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Ratafia family papers

Document | Digitized | Accession Number: 2005.198.1

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    Ratafia family papers
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    Overview

    Description
    The Ratafia family papers primarily relate to the post-war experiences of Tema, Lazarz, George, and Helene Ratafia in Poland and France. The collection includes biographical papers, immigration documents, publications, and photographs. There is some material related to relatives the Ratafia family of Warsaw, Poland as well as Tema’s family, the Ginzburgs of Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania).

    The biographical material includes birth certificates, passports, marriage certificates, and immigration and naturalization papers. Tema’s papers include documents regarding her false name and Christian identity, Leokadia Rynkiewich, used during and after the war to hide her Jewish background. George’s papers contain a copy of a baptism certificate also used while Tema continued to use her false identity. Also included are orphanage papers of George and Helene’s, and a birth certificate of Josefa Mackiewicz.

    The printed materials contain three publications. Included is a copy of Dov Katzovich’s self-published memoir. Katzovich was related to Tema’s mother’s family. There is also a copy of Deutschland erwacht: Werden, Kampf und Sieg der NSDAP, often referred to as a cigarette album, which Gaston Ratafia carried with him as a cover while he fled Nazi-occupied Poland.

    The photographs chiefly contain photos of the Ratafia family in post-war Poland and France, along with relatives of the Ratafia and Ginzburg families. Included are photographs of Tema’s mother, brother, and sister; Lazarz’s father, brother, sister, and pre-war girlfriend; and Josefa Mackiewicz. There is also a photograph Tema’s sister, Eta Golde, at what is probably Feldafing displaced person’s camp in Feldafing, Germany. Additionally, there is a photograph album for the wedding of Samuel Lavner and Eveline Steinmiler in 1957.
    Date
    inclusive:  1871-2011
    bulk:  circa 1930-1964
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of George de Ratafia
    Collection Creator
    Ratafia family
    Biography
    Tema Ratafia (1925-2013, later Tema de Ratafia) was born in Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania) to Moise Ginzburg (b. 1886) and Rachel Rubenstein Ginzburg (b. 1899). Her father was a coal and wood merchant and her mother was a teacher. She had an older brother Benjamin (b. 1922) and a twin sister Eta (b. 1925, later Eda Golde). During the interwar years as life became difficult for Jews in Wilno, her father began to lose business and struggle financially. Shortly after the German occupation of Wilno in 1941, the Germans began issuing anti-Jewish decrees. By the end of August 1941, Tema’s grandmother and uncle had been shot in the Ponary forest along with around 35,000 other Jews. On September 6, 1941, the Germans established two ghettos in Wilno. Tema and her family were placed in the larger one. Tema's father received a work permit, but her mother did not. To assist the family Tema and her siblings found work within the ghetto, including cleaning the latrines. The ghetto was liquidated in 1943, and Tema’s mother and brother were sent to Stutthof concentration camp where they were killed. Her father was sent to Chelmno death camp and killed. During the liquidation, Tema and her friend Esther fled to the home of an acquaintance of her mother, Josefa Mackiewicz (b. 1871). She was willing to hide one child. Esther could not come with her to Josefa's house, and Tema did not want to leave her behind, so they left together and lived in the woods for a few days. They were caught and Esther was killed, but Tema managed to escape and return to Josefa's home. After a few weeks, an antisemitic neighbor discovered Tema and threatened to denounce Josefa. Both women fled to the home of Joseph Raugiewicz, a factory owner in Kalisz. Joseph provided Tema with false Christian papers claiming her name was Leokadia Rynkiewich, and Josefa had her baptized with the name Teresa. The Gestapo later arrested Joseph for harboring Jews, but his friend Piotr Piewcewicz warned Tema in time for her to escape. After a few weeks, the Gestapo released Joseph, and Tema returned to his home. Joseph sent Tema back to Josefa who at that time was also harboring a teacher, a lawyer, and a doctor, but he helped the women out financially. Josefa sheltered Tema until liberation. Lazarz Ludwig Ratafia (1915-1984) was born in Warsaw, Poland to Kopel and Elka Ratafia. He had one brother, Gaston, and one sister, Zosia. Lazarz’s experiences during the war are unknown. Gaston fled Poland wearing a swastika armband and carrying a copy of Deutschland Erwacht for cover. Zosia survived the war, but was killed in a post-war pogrom in Poland. After the war, Tema continued to use her false identity of Leokadia Rynkiewich for many years. She moved to Warsaw where she met Lazarz Ratafia. They married in 1948, and had two children, Helene (b. 1948) and George (b. 1950, later George de Ratafia). Tema insisted that Josefa live with them in gratitude for having saved her, and she stayed with them for the next ten years. Tema and Lazarz moved to Paris, France around 1956, and their children George and Helene spent some time in an orphanage. In 1953, an acquaintance of Tema's told her that she had met someone who looked just like her. In that way, Tema discovered that her twin sister Eta had survived and immigrated to the United States. In 1957, Tema immigrated to the United States to live with Eta. Her husband and children joined her two years later.

    Physical Details

    Genre/Form
    Photographs.
    Extent
    1 box
    1 oversize box
    System of Arrangement
    The Ratafia family papers are arranged as three series: Series 1: Biographical material, 1871-1964 (bulk 1940-1964); Series 2: Printed material, 1933-2011; Series 3: Photographs, circa 1920s-1958. All series arranged alphabetically.

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The Ratafia family papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by George de Ratafia in 2005, with an accretion in 2015. George de Ratafia is the son of Tema and Lazarz Ratafia.
    Record last modified:
    2023-02-24 14:22:21
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn522912