Rela was born in Vilna.  The Germans arrived at their town and shortly after that it was Yom Kippur  That night a counsel of rabbis met with the Germans.  The Germans told them to give them 10,000 people from their town.  The rabbis refused.�The Germans said in that case, they will come in and get them.  They executed all the rabbis.�In two weeks time they formed a ghetto in their town.  They all had to stay, but during this time Rela told her husband to flee for they were killing a lot of the men.  He left and joined the underground.  She and their children remained in the ghetto.

Many of the people were forced to work outside the ghetto.  They were taken to another place and lived in a tent city for a few days while they worked. Surprisingly, they were even paid by the Germans.  After the work was completed, they took the Jews to another village to buy food since there was little to eat in the ghetto.  After purchasing their food they were returned to the ghetto.  But when they got to the guard at the gate, they refused to let them take any of the food in with them and confiscated it all.

Some Germans started what they called “The Action”.�They would raid houses at night, pulling Jews out of bed and their homes and killing them.�Everyone began hiding at night to survive.�They stayed in their clothes ready to run.�One young man escaped and dug a tunnel into the ghetto.�He smuggled guns in, but it was too late.�Too many had been killed by “The Action” and there were not enough left to fight the troops.

Next, the Germans gathered everyone into one place; adults on the right and children and old people on the left.  Everyone was put on a train.  Halfway there the old people and children were taken off the train and executed right there.  All of Rela’s children were among them. �The train continued to the Kasaval Concentration Camp.  It was the name of a large wooded area and the camp was in the middle of the woods.

In the camp the conditions were very bad.  She lived there for one year and everyone was forced to work for the Germans.  Many German Jews from Latra  were brought in as well.  One day the Germans divided the German Jews from the other Jews and they were shipped out.  The remainder of them were then taken from there and put into the Stutthof Concentration Camp.  They were very crowded and dysentery began.  Everyone was getting it and Rela had it too.  People were dying so fast there were piles of dead bodies – no one was able to bury them.

Soon the Red Army was approaching the camp.  The Germans ordered anyone who could walk to get out of the buildings and go outside the camp.  Rela could barely walk and grabbed a friend of hers, forcing her to walk as well.  Once they were outside the camp, the Germans set fire to the entire camp, burning alive those who could not walk.

Those who were left were force marched 30 kilometers toward a village. It was winter time and there was snow on the ground and they had nothing to stay warm.  Most people got frostbite so badly they lost noses, ears, fingers, toes and feet. �Anyone who was too weak and fell, was shot.  When they got to the village, everyone was forced into barns for the night.  When they got up in the morning, the German soldiers were gone.  As they came out of the barns they heard someone call out to them, asking if they spoke Russian.  Rela answered that they were all Russian.  They did not see anyone until someone moved.  There were Red Army soldiers surrounding them in winter camouflage – all dressed in white and they did not see them in the snow.  The soldiers took them to the front line nearby and hid them in the trenches and foxholes dug by the soldiers.  They fed them all they had which was coffee and bread.  They stayed there for a while.

Another troop arrived to take care of them.  Eventually a young Asian soldier came to see them.  His uniform was covered with many medals.  He asked them to wait.  He came back to talk and told them he and his men were Jewish as well.  He told his men to feed them well.  Rela’s fingers were frozen so completely she could not use any of them to eat.  When the soldier in charge saw she was not eating, he assigned a soldier to feed her.  After they ate they were put in trucks and taken to a church in a nearby town.  The church had been converted into a hospital.

After this they were transported to the city of Gorky where there were two hospitals.  She was there for one year recuperating.  The doctors had first determined they needed to cut off all her fingers, but an 83 yr old doctor there said “no!” He operated on her hands and saved parts and most of her fingers. All her other fingers are curled inward from the frostbite and arthritis, in a claw-like fashion.

After the war all the people from her village were put on trucks and returned to their hometown.  When she went back she found her husband and they lived there for fifteen years.  They had two more children – sons.  They wanted to immigrate to Israel but were refused.  They also had citizenship in Poland and moved there for one year.  At the end of the year her husband gave her choice of what country she wanted to move to.  She chose Israel only because she believed a Jewish State would be the only country where their children could not be taken away again.

Rela was born in Vilna.  The Germans arrived at their town and shortly after that it was Yom Kippur  That night a counsel of rabbis met with the Germans.  The Germans told them to give them 10,000 people from their town.  The rabbis refused.�The Germans said in that case, they will come in and get them.  They executed all the rabbis.�In two weeks time they formed a ghetto in their town.  They all had to stay, but during this time Rela told her husband to flee for they were killing a lot of the men.  He left and joined the underground.  She and their children remained in the ghetto.

Many of the people were forced to work outside the ghetto.  They were taken to another place and lived in a tent city for a few days while they worked. Surprisingly, they were even paid by the Germans.  After the work was completed, they took the Jews to another village to buy food since there was little to eat in the ghetto.  After purchasing their food they were returned to the ghetto.  But when they got to the guard at the gate, they refused to let them take any of the food in with them and confiscated it all.

Some Germans started what they called “The Action”.�They would raid houses at night, pulling Jews out of bed and their homes and killing them.�Everyone began hiding at night to survive.�They stayed in their clothes ready to run.�One young man escaped and dug a tunnel into the ghetto.�He smuggled guns in, but it was too late.�Too many had been killed by “The Action” and there were not enough left to fight the troops.

Next, the Germans gathered everyone into one place; adults on the right and children and old people on the left.  Everyone was put on a train.  Halfway there the old people and children were taken off the train and executed right there.  All of Rela’s children were among them. �The train continued to the Kasaval Concentration Camp.  It was the name of a large wooded area and the camp was in the middle of the woods.

In the camp the conditions were very bad.  She lived there for one year and everyone was forced to work for the Germans.  Many German Jews from Latra  were brought in as well.  One day the Germans divided the German Jews from the other Jews and they were shipped out.  The remainder of them were then taken from there and put into the Stutthof Concentration Camp.  They were very crowded and dysentery began.  Everyone was getting it and Rela had it too.  People were dying so fast there were piles of dead bodies – no one was able to bury them.

Soon the Red Army was approaching the camp.  The Germans ordered anyone who could walk to get out of the buildings and go outside the camp.  Rela could barely walk and grabbed a friend of hers, forcing her to walk as well.  Once they were outside the camp, the Germans set fire to the entire camp, burning alive those who could not walk.

Those who were left were force marched 30 kilometers toward a village. It was winter time and there was snow on the ground and they had nothing to stay warm.  Most people got frostbite so badly they lost noses, ears, fingers, toes and feet. �Anyone who was too weak and fell, was shot.  When they got to the village, everyone was forced into barns for the night.  When they got up in the morning, the German soldiers were gone.  As they came out of the barns they heard someone call out to them, asking if they spoke Russian.  Rela answered that they were all Russian.  They did not see anyone until someone moved.  There were Red Army soldiers surrounding them in winter camouflage – all dressed in white and they did not see them in the snow.  The soldiers took them to the front line nearby and hid them in the trenches and foxholes dug by the soldiers.  They fed them all they had which was coffee and bread.  They stayed there for a while.

Another troop arrived to take care of them.  Eventually a young Asian soldier came to see them.  His uniform was covered with many medals.  He asked them to wait.  He came back to talk and told them he and his men were Jewish as well.  He told his men to feed them well.  Rela’s fingers were frozen so completely she could not use any of them to eat.  When the soldier in charge saw she was not eating, he assigned a soldier to feed her.  After they ate they were put in trucks and taken to a church in a nearby town.  The church had been converted into a hospital.

After this they were transported to the city of Gorky where there were two hospitals.  She was there for one year recuperating.  The doctors had first determined they needed to cut off all her fingers, but an 83 yr old doctor there said “no!” He operated on her hands and saved parts and most of her fingers. All her other fingers are curled inward from the frostbite and arthritis, in a claw-like fashion.

After the war all the people from her village were put on trucks and returned to their hometown.  When she went back she found her husband and they lived there for fifteen years.  They had two more children – sons.  They wanted to immigrate to Israel but were refused.  They also had citizenship in Poland and moved there for one year.  At the end of the year her husband gave her choice of what country she wanted to move to.  She chose Israel only because she believed a Jewish State would be the only country where their children could not be taken away again.