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