us-005578-irn7174
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn7174/alternateIDs/1
biographical history: Israel Yitzhak Miedzyrzecki was born on February 13, 1892, in Warsaw, Poland, to Berisch and Feiga Halberstadt Miedzyrzecki. He had 8 siblings and a large extended family. Israel was a tanner. He married Rivka Rybak, who was born on May 30, 1896, in Warsaw. They had four children: Stela, born 1916; Benjamin, born February 19, 1918; Mordecai, born 1922; and Genia, born May 21, 1934. Israel and Rivka spoke Yiddish and their children spoke Yiddish and Polish. Rivka was in poor health and they had a nanny for the children. The family was Orthodox. In 1937, Jewish ritual slaughter was severely limited and Israel no longer purchased meat for the family, refusing to allow non-Kosher meat in the household. In 1939, Israel’s son Mordecai planned to emigrate to the United States. Israel and Rivka were ashamed that Mordecai would leave and asked him to stay, so he did. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The city was bombed and the family hid in the basement. Warsaw resisted occupation until September 29. Israel’s son Benjamin got bread from the German soldiers because he did not appear Jewish and spoke unaccented Polish, unlike the rest of the family. Around October, Benjamin and a friend fled to eastern Poland. The Germans persecuted Jews and separated them from Polish society. On November 23, Jews had to wear Star of David armbands. Jews received less rations than Polish people and their stores were closed. Israel hid his leather so it would not be taken. His son Benjamin returned in December. Israel had been reluctant for Benjamin to leave but was unhappy that he returned. The ghetto was established on October 12, 1940, and sealed in November. Their apartment was already located in the ghetto and several people moved in with them. The ghetto was overcrowded and they had very little food. In late 1940, Israel’s son Benjamin became a forced laborer. He left the ghetto for work and took clothes to trade for food. Israel’s daughter Stela married Yitzhak Blachowicz in…
archival history: The mezuzah was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by Benjamin Meed, the son of Israel Miedzyrzecki Nahari.
record resource extent: overall: Height: 5.500 inches (13.97 cm) | Width: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Depth: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm)
date: 1945-approximately 1980, approximately 1945 January
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Hexagonal, gold colored, cast metal mezuzah with raised scrollwork edges and a small solid metal star at the top and bottom. A narrow, rectangular, metal, glass front case is inset into the center. A waxy red substance is present in the recessed cavity between the case and edges. The parchment scroll (klaf) is no longer present in the case. There are black Hebrew characters on a cream colored backing inside the case. The mezuzah has three small mounting screws at the top, bottom, and right side. There is a small, circular indentation on the left side for an additional screw. Backing, printed, ink : Hebrew characters [Shaddai/God Almighty]
title: Metal mezuzah found postwar and used by a Polish Jewish survivor
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
has or had holder: us-005578
has record set type: Item
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn7174/acquisitions/1
identifier: irn7174
has or had some members with language: heb
type: RecordSet
scope and content: Metal mezuzah found and used by Israel Miedzyrzecki (later Israel Nahari) after Warsaw was liberated in January 1945 and his family was able to come out of hiding and re-establish a home. He brought and used it as the family moved to Łódź, then Munich, Germany, and finally to Israel in 1947. The Torah states that every doorpost in a Jewish home should display a mezuzah klaf, a small parchment scroll inscribed with two prayers. The scroll is enclosed in a case and attached to the right doorpost to serve as a reminder of the covenant of faith and a notice of an observant Jewish home. Israel and his family, wife Rivka, and children Stela, Benjamin, Mordecai, and Genia, lived in Warsaw during the German occupation which began in September 1939. They were forced into the Jewish ghetto in October 1940. In July 1942, the Germans began mass deportations of Jews to Treblinka killing center. Israel was arrested in September, but bribed a policeman to return home. Stela and her husband Yitzhak Blachowicz were sent to Treblinka. In late 1942, Benjamin, who was in the resistance, persuaded Israel, Rivka, and Genia to join him in hiding outside the ghetto. In summer 1943, Mordecai was killed by the Germans. During the Warsaw Polish Uprising, August - October 1944, Israel, Rivka, and Genia were separated from Benjamin and went to Opoczno to live with a Polish family. They sent a message to Benjamin through the underground, and the family was reunited after the liberation of Warsaw on January 16, 1945. They lived in Warsaw, where Benjamin married Feigele (Vladka) Peltel, a resistance fighter and his companion during the war. The family went to Łódź and after the war ended in early May 1945, they went to Munich, Germany. In May 1946, Benjamin and Feigele sailed for America. Genia emigrated to Palestine in 1946 and Israel and Rivka joined her in 1947.