Mania Birnberg collection about Mary Barys

Mania Nussenbaum Birnberg (born Mania Nussenbaum, 1922-2010) was born on 13 September 1922 in Zborów, Poland (Zboriv, Ukraine) to Natan Nisan Nussenbaum (b. 1900) and Amalia Wolfzahn Nussenbaum (b. 1895). She had one brother, Bumek (Abraham), and one sister, Ryfka (Regina). The Nussenbaum family were religious, and owned a small brewery, a mill, and produced vinegar in their cellar. In 1942 family friend Golda Schächter and her children Martin and Frieda fled Skalat (Ukraine) and were hidden by Marysia Barys (now Mary Barys Szul), who lived in the small village of Gaje Kajdanowe (today Kudinivitsi) near Zborów. Marysia expressed a willingness to hide others, and Golda wrote to the Nussenbaum family in the Zborów ghetto. As a large number of Nazis approached the ghetto, Mania and another young woman escaped. Mania reached Marysia’s house and was hidden there until they were liberated by the Soviet Army. In May 1945 Mania, Golda, and her children moved to Opole briefly, and then to Salzburg. Mania’s family were deported from Zborów and perished at the Bełżec Killing Center. She married Joseph Birnberg in 1947 and they immigrated to the United States in 1951.