From Auschwitz to Rescue: The Watchmaker Who Saved Jewish Sisters in Sweden

Ephraim Greenberg arrived at Auschwitz with his wife and two children. They were a Belz Hasidic family deported along with European Jewry on the death trains to Auschwitz.

The young family was struck by paralyzing shock. Who could imagine such evil in the world? Carrying valuables and money with him, Ephraim bribed several Nazi killers in exchange for saving the lives of his wife and children. They managed, by a roundabout path, to reach the city of Pécs in Hungary, where they hid under divine mercy until the war’s end.

Ephraim, however, remained in Auschwitz. Armed mainly with prayer, he prepared for the battle for survival. He swore to himself that he would fight as long as he had breath, clinging with all his strength to the remnants of faith. By a miracle, he survived. When the gates of the camps opened, he found himself starving, heartbroken, tubercular, and alone in a hospital in Sweden.

Through a chain of providential kindnesses, Ephraim managed to locate his wife, who had made her way to Sweden as well. The family was reunited in tears — this time tears of joy, a complete reversal from the tears of separation in cursed Auschwitz.

Ephraim quickly rebuilt. With knowledge and skill in watchmaking, he opened a repair shop in a Swedish suburb. His expertise and honesty soon made him known across the city and beyond. Customers flocked to his store; blessing and livelihood came to his hands. He and his wife, now financially stable, opened their hearts to many Holocaust survivors who also arrived in Sweden. Every Friday, they would drive with prepared foods to the small town of Lidingö.

The Rescue Mission in Lidingö

Lidingö, a small town near Stockholm, became home to a rescue mission for Jewish girls who had lost everything during the Holocaust. Among the thousands of Jewish refugees flooding Sweden were dozens of young girls who had lost their families.

Some were taken in by Christian charities, who, moved by pity, tried to restore their broken humanity. Others were absorbed by Zionist or Reform organizations, placed in camps meant to prepare them for immigration to the soon-to-be State of Israel. Some were taken in by well-meaning non-Jews who sought to raise them. These traumatized girls had little ability to resist.

Two men fought almost alone to save as many Jewish girls as possible so that they would not be lost to the Jewish people: Rabbi Binyamin Ze’ev Jacobson and Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe. Rabbi Jacobson, formerly the rabbi of Copenhagen, was a member of the Rescue Committee and Torah Foundation. Rabbi Wolbe, a disciple of the Kelm yeshiva, had been forced to leave because of his foreign nationality and came to Sweden for a time. Together, they founded a home for nearly one hundred Jewish girls in Lidingö, preserving their faith and identity.

The Dentist and the Antique Watch

One day, a well-dressed woman entered Ephraim’s watch shop with great excitement. She pulled an antique watch from her bag and asked: “Sir, can you repair this?”
“I’ll need to check it first,” Ephraim replied.
“Please, at least examine it and tell me,” she pressed.
“That will take about two hours,” he answered. “If you’d like, you may leave it and return later.”

The woman hesitated, unwilling to part with her valuable watch. Finally, she trusted Ephraim’s integrity and agreed.

Two hours later, she returned.
“Well?” she asked eagerly.
“It’s already fixed,” Ephraim replied with a smile.

She was astonished. When she asked the price, he named a very small sum. The woman nearly collapsed from surprise — it was far less than she expected. The flaw had been simple, and he refused to take advantage. Ephraim, unlike many craftsmen, would not exploit what the customer could not know. His honesty was absolute.

The woman then revealed: “I’m a dentist. I don’t have much money, but I live respectably from my clinic. Since I so appreciate your integrity, I’d like to return your kindness. Let me fix your teeth free of charge, including all materials. I’ll give you a brand-new smile.”

Ephraim laughed heartily for the first time since Auschwitz. His mouth had been left without teeth, another scar of the camp, and he accepted her offer.

The Shocking Revelation

During one of his dental treatments, the woman confided proudly:
“I’ve taken two Jewish girls into my home. That’s my revenge against Hitler.”

Ephraim froze. “What did you say?”
“I adopted two sisters, 17 and 15 years old,” she explained. “Sweet, smart girls, but so sad. I’ll make them happy.”

Ephraim nearly shouted: “They’re Jewish? And you’re planning to raise them as Christians?”

The woman, startled, answered softly: “Yes… I plan to marry the older one to my nephew, a good churchgoing man. She’ll forget her suffering and have a good life.”

Ephraim’s voice shook with passion: “You are doing exactly what Hitler did! He wanted to erase the Jewish people, and by taking these girls away from their faith, you are helping him!”

The woman burst into tears. Ephraim wept with her. Then he asked to meet the girls.

When the two sisters saw a bearded Jewish man wearing a kippah, they trembled. Could there really still be Jews in the world? Ephraim greeted them with the Hasidic intonation of “Modeh Ani” (I give thanks). The girls broke down sobbing and responded in Yiddish: “Melech chai v’kayyam” (the living, eternal King).

It was a release of tears long suppressed. They listened as Ephraim told them about the surviving Jewish world and hinted that their place was not in a non-Jewish home. With determination, they told him: “Of course not! Father told us before we were separated: guard your Judaism.”

Ephraim promised to bring them to Lidingö, where dozens of other Jewish girls were being cared for. The dentist, though heartbroken, accepted. She knew Ephraim was right.

Saved for the Jewish People

Ephraim rushed to Rabbi Jacobson and recounted the story. Though the Swedish authorities had strictly limited the number of girls the home could house, Rabbi Jacobson declared: “Bring them at once. They will live in my home as guests.”

The two sisters joined the girls of Lidingö. Two years later, they immigrated to Israel, where they built Torah homes. Rabbi Jacobson himself arranged their marriages — one to his nephew, and the other to his own son, Rabbi Moshe Jacobson, who later became the Chief Rabbi of Be’er Yaakov.

Two sisters who had nearly been lost to the Jewish people were saved, because of the honesty of one Jewish watchmaker and the selfless devotion of others.

This story was told by Rabbi Avraham Fuchs and published on the Dirshu website.