Emotional Journey from page 25 65 Years Left: Zygie Allweiss works in an ORT machine shop in Germany after the war. of Caring Right: Zygie Allweiss sits while men dig at the site of a Nazi labor camp searching for the remains of his mother. for the Jewish Community Uncovering The Past Michael Schwartz Helping Job Seekers Michigan's dire economic climate has affected our neighbors, friends and relatives who are unemployed, facing financial crises and feeling hopeless and embarrassed. JVS' employment specialists and career counselors provide the light at the end of the tunnel by teaching them how to conduct a job search, remain active and energized as they learn how to identify viable career targets in this economy and find employment. Learning to identify new skills and find a job is made easier with the support of JVS. Need employment or a career change? JVS can help. It took time to find Biesiatka, a labor camp in south-central Poland where Zygie and other family members stayed. On the day of the camp's liquidation — March 7, 1943 — Zygie and Sol made separate escapes. Considering that his three sisters were shot and buried in a mass grave, Zygie said he's glad his mother Esther died of typhus and hunger two weeks earlier. At the time, he was in a coma from typhus. Decades later, Zygie finally asked Sol, "What happened to Mother?" Sol said that under cover of darkness, inmates had buried Esther six feet down, near the only big tree at the labor camp. Another reason Zygie sought pro- ceeds from his family's land was to pay for exhuming Esther's remains and bringing them to Detroit. He wanted a proper Jewish burial for her. Before leaving home, Zygie and I sought information about claiming the Allweiss land. We were quoted $5,000, just to obtain a Polish attorney's legal opinion. My letters to Zygie's congress- man, a U.S. senator, the Polish consulate in Chicago and embassies in Poland, yielded sympathetic replies but no assistance. Never one to give up, Zygie said we'd see what was possible to do while in Poland. As it turned out, no land records were found at government offices we visited in Mielec and Tuszow Narodowy. 'Almost Like Relatives' 29699 Southfield Rd. Southfield, MI 48076 (248) 559-5000 ww\;v.jvsdet.org 26 April 12 • 2007 .114 Janek and Janina Dudzik invited us to stay with them in Mielec. Janek was about 5 when his parents took in the brothers. The American Dudziks told us how excited Janek was to be hosting us. The Dudziks we met in Poland seemed almost like relatives. I learned who was who from family photo albums. A running joke was reminding Zygie to "talk English" to me and "talk Polish" to them. Janina made wonder- ful meals, including hearty soups and pirogies. Janek and two sons made the four- hour round trip to get and return us to Warsaw. In between, Janek drove anywhere we wished to go, while Zygie helped pay for fuel. We toured the dilapidated Dudzik farmhouse in Czajkowa, where Dad recalled eating with the family from a pot on the floor. The woman next door told Zygie that she and her husband always knew the Dudziks were hiding the boys. The man gave him a tearful hug. Zygie told him, "Thank you for not telling any- one!' The Allweiss home was destroyed in the 1939 invasion of Poland. On my first visit, I saw a fence around their land. Now, neighbors had encroached on some of it. Zygie felt sad and dis- gusted with the situation. Outside the Jaslany church, Zygie revealed a grim memory. In January 1941, two of his aunts and an uncle were murdered when they couldn't keep up with the mass migration of Jews to a ghetto several miles away. Also, because the Dudziks attended church in Jaslany, Zygie took time to honor Maciej and Zofia at their cemetery monuments. Our biggest moment was finding the labor camp. Janek knew Biesiatka was off Highway 875. We were returning to Mielec when Zygie told Janek to turn back to the road just passed. An elderly man at a nearby cemetery said to "go deeper into the woods!' When we reached two posts block- ing the road, Zygie looked left and said, "That's the place!" Biesiatka was a sandy clearing, sur- rounded by forest. Upon noticing a wide stump, we felt certain we'd found the former "big tree?' Zygie was so excited. "Someone was in the car with me" telling him to take this road, he said. Talking later with our hosts, Zygie asked for help to find people to dig at the site. He said finding the remains of his mother "is the most important thing in the world to me!' The Dudziks implemented his proj- ect. A supervisor advised three men to excavate in a spoke pattern, about six feet apart. Uncovering white sand mixed with dark soil would indicate a possible burial. While waiting, Zygie spoke about Biesiatka and located the road Jews were forced to build. He said the fore- man sent him back to the barracks on the day of the liquidation. Dad retraced the route of the truck that took every- one but him to their deaths. When he pointed out exactly where he fell off the truck undetected, I felt a chill. His stories were more vivid told where they happened. No roots from a tree were discovered. Janek walked around and noticed a size- able depression where a large tree might have been removed. Digging in the new spot proved futile as well. Finally, Zygie asked me to gather soil in the film can- isters I'd brought. We said Kaddish for Esther. Zygie paid the men, and everyone departed. Zygie came home convinced that Poles have better attitudes toward Jews. Christians were kind wherever he went. They really listened to him. He found Polish people who not only were inter- ested in what happened to his family, but genuinely regretful. Despite some disappointments, I believe he's realized a sense of closure. Li Esther Allweiss Ingber is a former copy edi- tor at the Jewish News. She is the eldest of the five children of Zyga and Irma Allweiss, who live in West Bloomfield. Esther and her father will present their video during CHA1M's Yom HaShoah program, 7 p.m. Monday, April 16, at the Jewish Community Center in Oak Park. Co-sponsors are Workmen's Circle and the Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families. Admission is free.