Chasia Zilenski (Michles)
Before entering the Kovno Ghetto
When the Germans occupied Lithuania and were approaching Kovno, the Lithuanians started persecuting the Jews and prevented them from escaping.
Natan Michles (Hasia’s uncle) lived on one side of the railway tracks and Yakov (her father) on the other. The plan was that Natan would come over to Yakov’s side and they would escape together on the train. Yakov waited but Natan didn’t arrive because he saw people running towards the train and decided to join them. He left on the train from Lithuania to Tashkent and his brother remained in Kovno. The following day all the borders were closed.
Saba and Savta Michles lived on the “Green Mountain”. On their way to the ghetto they swapped apartments and went to live in Slobodka. After the war, Saba Yakov received ownership of the apartment and sold it.
Genia’s parents were murdered in 1941 right at the beginning, either by the Germans or by the Lithuanians.
In the Kovno Ghetto
Yakov worked as an electrician and after that, in the Ministry of Transport. Reizel, Hasia’s mother, worked at Wehrstatten - a clothes factory for German soldiers. When the Germans found out that the Russians were approaching, they started moving people in the ghetto towards the west. This was in August 1944. They were moved to the a camp where my father worked at the Ministry of Transport and I worked in the children’s brigade.
Hasia is separated from her mother in the children’s action on 27.3.44
One day a transport vehicle with colored glass arrived and took all the children, including Hasia. The adults were taken in another transport. Hasia got out of the vehicle to look for her mother. Her mother left with her parents to search for Hasia and reached the vehicle where Hasia had been, and stayed there. All the children in the vehicle were sent to their deaths. She never saw her mother again.
Noni, Genia’s son, was also taken in this action. Genia came back from work and couldn’t find her son. Her husband was sick and died a month later.
From that day on Yakov took Hasia with him to work every day. It was here that Genia, Yakov and Hasia met each other.
Like all the men, Yakov was on the list to be sent to Dachau so he asked Genia to take care of Hasia and hopefully one day they would all meet together again.
The men were sent to Dachau, which was to the west towards Germany, and the women were sent to Stutthof in northern Poland. This was in August 1944.
On arrival they were given clothes and a yellow star. There were gas chambers in the showers too. This was an extermination camp, nobody worked there. During roll-call, Genia fainted and Hasia yelled at her to get up because otherwise if she showed signs of weakness, she wouldn’t be sent to work, it would be a death sentence.
They stayed there for three weeks, after which they were taken to a number of places where they worked digging with hoes for the soldiers. They were relocated a number of times and had to live in tents.
One day while returning from work, Genia told Hasia to go into one of the houses belonging to a non-Jew and ask for food. When Hasia entered a woman was feeding her son. She gave some food to Hasia too, but told her son who was refusing to eat: “If you don’t eat up, the Jew girl will take you away”. At the same time, Genia made her way to a different house where a German starting beating her so hard she began to bleed.
Genia wanted to go back to Stutthof because she had no strength left. Hasia started crying and begged her not to go back because it was an extermination camp.
Liberation: 23.1.1945
They were in the forest. They had lice and no food. The Germans were no longer there.
Some young girls who left the forest to search for food were stopped by a Russian patrol. The girls told them about the camp in the forest. The Russian in charge was a Jew who arrived on a white horse. He told them: “I am Jewish. We are at war. Whoever has strength to walk go in this direction, we’ll come back later on for anyone who can’t manage (apparently they didn’t come back and people died there).
Finally they reached a town and found shelter in a building. They sent the mothers and the children to Kovno. The older women were sent to work for the Russians.
In Kovno they were moved into the synagogue. Genia found a space for Hasia. They managed to find out that Natan had also come back to Kovno and Hasia was taken to him. Natan took her to the orphanage, after having told her not to tell them he was her uncle.
Genia lived with a rich man until Yakov came back. Later on Natan moved to Vilna and they followed afterwards.
The Story of Hasia Zilenski, née Michles as written by her granddaughter, Roni Michles
Personal details:
Genia’s maiden name – Koplanski
Her sister – Batya
Her husband – Efraim Reivman
Yakov’s parents – Leah and Yitzchak Michles.
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