Levin-Cernocky-Zur families
In 2018, a certificate was awarded to Ze'ev-Wolf Cernotsky, whose story is presented by Saul Tzur of Kibbutz Nir David: My parents immigrated to Israel from Vilnius in 1938 and established Kibbutz Amir in the Hula Valley. Most of their family members remained in Vilnius and were murdered in the Ponary forest. The names of the executed family members: the family of the mother - father Aryeh Leib Levin, his wife Leah, brother Saul, his wife Fania and their little daughter Rochla and brother Shalom. Mother Mania's older sister moved to Russia before the war but no contact was made between them after the war.
Dad's Family - Yitzhak Cernotsky Mother Esther and Brother Ze'ev Wolf. Dad's older brother moved to Russia before the war, and lived in Poland for years. Over the years my parents told me very little about my grandparents and their family's experiences. Only about 5 years before my mother's death in 2004, she gave me letters sent from Vilnius in 1940-1941 from my mother's and my father's parents and her brother Saul that I was named after. Among other things, she gave me the original invitation for her brother Saul's wedding in Vilnius in 1936. She couldn't attend the wedding, but she kept the invitation with her all those years and eventually handed it to me. The letters really moved me, because we are a generation who grew up without grandparents, and here are some tangible things from them that I never knew existed.About 3 years ago I read in the papers, an article by Professor Lapidot of Herzliya, who applied to the University of Vilnius for a diploma for his relative whose university studies were discontinued because of the war. Indeed, the university welcomed it, and launched a project called "Recovering Memory," which aims to give diplomas to students whose studies were discontinued due to the war, both those killed in the Holocaust and those who survived. The certificates are awarded to Jews, Poles and Lithuanians.I remembered that my grandfather's letters mentioned that my father's brother Ze'ev Wolf is studying at the University of Vilnius. I contacted Professor Lapidot and he referred me to the University of Vilnius. I passed them the letters on Ze'ev Wolf, but due to language problems I left the matter. In March 2018, I received a message from Lapidot, saying that Vilnius University would like to invite me and my family to the diploma awarding to Wolf, my father's brother. The university sent me the papers they had about a him, and a picture of him just like the one I had.
In April-2018, just on Holocaust Day, we went to Vilna. My sister Esther and her daughter Daphne, my brother Gadi's son Roy, Tamar, my wife and I. The ceremony at the university was very impressive and exciting, attended by the Israeli ambassador to Lithuania. Before the trip, we contacted an Israeli guide who lives for many years in Vilnius. We sent him the addresses where my father and mother lived, as well as the address where brother Saul lived and he was able to find the addresses. We visited the three houses that exist to date. We also visited the Ponary forest and there, near the memorial to the murdered Jews we did a short ceremony in memory of our dear family members who were murdered here. The trip to Vilnius was very exciting and difficult and it closed a family circle that was open for many years.
Delivered by the family
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