Owners of an electical store pose at its entrance, with friends.
Overview
- Caption
- Owners of an electical store pose at its entrance, with friends.
Among those pictured is Aharon Behar (standing in back, wearing glasses) and his friend and business partner Aleksander Todorov (far right). - Date
-
Circa 1935
- Locale
- Skopje, [Macedonia] Yugoslavia
- Variant Locale
- Skoplje
Uskub - Photo Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Bienonida Behar Ezoory
Rights & Restrictions
- Photo Source
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumProvenance: Bienonida Behar Ezoory
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Biography
- Bienonida Behar (later Ezoory) was born on April 7, 1939 in Skopje, Yugoslavia (now Macedonia) to Aharon and Rebeka Koen Behar. Aharon was the son of Moshe Behar, a rabbi who moved to Skopje in 1919. In Skopje, Aharon owned several electric stores with his non-Jewish business partner, Aleksander Todorov. Aharon and Rebeka were close friends with Aleksander and his wife Blaga, and during Bienonida’s first years the families spent a great deal of time together.
On April 6, 1941, Yugoslavia was overcome by Axis forces, and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria, with Skopje falling under Bulgarian control. Bulgarian authorities soon passed antisemitic laws that restricted the everyday lives of the Jewish community. In October, Jews were banned from engaging in industry or commerce, and all existing Jewish businesses had three months to transfer ownership or sell their assets to non-Jews, forcing Aharon to relinquish his share of the business to his partner, Aleksander.
Aleksander and Blaga, concerned for their friends’ safety, arranged transport for the Behar family to Albania. On the trip, the group noticed police at the border and, fearing arrest, they returned to Skopje. On March 11, 1943, the Jewish population of Skopje was rounded up by Bulgarian and German forces and taken to the Monopol tobacco warehouse, chosen for its ability to hold a large number of people and its proximity to the railroad. Before they left, Rebeka and Aharon were able to hide Bienonida with the Todorovs. The Skopje Jews held at Monopol were soon joined by the Jewish communities of Bitola and Stip, with the result that virtually the entire Jewish population of Macedonia was imprisoned in Monopol. They were given little food and few blankets, and were searched, beaten, and humiliated. Later in March, they were loaded onto railroad cars and deported to the Treblinka killing center in German-occupied Poland. The majority were killed upon arrival.
Aleksander and Blaga changed Bienonida’s name to Kristina and raised her as their own daughter, though at great risk to themselves. They were visited from time to time by the Bulgarian authorities, who suspected that Bienonida was Jewish, and the couple sometimes sent her to live with Blaja’s parents in the countryside for her protection. In November 1944, Skopje was liberated. The Todorovs continued to raise Bienonida as their own daughter and, in an effort to protect her, did not tell her about her parents and their fate. In 1947, Blaga gave birth to a son, Sergai. That same year the Communists took over the family’s business. Their apartment and all their possessions were confiscated, including a package that had been left for Bienonida by her biological parents. The family fled to Opatia, Italy, but Aleksander and Blaga were imprisoned by communist forces there. Bienonida was left to care for baby Sergai on her own for two weeks, until Aleksander’s aunts arrived to take them to Belgrade. After three months, Blaga was released, returned to Skopje, and was reunited with Bienonida and Sergai. Aleksander was not released until 1952, when he was able to rejoin his family.
When she was 13 years old, Bienonida learned that the Todorovs were not her birth parents, and that she was Jewish. She consulted the Jewish community in Skopje, who confirmed this. Shortly after, she decided to immigrate to Israel. In October 1952, she left on the ship "Negba," with a few other Jewish children from Yugoslavia. Upon her arrival, she was sent to the Shaar Hamkim Kibbutz, and then later to Kibbutz Beit Zerach, where she remained for two years. In 1954 she enrolled in the army and served two years. After her military service, Bienonida studied nursing, but became a clothing model. In 1961, she married a man who ran a travel business. They had two children and three grandchildren. On January 6, 1980, Yad Vashem recognized Aleksandar and Blaga Todorov as Righteous Among the Nations.
- Record last modified:
- 2020-03-27 00:00:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1185173
