Lichtenstein and Tisch families photographs

Mania Lichtenstein was born in Włodzimierz Wołyński, Poland (presently Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Ukraine) in 1923 to Gerszon and Gitel Tisch. She had two older sisters, Rivka and Nechama. The family remained in Włodzimierz Wołyński through the Soviet occupation of the city in 1939. With the German invasion in 1941 the family faced increasing persecution and in February 1942 were forced in to the first of three ghettos to be designated in the city. In September 1942 German forces carried out a large mass killing action targeting Jews in the region. Mania's loved ones were among the victims who had been shot into pits near the village of Piatydnie. Mania remained as one the few residents of the Włodzimierz ghetto who had been spared to continue to carry out forced labor for German authorities, this included sorting clothing of victims to be sent to the Reich. Several months later during the liquidation of the ghetto Mania managed to escape with other young people. For a while Mania and other survivors hid in the stable of a Polish woman, Janina Zawadzka, who provided the group with shelter and food. The group eventually fled to the surrounding forests when their hiding place was no longer safe. Eventually the band of survivors arrived in Soviet held territory. During this period Mania met survivor Jozef Lichtenstein who had fled with a younger brother, Moniek. After liberation the couple returned to Włodzimierz where they married. Soon the couple resolved to emigrate from Europe and fled West. For a time the Mania and Jozef lived in the Eschwege displaced persons camp where they welcomed their first child. In 1951 the family departed for Canada where they settled and welcomed a second daughter.