Bendet Lewkowicz
"Stay Jewish"
Name at birth
Bendet Lewkowicz
Date of birth
11/10/1924
Name of father, occupation
Peretz,
Shoemaker
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Sara Klein,
Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and nine children: Hersz Moishe, Chaim Itzik, Meyer, Baijla (Bela), Rushka (Rose), Bronka (Brenda), Bendet, Helka (Helen), Eva
How many in entire extended family?
Large extended family
Who survived the Holocaust?
Myself, Bajla (Bienenstock), Brenda (Marczak), Rose (Bernbaum), Eva (Wimmer), and Helen (Kosuch).
I remember in one of the camps, another Jew got a hold of candle to light for Shabbos (the Sabbath). The Jewish fellow was hiding the lit candle in the rafters. The guard saw the candlelight and took the man away. We could hear him screaming the Kaddish (the memorial prayer for the dead), “Yisgadel viyiskadesh shema rabah” (May G-d’s name be glorified).
Another time I was working forced labor in a coal mine and was very weak from lack of food. I stopped for a second. The guard saw that I stopped working and made me bend over by the oven there; they took a 2x4 board and broke it over my back. I blacked out. Years later I ran into another survivor at a Survivor Gathering in New York, he was so happy to see me; he witnessed that beating and thought I had been killed. I’ve had back problems all of my life since then.
Name of Ghetto(s)
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Occupation after the war
Painter
Spouse
Esther,
Seamstress
Children
Jack, information technology Morry, attorney
Grandchildren
Five
What do you think helped you to survive?
I hoped that the war would end and that I would live to another day .
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Stay Jewish
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
04/04/2011
Experiences
Survivor's map
