Two teenagers walk through a snowy street in the Pocking displaced persons' camp.
Overview
- Caption
- Two teenagers walk through a snowy street in the Pocking displaced persons' camp.
Zvi Hirsh Brill is on the right. - Date
-
1946
- Locale
- Pocking [Bayern] Germany
- Photo Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Harry Brill
Rights & Restrictions
- Photo Source
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumProvenance: Harry Brill
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Biography
- Harry Brill (born Zvi Hirsch Brill) is the son of Shmuel Brill and Gita (Genya) Schifmiller Brill (b. 1901). Zvi was born on March 10, 1930 in Brody, where his parents owned a brewery. Zvi Hirsch had three older sisters, Basha (Bess), (b. 1920) and Hindzia (b. 1923) and Clara (b.1925). The family kept kosher and observed the Sabbath. After Shmuel passed away in 1935, Genya had to run the business on her own as well as care for her four children. On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland starting World War II. Brody, which was located in eastern Poland near Lvov, fell under Soviet occupation. The Soviet regime confiscated the Brill's brewery. Then in June 1941 Germany launched a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union and occupied Brody. Almost immediately afterwards German units and Ukrainian collaborators began rounding up Jews and shooting them in the woods outside the town. In July, a few weeks after the invasion, Zvi went out one day to play with friends. While he was gone, his mother, Basha and Hindzia were taken away and killed. Zvi remained with his sister Clara. When the ghetto was created the following year, they moved in together with an aunt and uncle, Chaim and Esther Shapira. The Germans liquidated the ghetto on May 21, 1943. Zvi went into a bunker with his aunt and uncle; his sister hid elsewhere. After a few days, she sent two men to pick up Zvi and bring him to her hiding place. A few days later, the Germans discovered the bunker and killed those inside including the Shapira family. Zvi and Clara, together with 21 other Jews, hid in a castle owned by a Polish princess who was living there with a German Nazi. Many, but not all of the Jews, paid for their protection. After a few months, it became too dangerous to remain in the castle and Zvi and Clara had to leave. They spent the next half year going from farm to farm in small villages and hiding in forests. During the winter of 1944 they were liberated by Soviet partisans in the forests near Dubnow. They remained in Dubnow for a short while. Clara married another survivor, Izik Zwanger. Zvi, his sister and brother-in-law next traveled to Lvov where they stayed until they received permission to go to Poland. After arriving in Poland, Tzvi left his sister and joined a Dror Zionist youth group in Bitom. The youth group traveled together through Czechoslovakia, Austria and eventually came to the Rosenheim displaced persons' camp. In July 1947 Zvi attempted to immigrate to Palestine on board the Exodus 1947. After the British forcibly returned the passengers to Europe, Zvi was interned in Poppendorf until he finally came to Israel on the Providence. Zvi rejoined the Dror group and lived first in Kibbutz Chulata and then Kibbutz Chakuk. In 1950 Zvi joined Kibbutz Lochamei Haghettaot where he met and married Edna Shurek.
- Record last modified:
- 2008-02-14 00:00:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1164668
