Fruma Gulkowitz-Berger papers

Fruma Gulkowitz-Berger (born Fruma Gulkowitz, also known as Frances Berger, 1918-1995) was born on 18 May 1918 in Lublin, Poland to Rochel (née Krynicky or Kriniki, 1885-1941) and Shlomo (1882-1942) Gulkowitz. She had three sisters, Feigel (1915-1942), Grunia (1909-1942), and Brina (1922-1942), and one brother, Ben-Zion. When Fruma was a child her family moved to Korelitz (Korelichi, Belarus), Poland. Her brother Ben-Zion married a woman named Judes and they had a daughter, Chaya (1939-1942). Her sister Grunia had a daughter, Miriam Weintraub (1936-1942).

After the outbreak of World War II, the Russians occupied Korelitz. By July 1941 the town was occupied by the German army. Fruma’s family, along with the rest of the Jews in town, were sent to the Korelitz ghetto. Fruma’s mother, Rochel, was killed in the ghetto on 27 December 1941 after being severely beaten by the police. In May 1942 the ghetto was closed and they were deported to the nearby Nowogródek ghetto (Navahrudak, Belarus). In August 1942, Fruma and her sister-in-law Judes hid in the ghetto outhouse with two other women. Around the same time, her brother Ben-Zion escaped with seven others including Murray Berger and joined the Bielski partisans, let by Tuvia Bielski. Several weeks after joining, Ben-Zion returned to the ghetto and rescued Fruma and Judes. They both then joined the partisans as well, participating in acts of sabotage and other forms of resistance.

After liberation by the Red Army, Fruma and Murray, whom she met while with the partisans, went to the Kibbutz Turda displaced persons camp in Romania in early 1945. They left in May 1945 and went first to Austria and then the Kibbutz Anzio DP camp in Italy. Fruma and Murray married while in Italy, and immigrated to the United States in 1947. They settled in New York and had two sons, Albert and Ralph.

Fruma’s father, sisters, and niece all perished on 7 August 1942 in the Nowogródek ghetto.

Murray Berger (born Mordechai Shmulewicz, 1912-1999) was born on 12 February 1912 in Wsielub, Belorussia (Vselyub, Belarus) to Abraham (born Abraham Berger, 1875-1941) and Sara (d. 1941) Shmulewicz. He had four brothers, Elliot (born Elia Shmulewicz, 1910-1998), Harry, Zemach (1902-1941), and Issak (1906-1942); and two sisters, Bluma (Bluma Bussel, 1908-1942) and Rachel (Rachel Fuks, 1904-1941). Murray’s father Abraham worked as a butcher, and changed the family name from Berger to Shmulewicz to avoid military service. Murray changed his last name back to Berger after immigrating to the United States. Before the war, Murray was studying to become a rabbi and lived in Vilna (Vilnius, Lithuania) for several year before moving back to Wsielub to care for his sick mother.

Once the war began, the Russians occupied Wsielub and anti-Semetic activities increased. On 25 December 1940 the police approached Murray’s house to arrest him but he managed to escape and flee Wsielub. He went to Nowogródek where he remained with his cousin Alter Nochimovski. On 5 December 1941 the Germans began preparing for mass executions by having large pits dug by slave Jewish labor. Murray escaped into the forest where he remained for the duration of the winter, surviving in part due to acts of kindness from local farmers. He eventually went back to the Nowogródek ghetto not knowing where else to go. He managed to sneak into the ghetto and remained there until August 1942 when he escaped the ghetto with seven other men in order to join the Bielski partisans. He met his future wife, Fruma Gulkowitz, while with the partisans.

Murray lost 126 members of his family in the Holocaust. His brother Harry immigrated to the United States prior to Murray’s birth. His brother Elliot was drafted into the Russian army where he was wounded. His wife was in the Nowogródek ghetto when she gave birth. The next day the Nazis killed her and their baby. Murray was able to get back in contact with Elliot after he and Fruma returned to Nowogródek after liberation. Elliot received leave to visit them and decided not to return to the army. He travelled with them to the DP camps and to the United States.