Miriam Biegun

"Nobody should go through what we went through. People should not fight or hate each other. I thank G-d that I have two beautiful grandchildren and that I have been married for over 55 years."

Name at birth

Miriam Rozwaski

Date of birth

07/06/1937

Where were you born?

Zhetyl, Poland (now Belarus)

Name of father, occupation

David, Cattle dealer

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Batya Deletitski, Homemaker

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents and four children: Riva, Chaim, Miriam and Yechiel

How many in entire extended family?

Over 120

Who survived the Holocaust?

My sister Riva, my brother Chaim, my uncle Solomon Rozawski and myself

The Germans came to Zhetyl in June, 1941. My father and his older brother, Dov, were killed with a group of 120 prominent Jews when the Germans first came. The Jews of Zhetyl were put into a ghetto.

When I was 4½ years old, I saw the Germans kill my mother and my 6-month old baby brother, Yechiel, during a mass killing in the beginning of 1942. They were shot into a mass grave. “I have to live with this memory all of my life.”

We were all taken to an old Jewish cemetery for a selection. We were standing in a line. The Germans took twenty of us at a time. From the twenty they selected trades people to live, to go to the right and the others to be killed. My mother pushed me to be with my uncle who worked in a mill. My uncle said I was his daughter.

Afterwards, we went back to the ghetto. I then went to stay with a Christian family for a short while. They were my father’s friends who took care of our farm. At night, my uncle used to come to them to get food. A neighbor discovered that they were hiding a Jewish child. They took me to the Lipiczanski forest to join my sister, brother and uncle.

My uncle, my aunt, my brother Chaim and my sister Riva and I lived for three years in hiding in the forest. We were protected by the Partisans. We lived in an underground bunker. Chaim is now the Chief Rabbi of Berlin, Germany.

My uncle, aunt, their son, and I were in a DP camp in Germany for three years. We then went to Israel in 1949. I married my husband, Sam Biegun, in November, 1954.

I was a student in Israel and later worked for Keren Kayemet, Jewish National Fund for Israel. My sister and brother were living in Canada. In 1959, my husband, our baby daughter Batya and I moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba. After the war, my sister and brother were taken in by sponsors to live in Winnipeg. We later moved to Windsor.

Name of Ghetto(s)

Zhetel

Where were you in hiding?

Lupuczahnski Forest for three years

What DP Camp were you after the war?

Yes, for three years

Where did you go after being liberated?

Israel

When did you come to the United States?

September, 1969

Occupation after the war

Worked for Jewish National Fund for Israel

Spouse

Samuel, Carpenter

Children

Batya and Lisa

Grandchildren

Zachary and Rachel

What do you think helped you to survive?

I believe that my mother wanted me to survive to be able to tell our story.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

Nobody should go through what we went through. People should not fight or hate each other. I thank G-d that I have two beautiful grandchildren and that I have been married for over 55 years.