As the youngest survivors of the Holocaust leave the travails of this world, which for them has been worse than for most, we are losing the first person testimony of their experiences and memories.
Some, however, are losing their memories before they leave this earthly plane, as dementia rears its ugly head, robbing them of more of today’s memories than the nightmares that have haunted them for a lifetime.
For Menucha Eisenbach, however, dementia is robbing her of an even greater joy. Until recently, before going to bed, for the last nearly 10 years, she would review the names of her children (4), grandchildren (20) and great grandchildren (almost 40 and growing), all living in Israel. This would provide her nightly naches as well as expressing her gratitude to Hashem, and underscoring the revenge she had against the Nazis, imach shemam.
Menucha’s list of grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Menucha (Cornelia ) née Greenbaum was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1938. Two of her sisters were born in the Work Camps. In 1942, her father, a textile merchant, paid a client to hide him, his wife and his family (5 children) in a bunker in the countryside, where the client and his wife fed them for over a year. After the war, they returned to Bratislava.
Menucha’s worst memory of the war was being attacked by a dog, whom she counted as a friend.
In 1949, Menucha’s family made Aliyah to Petach Tikvah, to join one of their daughters, who had made Aliyah before the war, and in 1960, she married Arieh Eisenbach, who had also made Aliyah in 1949, having survived the war in Siberia, where he was sent when he said he wanted to go live in America.
Baruch Hashem, Menucha and Arieh meritted the rare miracle of surviving the Holocaust with both their nuclear families intact. Arieh wrote a book about his wartime experiences called Fishing in the Sea of Memories. Unfortunately, his mind has also become surrounded by the fog of time.
Menucha and Arieh on their wedding day.
The Eisenbachs have lived a regular life, raising their family. Menucha worked as a teacher and then a medical secretary. Arieh worked as a bookkeeper, and then as a manager in an insurance company.
Arieh’s 90th birthday celebration (till 120) with all his and Menucha’s descendants to date.
They tragically lost their youngest son Yirad Dov, z”l to cancer, when he was in his 30s, after giving them four grandchildren.
Resilient and grateful as many Holocaust survivors are, Menucha would revisit her blessings every night, glowing in the pride of her and Arieh’s contribution to the Jewish people, and the nascent State.
Their memories might be fading, but Menucha and Arieh’s legacy is still growing, Ken Yirbu! And, my first granddaughter, may she live a long life, is part of that legacy.
Rosally Saltsman is a freelance writer, originally from Montreal, who lives in Israel. Come join her!
