And this is how our story begins

 

גרסה עברית

My name is Gidi, not Rudy, but the title of this page will make sense in just a few paragraphs.

I am not a historian nor an expert on railroads and trains, but I am here to share the story of a kind man who dedicated his professional life to trains and railways, all this while helping to build a new country, and most importantly- helping to rebuild a new family after a tragic loss.

I am fortunate to be a relative (through my wife) of Ziva Kronzon, an Israeli-born New Yorker. A painter, a sculpture and a fascinating person. Over the years, Ziva has been hosting our small family in one of her art studios during our visits to NY. In the last two decades we became very close and always love to hear her fascinating stories about family and life.

In 1948, nine-year old Ziva lost her father who was killed in action during Israel Independence War. Years later, her mother Mella met Rudy (Rudolf) Kaufmann, who lost his whole family in the Holocaust. They fell in love and got married. Rudy (who later changed his name to Avraham Ben-Raphael) became a loving step-father to Ziva and her brother Ariel throughout his life. He passed in 1988.

In our recent visit to NY, Ziva told us many stories about Rudy and shared her concerns that his legacy will be lost. I have always been an avid fan of history and of human stories, and with Ziva's permission and help, I dived into Rudy's story and I am happy to share it here. 

This is a story about a good man, a story about a family, a story about the fate of European Jews, a story about a growing nation, and a story about trains, lots of trains.

Rudy's biography is told here in five consecutive posts. The sixth part introduces Ziva and her husband, Itzhak (Koko) Kronzon, an acclaimed Cardiologist and a gifted writer. This part, written in Hebrew, is just a glance into Ziva's life. Her story deserves its own telling. Those who prefer to read the entire story in Hebrew are welcome to click here for the Hebrew version.

If you wish to comment or provide additional data, feel free to comment here or email me at bishemer@email.unc.edu

Origins- life in Germany

Frankfurt Am Main, 1911

Rudy Kaufmann was born to Raphael and Ida Kaufmann in Frankfurt (am Main) in 1911.

His father, Raphael, came from a well-off family living in the German territory of Saarland. For the most part of the 19th century, generations of Kaufmanns lived in Hilbringen (today part of the city of Merzig) where Raphael was born. He had nine siblings .

The Kaufmann family in Hilbringen, Saarland, Germany

A German document showing Rudy's close lineage
(Rudy, his parents, and his brother are labeled.

Rudy's mother, Ida, was  born in Köln, Germany to the Isay family. Interestingly enough, her mother (Sara Herzig Isay) was born as a Kaufmann as well.

Raphael and Ida got married and at some point moved to Frankfurt where they had Kurt, and 5 years later- Rudy (Rudolf). Raphael worked as a medical doctor with an expertise in dermatology and gynecology. Ida took care of the children and the household, and the family lived a prosperous life. 

In the 1930s, Rudy started his engineering degree in the esteemed Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (The Technology and Engineering University of Darmstadt). After he completed his studies and received his diploma as a mechanical engineer, he made a bold move. 1933 marks the year when the Nazy party took over Germany and later established discrimination laws against Jews. While most Jews preferred to stay in Germany, hoping that the appalling regime will soon pass, others decided to leave Germany and immigrate. Tens of thousands of Jews, among them young Rudy, moved to Mandatory Palestine, which will later become Israel.  

This wave of immigration has a special place in the history of Zionism. It is known as the "Fifth Aliyah". Just imagine people moving from the cold climate and "classic" European culture to  the hot, humid, and "bubbly" Levant. The German immigrants (known locally as "Yekkes") significantly contributed to the shaping of the local Jewish community, especially with regards of education and culture.

״לפעמים אני זוכרת בגעגועים סגנון זה של ריחוק שבכבוד, של נימוס שאינו גורע מחמימות הידידות, - כאן, בארץ הזאת, שנשימתה שרב לוהט, ובה חיים כולם האחד בחדרי חדריו של עמיתו; בה אנשים דוחפים עצמם לרשות לא-להם, ומכבידים זה על זה ב"חברתיות" מוגזמת הנובעת מאי-ביטחון פנימי״

(quote from a Yekke, describing the cultural gaps with the local "Levant" culture).

The Kaufmanns' fate in Nazi Germany

While Rudy is starting to build his life in Palestine, his parents live in Germany under the Nazi regime. 

Raphael and Ida, Rudy's parents, in 1931

Arthur, Ida's brother, 1937 in Frankfurt

28 year old Rudy visits his parents in 1939

In the early 40s, Raphael and Ida visited Rudy in Palestine, and even went to Lebanon for a trip. This visit drove them to make a dramatic decision- to leave Germany and move to Palestine (recall that Ida was ~ 60 years old and Raphael was 70). The couple came back to Germany in order to organize everything there.

They didn't make it.

On Sept, 15, 1942 the Nazis deported Raphael and Ida to the Theresienstadt Ghetto in Terezin, German-occupied Czechoslovakia. Teresiendtad was a way station to Auschwitz and other extermination camps. Raphael sent a telegram to Rudy through the red cross, just a few days prior- "On September 15 we will travel with Arthur (Ida's brother) to Theresienstadt. Will give notice as soon as possible. Hopefully also yours".

Telegram sent from Raphael via the red cross
to Rudy's parents in law 

Two months after reaching Terezin, Arthur, Ida's brother, died in the ghetto.

Ida and Raphael survived there for a few more months but Ida got sick and eventually died on April 9, 1943. Raphael died (probably) four months later.

In 1955, Rudy gave testimonies in Yad Vashem on their deaths. Not clear exactly whether Raphael died of a disease or took his own life.

It's worth mentioned that there is one contradicting testimony as to Raphael's fate. According to a Terezin survivor, Raphael was sent to Auschwitz and got murdered there. However, based on the memorial book "Victims of the Persecution of Jews under the National Socialist Tyranny in Germany 1933 - 1945" prepared by the German Federal Archives, it seems as Rudy's testimony about his father death in Terezin is more accurate.

As for Rudy's brother, Kurt- in the late 30s he got married and moved to Lyon, France. His fate was no better than Rudy's parents and most of the Jews that stayed in Europe. In 1944 he was deported from Drancy to Auschwitz and was murdered there.

More than 160,000 German Jews (70% of the original Jewish community there) were murdered in the Holocaust.

via GIPHY

Rudy in Palestine

Excerpt from Rudy's written memories in 1980

When Rudy immigrated to Palestine after completing his studies in the 30s, he moved to Haifa, used his education as a mechanical engineer and joined the Palestine Railway system, starting in the Railway Haifa workshop, a job that became a second home until his retirement.

He started there in 1936 as a draftsman but soon got promoted to use his skills as a mechanical engineer in the workshop. In his accounts, Rudy describes the working place as multi-cultural and multi-lingual. This was still mandatory Palestine, so British, Arabs and Jews worked together. The official language was English, but the Jews spoke French with the christian Arab draftsmen, Arabic with the Arab workers, and German and Yiddish with the Jews that just recently immigrated, and still did not know Hebrew. Rudy started learning Arabic already in Germany so he was able to get along with his Arabic in Haifa. 

Rudy's written memories (from 1980) on the multi-lingual environment in the workshop

April 1936 marked the beginning of the Arab revolt that continued until 1939 . It started as a general strike but soon developed into terror attacks on the local Jews. The attacks were responded by actions of the Jewish military resistance groups and soon a "mini-war" between both sides escalated.  Haifa was no exception, and tensions existed, but Rudy remembers that for the most part, Jews and Arabs that worked in the railway workshop were able to limit their arguments to political discussions.

The railway system suffered as more and more attacks were targeting trains and gradually less people were using the train. The slow work during the Arab revolt changed upon the beginning of WWII, as the British needed military supply, mainly related to artillery. There was also a need for new train cars that would be able to carry heavy military vehicles as well as implementing new advanced systems in old train engines. Additional adjustment projects took place, including changing the train engines to mazut instead of coal that was in a limited supply during the war.

 British military traffic in Haifa East freight yard, 1946

During that time, Rudy attended (with other young men) a series of "bachelors lunches", a tradition organized by a kind woman, whose daughter, Leah, fell in love with Rudy. The two started dating and soon got married.

Interestingly, Leah worked in Beit Hahlutzot in Haifa and became friends with another worker, one Elfi Zilberman. Elfi and her sister will visit our blog again in the next post....

Rudy's work on different trains and railways allowed him to explore far away destinations like Cairo, Egypt. He even had an opportunity to take Leah with him to a trip to Aman, then Damascus, and then Tripoly, Lebanon before coming back to Haifa. Needless to say, all these railroad are not active anymore.

November 1947 marked the beginning of the long conflict in Palestine, soon to be cleared from the British, what later became known as Israel Independence war. The national committee (which served as a "government" of the Jews in Israel) invested in training train workers and buying equipment so they would be ready to inherit the British railway after the cessation of the British mandate. Battles between the Jewish Haganah and the local Arabs started in the area, and on April 15 1948, local Arab activist workers transported a train car filled with explosives to one of the largest mills in the area ("Tahanot Gdolot"). The plan failed, and the workers, afraid of the Jews' reactions, stopped coming to work. After a few days, Haifa was conquered by the Haganah, and the Palestine railway became the Israel railway.

April 15 failed bombing of the train port in Haifa

Mella and Yehoshua

 

We will take a short pause from Rudy's story and use this chapter to introduce Mella, who will later become a prominent figure in Rudy's life. So, just for a short detour- here is the story of Mella and Yehoshua.

The story starts with Yehoshua, a young man from Palestine, visiting Vienna, Austria during a professional development trip in 1935. Yehoshua was born in 1909 in Petah Tikva to the Shisha Halevi family. His mother Hanna came from the renowned Stampfer-Raad lineage. The Stampfer and Raad families had a seminal role in the pioneer movement that settled Eretz Yisrael in the 19th century, back then under the rule of the Ottoman Turk empire. Yehoshua's grandparents were part of a quite small group of Jews that left the religious studies-based lives in Europe (Hungary in their case), moved to Eretz Yisrael and dedicated their lives to work the land- to become farmers who physically cultivate the holy land. Among many contributions, they are the ones who founded Petah Tikva- Em Hamoshavot- (mother of settlements). Yehoshua Stempfer, our Yehoshua's father's uncle (who was the first of the family to immigrate to Palestine, and by foot!), is even mentioned in one of the most popular Israeli songs- The Ballad of Yoel Moshe Salomon.

The Shisha Halevi family settled in Petah Tikva and had six children. One (Eliyahu) died in his infancy. Yehoshua was the eldest. The family moved to Acre and from there settled in Haifa.

Shisha Halevi family,early 1920s

I will take the opportunity and highlight Aliza (on the left in this picture), the only girl in the family. Aliza was the grandmother of my wife, Anat. This is how I (Gidi, who writes Rudy's story) came to know Ziva and this entire family :) .

Yehoshua started working as a welder-apprentice in the "Shemen" factory in Haifa, and after completing his studies, became an expert welder in the same factory. In 1935, Rudy was sent by "Shemen" to attend an international fair in Brussel, Belgium. His parents asked him to take the opportunity and visit family relatives in Vienna, Austria. Yehoshua visited his relatives but his poor German made it difficult to communicate with them. Luckily, a young local Jewish boy, Herbert, knew a bit of Hebrew from his Bible studies and was called to serve as a translator.

Seventeen year old Mella Zilberman lived with her family (parents Adolph and Sophy, sister Elfi, and brother Herbert) in Vienna. Her brother Herbert is our young translator, who was summoned by Rudy's relatives for help. 

This is how Mella met Yehoshua, and the next part is pretty obvious, as our story unfolds- Mella and Yehoshua fell in love. 

Here are a couple of letters that Yehoshua wrote in German, one to Mella and her parents and one to Hilda, Mella's aunt (Sophy's sister). 

Mella and Yehoshua got married and moved to Palestine. She started learning Hebrew, as we learn from the letter below, where Yehoshua congratulates (in Hebrew) Herbert for his advances in studying Hebrew while still teasing him (fondly) about his mistakes. 

In 1938, the Germans annexed Austria into the German Reich (the Anschluss). Worried about her family in Austria, Mella and Yehoshua were able to take advantage of some connections they had with a local judge and obtained immigration certificates for Mella's family. The family arrived to Palestine just in time. Mella's sister Elfi fell in love with Yehoshua's brother, Malachi. At the end, the two sisters (Mella and Elfi) married the two brothers (Yehoshua and Malachi)!

Yehoshua and Mella settled in Kiryat Haim, a small and developing town near Haifa. They had their first daughter Ziva in 1939, and 5 years later- their son Ariel. Yehoshua continued his work at the "Shemen" factory. In late 1947, the independence war of Israel started. As an essential worker, Yehoshua was not drafted to a full military service but was active in "Plugot Mishmar" that defended Jewish towns both locally and in other parts of northern Israel. In July 24, 1948 he was sent with other soldiers to protect a Jewish post near Miyar in the Galeel mountains.

Yehoshua's (in the front) last photo

Ziva remembers her dad giving her a strong and quick kiss and running with his rifle and helmet to join his friends on the truck on his way to Tarshiha. She was nine. She also remembers her uncle Malachi coming on his bike the next day and wearing sunglasses to hide the tears while he delivered the message.

The group was attacked, and Yehoshua fell in combat.

Ziva's longing for her lost father would become a major part of her artwork in years to come, but one short story that she wrote about the Hanukiah he made for her might be the best reflection of her emotions (see below).

A promising life, a young, happy family, and all ended in one terrible day.

Yehoshua Shisha Halevi, Mella's husband- Yizkor in honor of the fallen

A new family and a new country

Rudy and Mella, 1950

And we are back from our detour, to continue with Rudy's story.

Rudy's and Leah's marriage did not last long and they got divorced circa 1943. Rudy is again alone without any family (all of them murdered by the Nazis).

It's time to connect the dots. Remember Leah's friend Elfi? Yes, that's the same Elfi we met in our last chapter- Mella's sister and Malachi's wife. We can only assume that Rudy met Elfi through Leah and perhaps he even met Mella back then. Regardless, in 1948, after Mella lost Yehoshua, Rudy definitely knew her, fell in love, and courted her. Mella was not indifferent to his courtship, and after some time, they got married. 

Ziva and Ariel, who lost their dad, received a step dad and a loving one. While Rudy and Mella turned a page and both started a new chapter in life, Rudy insisted that they keep strong ties with Yehoshua's family. Ziva remembers the Saturday routine- Rudy walking with Mella and the kids to Hanna and Yitzhak Shisha Halevi (Yehoshua's parents) to spend a few hours there. The bond with the Shisha Halevi family stayed strong throughout their lives. 

To quote Ziva- "Rudy saved a family in Israel". She describes him as a loving and devoted father

Rudy and Mella

As the new family is starting their life together, we should go back to Rudy's second love- the railroad workshop. 

As a reminder, Israel was just founded. In the first years of the new country, the railway system expanded, but the main problem was that the local cars and steam engines were old and pretty useless. Beyond training many new employees, the Israel railroad was faced with a major challenge- to buy modern trains and equipment. For that they needed money and they needed experts.

The money eventually came from the German compensation funds. The experts? We know at least one of them. Rudy was strongly involved in a series of purchases of new diesel engines as well as new cars from Europe throughout the 50s, and as such- responsible for establishing a modern railway system in the young and developing country. 

He then became the Manager of the Technical office at the Kishon Works. Throughout his career in the railway system, both before Israel's independence and after, Rudy earned a reputation of a professional expert in the field. As a young colleague testified- "If I found a nail or an iron piece, Rudy would tell me which train car or engine that piece came from". Aharon Gazit, a journalist that became almost addicted to the trains world and had many "Rudy hours" told me that Rudy was simply the number one expert in the system. He was also very honest and efficient. He made sure nobody spends too much and renovated anything possible.

Rudy changed his formal name to Avraham Ben Raphael and used it to sign on his  professional writings (see below for two examples).

Upon retirement, Rudy did not stop advocating for the Israel railway. He promoted the creation of the railway museum (which eventually opened in 1983, and my thanks to its director Hen Meling for corresponding with me about Rudy) and especially wanted make sure that old documents and structural drawings would be stored in an archive (see picture below).To this day, letters, telegrams, drawings, and other documents written by Rudy are stored in the archives. 

An exhibit from the current Railroad museum in Haifa

Excerpt from Rudy's memoires, found in the Railroad archive

Rudy pushing to create an archive and store old drawings

It is impossible to describe a life of one person in one blog. The story I wrote here provided just a glance into the life of a simple, decent human being. Each of us share their own story and our stories tell the story of generations before and after us. Rudy and Mella stories tell the life of European Jews, the Holocaust and the loss of entire families, the birth of a new nation, and the perseverance of good people that strive to have a peaceful and productive life. 

Rudy lived to the age of 77. He never had biological children but he regarded Ziva and Ariel as his own. Ariel remembers (with tears) how he wanted to study linguistics but was sent away since he had no background in Latin. When Rudy heard that, he order a series of Latin 101 books from Germany, only to start Ariel's academic career. Noteworthy that Ariels is a Professor for ....Linguistics. Rudy was fortunate to see the kids starting their own families and giving rise to a new generation. There is even a grandson named Rudy.

"He was one of Lamed-Vav Tsadidkim", his daughter Ziva said. "Never had any bad word to say about anybody. He saved a family in Israel and continued to support and love his step children throughout life."

Rudy passed away on September 25, 1988. Mella died 14 years later.

On his gravestone his family wrote:"Atzil Hanefesh"- The noble soul.

Ziva

 

זיוה קרונזון היא בתם הבכורה של מלה ויהושע שישה הלוי. זיוה היא גם זו שהציתה את הניצוץ שעורר את כתיבת הבלוג על רודי קאופמן, אותו איש יקר שאימץ את משפחתה.

קשה, בעצם בלתי אפשרי, לכתוב על זיוה בפרק אחד בבלוג. חיים כל כך מלאים, דמות כל כך מורכבת ועשירה, שבאמת כל נסיון ״לסכם אותה״ בקצרה נידון לכשלון. אז פה אין נסיון כזה אלא רק מספר מילים לספר קצת על זיוה ועל קוקו שלצידה, כדי לסגור את סיפור החיים של רודי. נקווה שמתישהו והיכנשהו, יימצאו האנשים שירחיבו את היריעה על האשה המיוחדת הזו.

זיוה נולדה ב- 1939 וגדלה בקריית חיים, שהיתה באותה תקופה יותר חולות מאשר בתים. יהושע ומלה תקעו יתד בקרייה הצעירה וגרו ברחוב הראשון, רחוב א׳.

קריית חיים, 1938

את אביה יהושע היא איבדה ב- 1948 במלחמת השחרור ועל כך נכתב בהרחבה באחד מהפרקים הקודמים. האובדן הזה ליווה ומלווה את זיוה לאורך כל החיים ומשובץ בין היתר בפעילות האמנותית שלה.

 ההתחלה? באותו לילה, לאחר שלמדה על כך שאביה כבר לא איתם. היא פתחה מחברת וכתבה שירים בחרוזים. לימים היא תקרא להם ״שירי דם יזע ודמעות״. העפרון יעבור מהר מאד ממצב כתיבת שירים למצב של רישומים וציורים, ומשם הדרך נסללת להתפתחותה כאמנית רב תחומית. בגיל 16 היא התחילה ללמוד בבצלאל שבירושלים. היא ציירה, איירה ספרי ילדים וגם מבוגרים, עברה להדפסות ועבודות חריטה ושילבה פיסול של אבן ומתכת וכל זה הוא רק תיאור קצר מתוך עולם שלם של אמנות שסובבת אותה גם פיזית וגם נפשית.

דיוקן עצמי, 1958

ציור עטיפה לספר, 1966

1986

ב- 2007 יצאה תערוכה רטרוספקטיבית של זיוה בשיקגו ולרגל התערוכה יצא גם ספר בשם ״רמץ״ שמתאר את עבודותיה לאורך השנים.

את בעלה יצחק (קוקו) קורנזון היא הכירה עוד בגיל הנעורים והם ביחד מאז ועד שהלך לעולמו במאי 2021. ב- 1971 זיוה נסעה עם קוקו לניו יורק לטובת השתלמות שלו כרופא, ומאז הם נשארו בניו יורק. זיוה היא הכי ניו יורקרית שאפשר וזיוה היא גם הכי ישראלית צברית שניתן לדמיין ושני המרכיבים הללו מרושתים ביחד באישיות שלה. זיוה וקוקו גידלו שלשה ילדים- איריס, רפי, ושירה ובינתיים גם נכדים הצטרפו למשפחה המורחבת.

זיוה בניו יורק, 1972

ואיך אפשר בלי לכתוב משהו על קוקו?
יצחק קרונזון התחיל את הקריירה כרופא בישראל, עבר לארה״ב והתפתח שם כמומחה בינלאומי בקרדיולוגיה, ובמיוחד כחלוץ ומומחה בתחום האקו-קרדיולוגיה. הוא נושא שלל של תארים ופרסים מרחבי העולם. אבל עם כל הכבוד לתרומה האדירה שלו לבריאות הציבור, המעריצים הגדולים של קוקו (ואני אחד מהם) מוקירים לו במיוחד את כתיבתו. קוקו כתב 80 סיפורים קצרים שאותם איגד במספר ספרים. היכולת שלו לספר סיפור באופן כמעט ״יבש״ אבל למעשה רגשי ומצחיק ועצוב, היא מתנה שטוב שהוא החליט לחלוק עם כולנו. הסיפורים שלו מתמקדים בעיקר בארץ ישראל שבה הוא גדל. כמו זיוה, הוא תמיד נשאר עמוק בלב ילד ונער ישראלי בחולות או במרחבים של חיפה. חבר טוב של זיוה וקוקו, דני קרמן (שלמד עם זיוה ואייר ספרים של קוקו), הקדיש לו את הפוסט בלינק המצורף.

את הסיפור של קוקו ושל זיוה ואת הבלוג כולו שמוקדש לרודי רציתי לסיים עם סיפור קצר שקוקו כתב על זיוה. התלבטתי בין שניים- זה שמספר את סיפור הביקור של זיוה באזכרה לאביה יהושע וזה שמתאר את יום החתונה של זיוה וקוקו. 

אז בחרתי את הבחירה הפשוטה. צירפתי את שני הסיפורים.

ואותם תמצאו קצת מתחת לשתי התמונות של הזוג הכל כך מיוחד הזה.

בברכה,

גידי

סיפור חתונתם של זיוה/יצחק קרונזון, 2000

סיפור קצר על זיוה/יצחק קרונזון, 1999