Berek Lewkowicz
Title: A Boy from BedzinAuthor: Berek Lewkowicz
Publisher: Makor Jewish Community Library
Place of publication: Melbourne, Australia
Year of Publication: 2014
Location of Book: LAMM Jewish Library of Australia
Cities/town/camps: Poland – Koniecpol,Bedzin,Przemsyl, Lvov, Gleiwitz, Czechoslovakia –Terezin; Post-war: Poland – Bedzin, Peterswaldau; Hungary – Budapest; Germany – Ferenwald DP Camp; France – Paris; Israel; Australia – Melbourne.
A Boy From Bedzin is the memoir of Berek Lewkowicz. His memoir is divided into three sections – the first section briefly discusses his family’s background and life before the war in Koniecpol and Bedzin (pages 1-4); the majority of this book (pages 5-145) describes the six long years that Berek spent in forced labour camps and his incarceration in the small fortress prison at Terezin; the remainder of the memoir portrays Berek’s liberation, return to health, marriage, life in Paris and Israel and then settling in Australia (pages 146-170). At the end of the book (pages 171-185), Berek has included numerous family photographs of his children and grandchildren.
Berek Lewkowicz was the second child in the family, the only son with four sisters. He was born to Moishe and Gitel Lewkowicz on 19 November 1922 in Koniecpol, a small town about 35 kilometres from Czestochowa in southwest Poland. In 1937, the family moved to Bedzin to be with his paternal grandparents.
The Germans entered Bedzin on 9 September 1939. Their first act was to burn down the main synagogue with a large number of Jews trapped inside. Berek watched this scene unfold from his bedroom window. Not long after this incident, Berek decided to take his chances and flee to Russian occupied Poland. He made his way to Zurawica, crossed River San to Przemsyl and ended up in Lvov where he set up a business supplying the people of Przemsyl with bread he purchased for one zloty in Lvov. After six weeks, Berek returned to Bedzin where he remained until late 1942 when he was sent on a train to a labour camp in Gleiwitz (35 kilometres from Oswiecim and later a sub-camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau). There he was tattooed with the number 187281 and ordered to work building railways. It was September 1943. He never saw his parents again.
Berek remained in Gleiwitz labour camp until 18 January 1945. His resourcefulness and quick thinking had led to successes in bribing officials and smuggling, trading goods and having enough bread to eat. The SS evacuated the camp and the prisoners began a forced death march into Germany. As the Red Army was advancing so swiftly, the inmates were taken back to Gleiwitz and put on a crowded cattle train to Czechoslovakia. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, Berek found himself in the small fortress town of Terezin on the 27/28 January 1945.
In the Small Fortress prison at Terezin, conditions were horrific. Severe overcrowding, lack of food and the brutality of the Ukrainian guards took their toll. On the morning of 5 May, the Czechs liberated the prison camp. Berek was barely alive. He weighed 33 kilograms and his body was infected with lice. The Red Cross looked him after until he was well enough to return to Bedzin where he discovered that his parents and two sisters had been murdered in Auschwitz. His sister Rusha had survived. It wasn’t until 1956 that Berek discovered his older sister Lola has also survived.
After the war, Rusha and Berek made their way across Europe to Ferenwald Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Germany. There he married Hanka Alterwein on 11 September 1946. After discovering an uncle in Paris, the young married couple went to Paris where Berek learnt how to make jackets and run a successful business. Suzanne, their daughter was born in Paris on 12 April 1948. As Rusha had migrated to Israel, Berek was determined to go there as well. Hanka, Berek and Suzanne lived in Israel and their son Morris was born in 1951. In 1958, the family settled in Australia. Berek worked for Swiss Models, a clothing manufacturer and then ran his own stall, selling shoes at the South Melbourne Market.
A Boy From Bedzin is fast paced and keeps the reader riveted. His narrative is marked by its depth and attention to detail. This memoir is a fitting testimony to a young man’s strength, courage, resilience and determination to survive.