódź, Zisza Zamiczkowski and Tajbe Zalcberg, the interviewee's parents, got married at the City Council. Grandmother Chaja Zalcberg bought the ring. They were not interested in Chupa Ve-Kiduszim (a Jewish religious marriage ceremony). They never had a Jewish marriage ceremony.
Grandfather Nachum and Chaja Zalcberg, and four of their children (Rosa, Gitel, Abraham, Gerszon) stayed in Krynki for a while and later went to the south of the Soviet Union. Aunt Szprinze's family, who left with Nachum and Chaja, decided to return to Pabianice and were all murdered.
Zisza, Tafbel and grandmother Leah Rachel went directly to the Soviet Union, to Aktiubinsk [Aktyubinsk], Tchelabinsk [Chelyabinsk], and Tchebarkul [Chebrarkul] in the Ural Mountains. The wanderings were forced upon the family which was dependant on available work. Zisza worked in different construction plants; Tajbel was a geriatric nurse and from time to time she worked in a sewing workshop.
The two groups kept in touch constantly.
Life in the Ural Mountains was very hard. They suffered from the cold and hunger. Fortunately, they were never harmed as Jews. Zisza and Tajbel had three children:
- Mendale Mendel, was born in 1940 in the Ural Mountains, Soviet Union. He was a sick baby and died in 1942, mainly because of the living conditions.
- Jehudith Hinda Genia, the interviewee.
- Abraham, was born in 1948 in Dzierżoniów. He married Drora Peszer in Israel in 1970 and has two children. Abraham had a military career in the Air Force. In addition, he studied History at Haifa University and has a BA Degree. After he retired from the army, he became a tourist guide.
In 1945, the two branches of the family returned to Poland and met in Dzierżoniów. Only the young brother of grandmother Leah Rachel Zamiczkowski, Gdale Gdalja Zajdman, remained in Poland until he immigrated to Israel in 1958 (in the Gomulka immigration).
Back in Poland, Jehudith's parents renewed their Bund activity and contact with their friends who survived the Holocaust.
Jehudith was sent to a kindergarten of the Bund network. Her parents were active employees of the Bund. Zisza's uncle, Abraham Albert Zalcberg, who had emigrated to Australia at the beginning of the 1900s, sent them immigration certificates in January 1948, but the family decided not to live in Australia.
In 1950 the family immigrated to Israel. They spent short periods in several transit camps for olim, new immigrants (Shaar Aliya, Pardess Hanna). Zisza started working in a textile plant in Netanya. They lived for a short period in Shchunat Shapira in Tel Aviv and then moved to Shikun Amidar in Bat-Yam, where they lived until their demise. Zisza, Jehudith's father, died in 1974. Tajbe, Jehudith's mother, died in 1987.
Jehudith was recruited into Zahal (I.D.F.) in 1962. She served as a technical clerk in the Armed corps where she met Moshe Glanz. His family came from Chust in Czechoslovakia (today Ukraine) and immigrated to Palestine in 1928. His mother was from Transilvania, Hungary and she immigrated in 1930. Moshe was born on the Moshava Gan Yavne in December 1940. During WW2, Moshe volunteered to the Jewish Brigade of the British army, fought the Nazis in Europe and was taken prisoner by the Germans.
Jehudith and Moshe married on June 1963. They have two children:
[…]
In 1971 the family moved to Arad, where Moshe was a teacher for many years. He was also one of the producers of the Arad Music Festival. Today, Moshe is a pensioner and had developed carpentry as a hobby. Jehudith has a BSW Degree in Social Work from Bar-Ilan University, and a MSW Degree from Ben-Gurion University, but she worked for many years as an accountant in the Welfare Department of Arad Municipality. In Modiin she is in charge of the welfare department at the Union of Local Authorities in Israel (part time).
Jehudith and Moshe, together with Abraham, Yehudith's brother, and the sisters Sara and Penina Jehudith's cousins, visited Poland, on a heritage journey, in March 2004. They visited Dzierżoniów, Pabianice, Krynki, Łódź.
