Rachel Leizerson

Title: My Story
Author: Rachel Leizerson
Publisher: Self Published
Place of publication: Melbourne
Year of Publication: 1990
Location of Book: Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre, Melbourne
Cities/town/camps: Poland: Lomza, Szczuczyn, Grajewa, Radzilowa, Wroclaw, Bialystok, Siberia (Russia): Omsk, Bolshe-Huki, Znamenka, Sever (Russia): Hante-Pitler, Pedulka, Solikhard Gorki
Note: those cities/towns/camps underlined are those which are most central to the narrative

Rachel Leizerson’s memoir was written for a small audience; the short, privately published book was originally written to tell Leizerson’s children and grandchildren about her life before and during World War II. 87 pages in length, My Story was made available to the public by Leizerson’s daughter, Leah Blatt, in 1990, a year after Leizerson’s death. Pages 1-11 of the book serve as an introduction, telling briefly of the central events that occurred in those years of Leizerson’s life: her family before the war, their deportation to Siberia, and the death of her husband in a labour camp. Pages 12-20 focus on Leizerson’s memories of life before the war, describing in some detail various members of her family. Pages 21-79 relate in detail the deportation of Leizerson, her husband and their children to Siberia, and their experiences there. Finally, pages 80-91 tell of Leizerson’s return to Poland with her children after the war, and their brief time there before leaving for Australia. When Leizerson wrote her book for her family, it was written in Yiddish. It was translated into English before being made available to the public by her daughter.

Leizerson was born in Lomza in 1898, and grew up in Szczuczyn, in eastern Poland. When the war began, Leizerson was living in Radzilowa, where she worked as a teacher. Along with the rest of eastern Poland, Radzilowa came under Russian rule when Poland was divided between the Russians and the Germans. Whilst My Story covers over six years of Leizerson’s life, it is clear that the most important day for her in those six years was June 21, 1941. On this day, Leizerson and her three children were ordered by Russian officers to leave their home, and were taken on a transport to Siberia. Her husband was also taken, separately, but they were soon temporarily united. Terrified, and initially devastated, Leizerson would later find out that on that very same day the Germans invaded Radzilowa and Szczuczyn. Ironically, being exiled by the Russians saved the lives of Leizerson and her children; the rest of her family were killed by the Nazis.

The transport from Radzilowa initially took Leizerson and her children to the village of Omsk, where they were separated from her husband for what would be the last time; only years later did Leizerson find out about the death of her husband. They were then moved to the Siberian town of Bolshe-Huki, where for one year Leizerson worked in order to make ends meet – first as a waitress, and later, as a librarian. From Bolshe-Huki, Leizerson and her children were once again forced to move, this time to the Sever. In total, they spent a period of around five years in the Sever, periodically being forced to move from one place to another; they found themselves in Hante-Pitler, Pedulka, and Gorki. During this time, Leizerson worked as a shopkeeper in order to keep her family alive. On numerous occasions, Leizerson found herself in dangerous situations; once, she nearly drowned whilst fulfilling work duties. She often encountered bribery and corruption, and witnessed people she knew being ‘informed against’ and then disappearing. Her family endured many hardships, but Leizerson also describes friendships that she formed and the kind gestures offered by various people.

Finally, in 1945, Leizerson managed to obtain permission to return to Poland. She and her children made the long and arduous journey there, not yet realising that her extended family were no longer there. Upon arrival, Leizerson managed to organise papers for immigration to Australia. She was eager to leave as soon as possible; it was difficult for her to return to Poland, and even though the war was over, anti-Semitism amongst Poles was not uncommon. Nevertheless, Leizerson was keen to find out as much as possible about her family, so she and her children remained in Poland for some months before finally leaving for Australia.

My Story is a very personal, detailed account. The book ends with a plea to her grandchildren and great grandchildren to read the book; Leizerson felt very passionately that her descendants should know about the war and about her own experiences. That this book was made available to the public is a credit to both Leizerson and her daughter. This short yet powerful book leaves the reader feeling as if he or she has been privileged to hear a tragic, personal story being candidly told by a mother to her children.