Regina Almersky Revka Rovshitz

MAIL: b_alon1994@hotmail.com mayky995@walla.com  

Survivor: Code: RE AL 26 KA PO 

Family Name: Rovshitz
Previous Family Name: Almersky

First Name: Regina

Father Name: Zalik

Mother Name: Ester Malce
Brother Name: Samuel Zamek

Year of birth: 1926

Country ofbirth: Poland

City of Birth: Kalisz

Regina's Life

Regina was born in 1926 in a Polish town named Kalisz. Kalisz was a beautiful and historical city. It had all the important places for the Jews. Her father owned a clothing store. In World War 2, the Nazis forbidden the Christians to buy clothes from her father's store, but they did anyway.   She earned her education from a Jewish school until she was 13 years old. She had an older Brother - Samuel Zamek. He finished High-School just when the war started. Her mother's name was Ester Malka and her father's name was Zelik.  When the war started, Regina and her family moved to her father's house, which was still in the Polish domain. Later, Germany transferred them to Warsaw, before the Ghetto was built. Using money and favoritism, Regina and her family moved to Ghetto Lodz. They lived there for 4 years. When they were in the Ghetto, her Brother was sent to labor, where he was shot and killed. Her father worked with furs, and when they understood that whoever didn't work was killed, they fooled the Nazis that Regina is older then she was, and Regina was also sent to work. There was a great Hunger in Ghetto Lodz, so Regina gave her mother some of the meals she  received from work.

In 1944 Regina and her family were transferred to Auschwitz, and she was separated from her family  in the selection. In the first selection, the men were separated from the women. She was separated from father in that selection. Later on the women were divided in to 2 rows. Regina was separated from her mother and tried constantly to get back to her, but a Jewish girl from her row kept pulling her into the row, and smacked her once so she would understand she needed to stay in her row. Later on, when Regina couldn't find her mother, the same Jewish girl said to her "Do you  see the smoke coming out from the chimney? That’s your mother!"

Her father was sent at the same time to work in labor camps, and she was sent to Bremen,a city in  north Germany.

 One day, while being in Bremen, she got high fever and  could barely move and didn’t want to go to the roll call in  the morning. One of the girls kept telling her to come to the  roll call. Regina said she didn't have any clothes since it  was very cold.  The girl told her to put on a blanket and  come. When Regina came back from the roll call she saw  that all the sick people were taken by the Germans to   Auschwitz.

Regina stayed in the camp until the release in 1945, and        then she was transferred to Italy to a Refugee camp. In 1946, they arrived to Israel, but they were sent to Cyprus. In the last day of 1946, they came to Attlit. They were sent to an immigrant camp In Kiriat Shmuel. Later on, she left the  camp, and went to live with her Aunt in Tel-Aviv.

The army in Israel knew Regina worked in a weapon industry, so they gave her a job in Israel's weapon industry, and she received a good payment. 

Kalisz

Kalisz is a town in central Poland. It's situated on the Prosna River and it has an historical and industrial importance. Kalisz is the biggest city in south-eastern part of Greater Poland. It’s the oldest town in Poland. In her many years Kalisz faced fires, wars and floods, but it remained strong and even became a better and stronger city. Before World War II started, 89 thousand people lived in Kalisz, and after the invasion in 1939, Kalisz was occupied by Germany very quickly, because it was very close to the border. After the invasion Kalisz became a part of Germany, and was added to  the list of German cities. When World War II ended, Kalisz had 45 thousand citizens.

The settlement in Kalisz started in 1139 and after 100 years it was the first city that gave Jews  rights. After the Jews were given rights in Kalisz, Jews all over Poland were given rights too. In 1358  the first synagogue was built in town.    

Many of the Jews of Kalisz worked in handicrafts and textile. In the 19^th century the Jews of Kalisz were 34% of the town's population. In the same century there was a fight between the different types of Jewish people because of the Germany's development. In the 20^th century Zionist groups appeared in Kalisz. In the 1930's the Jews were 30% of the town's population, and Jewish villages were added to the city.

When Hitler became the Fuhrer of Germany, Anti-Semitic rules were applied to Jews even in Kalisz. Before World War II started, 25 thousand Jews lived in Kalisz. When Germany took over Poland and Kalisz by the end of 1939, 18 thousand Jews lived in Kalisz. Jews from Kalisz were sent to the east until the end of 1942, and many of them never came back.

Lodz Ghetto

Lodz Ghetto was the second largest Ghetto established for Jews and Roma in German-occupied Poland. When German forces occupied Lodz in September 1939, the city had a population of 672,000 people, over one-third of them (233,000) Jews. In the summer of 1944, it was finally decided to commence with the gradual liquidation of the remaining population. From June 23 to July 15, about 7,000 Jews were deported to the Chelmno extermination camp, where they were murdered. Only 877 Jews remained when the Soviet army liberated Lodz on January 19, 1945. Altogether, just 10,000 of the 204,000 Jews who passed through the Lodz Ghetto survived the war.

Zalik Almerski
Ester Almerski
Samuel Zamek Almerski