The Story of Two Sisters Saved and Reunited with Their Jewish Heritage

A stirring and lengthy story illustrates how a Jew cannot foresee the blessed impact of any good deed: Ephraim Greenberg arrived at Auschwitz with his wife and two children, a Belz Hasidic family deported with Europe’s Jews on the death trains to Auschwitz.

The shock that gripped the young family was stunning. Who could have believed such evil existed in the world? Ephraim carried valuables and money, using them as bribes for certain killers to save his wife and children, who after a convoluted journey reached the city of Pests in Hungary, where they were hidden under divine mercy until the end of the days of wrath.

Ephraim himself remained in Auschwitz, praying intensively, returning to fight for his life. He swore to himself to fight as long as there was breath in him, clinging to his faith with all his might. And he survived. When the gates opened, he found himself emaciated, heartbroken, with tuberculosis, and alone in a hospital in Sweden.

Through a series of miraculous events, Ephraim managed to locate his wife, who made her way to Sweden. The family reunited, shedding tears that were worlds apart from the tears of farewell on the cursed soil of Auschwitz.

Ephraim Greenberg quickly composed himself. He found them shelter in a Swedish suburb, and with his knowledge and background in watches, opened a watch repair shop. His reputation, expertise, and honesty quickly spread throughout the city and neighboring towns. Customers flocked to his store, bringing prosperity, and money trickled into his pockets.

Ephraim and his wife, having stabilized financially, opened their hearts to many Holocaust survivors arriving in Sweden as well. Every Friday, they traveled with delicious food to 'Lidingö.'

The Rescue Mission for Jewish Girls in Lidingö

'Lidingö' is a small town near Stockholm, Sweden’s capital. Among the thousands of Jewish refugees flooding Sweden’s streets were dozens of young girls who lost their entire families in the terrible war years. There were Christian organizations that compassionately gathered such girls, trying to return to them the humanity stolen and cracked in the camps. There were also Zionist and Reform organizations that absorbed Jewish survivor girls, creating camp-like settings with the aim of bringing them to the newly established State of Israel. Compassionate gentiles, mostly childless, adopted girls. The hapless survivors had no power of resistance.

Two individuals fought alone against the organizations and gentiles, trying to save as many girls as possible from being lost to the Jewish people: Rabbi Binyamin Ze’ev Jacobson ztz"l and Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe ztz"l. Rabbi Jacobson was a member of the 'Rescue Committee' and 'The Torah Fund,' appointed as the rabbi of Copenhagen before the Holocaust. Rabbi Wolbe, who studied in Kelm and whose foreign citizenship forced him to leave, came briefly to Sweden. Both, as it turned out, were sent by providence to save around a hundred Jewish girls through the institution they established in 'Lidingö.'

The Dentist and the Valuable Watch

One day, a sophisticated woman entered Greenberg's watch shop. She took out a large, antique watch from her bag with evident excitement. "Dear sir, can you fix this watch for me?" The watchmaker glanced at the watch and replied, "I'll let you know after I examine it." "Can you check and tell me?" she added. "Even the examination takes time. At least two hours. If the lady wishes, she can attend to her business and return in two hours. I hope then I can tell you," she pondered briefly. "Look," she said to Ephraim Greenberg, "I don't want to leave the watch unguarded. It's obviously very valuable," she explained. "You can sit on a chair and wait if you like." He dragged a square chair with thick fabric straps to the corner of the room. She deliberated and decided the watch repairer deserved her trust. "How much will it cost me?" she pressed finally, "It's hard for me to say before I look," Greenberg replied. It was obvious she was reluctant to part with her money. Mr. Greenberg reassured her: "I won't charge for the examination."

After two hours, the woman entered the shop, walking lightly with evident curiosity: "Well, do you think you can fix it?" He surprised her with a smile: "It's already fixed." She didn’t expect that. "How much will it cost me?" He quoted a modest price, causing her to clutch the table edge from surprise. Not that he intended to deprive her, but the defect was minor, and repairing it was easy. A watchmaker, like many craftsmen, deals with things their owners have no ability to understand how much effort and knowledge were invested in their repair. Mr. Greenberg could have waited for her return and asked for a handsome sum but adhered to making an honest living.

"See," she told him, "I’m not a wealthy woman, but I make a decent living from my dental clinic..." Ephraim Greenberg was alerted by this introduction. Perhaps she was thinking not to pay even the small sum he asked for, he wondered. He listened to her words politely. "I’ll pay for the repair, but because I greatly appreciate your nobility and honesty, I want to reciprocate." "I’m listening," the watchmaker replied.

"I’ll treat your teeth for free; I won’t even charge for the materials I use. I’ll give you a 'new mouth' without any charge." It was now his turn to be astonished. Ephraim Greenberg laughed as he hadn’t since he was taken to the ghetto in Hungary. When he laughed, he revealed a toothless mouth. Auschwitz left its scars not only on his soul but also on his body. One leg functioned only partially, and a mouth without teeth. He didn’t need to think long before accepting the dentist’s gesture.

"I Took in Two Jewish Girls," Said the Christian Dentist Proudly. "This Is My Revenge Against Hitler."

At one point, while sitting on the treatment chair and observing his mouth assuming a human shape, the dentist revealed while treating his gums that she had taken in two Jewish girls. She said this with great pride, expecting words of appreciation.

Ephraim jumped from his place, struck with shock: "What did you say?" "I said," the dentist replied, "that I took two sisters I found on the street into my home." The elder, she continued, with sparkling eyes, is 17 years old, and the younger is 15. Sweet girls. Smart. But drowning in a sea of sadness and longing, perhaps fear as well. "I will make them joyful and happy," she declared.

Greenberg stood with an apron around his neck, and a cry escaped his mouth: "Jewish? Are you sure?" The dentist was frightened. What wrong had she done? Why had this tranquil man lost his composure? And she answered in an air of pseudo-calmness: "They’re definitely Jewish. From an ultra-Orthodox home in the Marmarosh region in Hungary. They were in Auschwitz. Their entire family perished." Ephraim trembled: "What are they doing with you?" "What do you mean?" she replied, "I’m raising them, arranging for them to have social connections." She, as she revealed for the first time, lived alone. No husband. No children. She was relatively well-off, thus bringing the two into her home to provide them with new, worry-free lives.

"This is my response to Hitler’s abominable acts," she said with fulfillment, not understanding why the watchmaker withheld his appreciation for her noble act. "I have already begun," she added with excitement, "to initiate legal adoption procedures." She further revealed that she plans to marry the elder of the two to her nephew. A young man she believes will bring her happiness, and she will forget all her past suffering, a good and moral young man who goes to church every Sunday.

"And you do all this to atone for Hitler’s criminal acts," Agreed Greenberg in a seemingly calm tone. "Absolutely," the lady declared. "So you should know," Ephraim raised his voice, "you’re doing what Hitler did!" The dentist was shocked: "How dare you speak to me this way? Is this how you thank me?" And Greenberg responded from the depths of his heart: "These girls are Jewish! You’re going to marry them to a Christian man!" You’re doing something that burns the souls of these girls’ parents. You’re acting criminally towards these two little sisters," concluded Greenberg.

"Me?" the dentist was on the verge of collapse. Ephraim Greenberg persisted: "Yes, absolutely. They and their offspring will no longer be Jewish. You're doing what Hitler attempted to do. Exactly that. He wanted to annihilate the Jewish people, and that is what you're doing, too!" The dentist broke into uncontrollable sobs, and he cried with her.

Ephraim was the first to compose himself: "Can I meet the two girls?" "Certainly," the dentist replied. When the two sisters saw the bearded man with a yarmulke, the same thought crossed their minds: are there still Jews in the world? Their bodies started to tremble terrifyingly. The dentist hurried to embrace them.

"Father Commanded Us to Keep Our Jewishness"

"I give thanks before you," recited Ephraim in his Hasidic pronunciation. "Mo-deh AH-ni le-fah-NEH-kah." The girls broke down in heart-wrenching tears, responding with: "Melech chai v'kayam." It was a cry that had longed to burst forth after months without tears, their tear-well had dried up. It was a cry of release, not just from a hut lined with barbed wire, but also from the walls they had built around themselves. The dentist and the watchmaker stepped aside to give them space and waited for the girls to regain composure.

The two daughters sat with Rabbi Ephraim with an agitated heart for a long time, hearing from him the events around the world. They were thirsty for any shred of information, especially whether Jews from the Marmarosh area had survived. Of course, he could not tell them much, but he tried to console and instill them with hope as much as possible. Meanwhile, he hinted to them that their place was not with the foreign woman. He was pleased to hear their clear response: "Why question it? Didn’t our father command us before he left to keep our Jewishness?"

"From now on, I will take care of you," promised Greenberg. "But what will become of us now?" asked the older sister. He told them about the many survivors, the thousands who arrived in Sweden, and, of course, the extraordinary institution founded by Rabbi Jacobson and Rabbi Wolbe in Lidingö. "You will go to Lidingö," he said, "and meet 84 other girls like yourselves. Modest girls, from Hasidic homes, that is where you belong." He promised to try and expedite their acceptance into the camp as quickly as possible.

The dentist listened to the conversation, riveted and paralyzed. She didn’t understand a word or half a word of the language they spoke, Yiddish. She did grasp that she had to part from her dream and the two girls. It never occurred to her to protest this. It was clear to her, despite the pain of separation, that this was the right thing to do. Mr. Greenberg was right.

The watchmaker did not wait for his usual Friday visit, hurrying to Rabbi Jacobson at the 'Lidingö' camp to recount the day’s events. Rabbi Jacobson, a man whose heart loved like no other, opened his eyes in deep concern: "You know that if I take in another girl, the whole establishment is at risk of closure." Ephraim was aware. He was part of the place’s milieu, knowing that the Swedish government limited the number of girls the camp could receive. Ephraim was sparing with words and simply stated, "There’s no choice!" "Alright," said Rabbi Jacobson, "bring them as quickly as possible." However, he added, they are not camp trainees. They are my guests and reside with my wife and me. This was his solution to the limitation on the number of girls he was allowed to accept. When government inspectors arrived, he would tell them the two lived in his house and were not among the camp girls.

Like all the girls of 'Lidingö,' the two sisters emigrated to Israel two years later, building Torah homes. Rabbi Jacobson married them off, as he did with all their sisters from 'Lidingö,' being the "bridesmaid" and "best man" at the weddings of the two orphan sisters. The younger girl married Rabbi Jacobson’s nephew, his brother’s son. The elder sister was married to his beloved son, Rabbi Moshe Jacobson ztz"l, the previous rabbi of Be’er Yaakov, and father to Rabbi Avraham Jacobson, the current rabbi of the city. Two sisters almost lost to the Jewish people were saved through one Jew’s righteous act and the incredible selflessness of the Jewish people for one another.

Written by Rabbi Avraham Fuchs, Courtesy of the 'Dirshu' website.