obituaries A Survivor's Quest David Sachs Senior Copy Editor T wo weeks before he died, Shoah survivor Zygie Allweiss was the acclaimed honoree at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills. Zygie, by now 87 years old and wheel- chair bound, was the revered guest at a talk by two authors whose book docu- mented the struggles of Polish Jews who escaped death through the help of sympa- thetic Poles. In the opening chapter of their book, They Were Just People: Stories of Rescue in Poland During the Holocaust, authors Bill Tammeus and Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn told the harrowing story of Zygie Allweiss — who was a mere 12 years old in 1939 when World War II began. Zygie and his late brother Sol, then only 14, turned out to be the only survivors of a family that consisted of their mother, father and nine children. Upon hearing of Zygie's courage and resilience, the audience at the event gave him a heartfelt standing ovation, and Zygie, although extremely frail, man- aged to stand up from his wheelchair to acknowledge the praise. For many years, Zygie was a docent at the Holocaust center, sharing his story of bravery in the face of genocide with hun- dreds of visitors, most of them school- children. Zygie's night of exultation at the authors' lecture turned out to be his last public outing. Zyga "Zygie" Heller Allweiss died peacefully Aug. 20, 2014, in his West Bloomfield home — near his beloved wife of 65 years, Irma, and after hearing the voices of all five of their children the night before. He was born in the village of Jaslany, Poland, and immigrated to America with his brother after the war. In Detroit, Zygie graduated from Wilbur Wright High School with honors in 1949 and studied a few years at Wayne University. The brothers learned auto mechanics through ORT. In 1952, the two went out on their own and leased a gas station from Citrin-Kolb Oil Co. Many in the local Jewish community fondly remember Zygie and his brother as proprietors of neighborhood gasoline/ service stations, including Sol & Zygie's Standard on Dexter near Davison and on McNichols near the University of Detroit. Later, they had the popular Mobil sta- tion at 10 Mile and Greenfield on the Southfield-Oak Park border. "Dad was one of the good guys, a char- ismatic man people liked:' said daughter Esther Allweiss Ingber, speaking at the funeral. "He offered strong opinions, a few jokes and practical wisdom. "He and Sol worked hard and achieved 86 August 28 • 2014 JN the American Dream:' Daughter Janice Young said, "Dad gave everyone a chance. He employed African Americans, and he employed women. His was one of the first gas stations to have female gas pumpers, of which I was one. "He cared about his employees; he'd give people advances on their pay. When people had a big repair bill, he'd let them sign for it:' Daughter Elizabeth Allweiss added, "Dad once hired a man fresh out of prison that no one else would hire and taught him the auto Zygie Allweiss mechanic's trade c. 1974 so that he could support his fam- ily. He gave him a new life. "Dad would say, 'Everyone has to speak up when there is injustice. It's the people who don't speak up that allow evil people to thrive and get away with crimes against humanity:" Son Michael Allweiss spoke of his father's strength as a parent, saying, "Dad was an anchor in a stormy sea:' Granddaughter Renee Wise said, "May the atrocities of the Holocaust and what you survived never be forgotten or spoken of in vain:' Evading Death The story of Zygie's survival was quite remarkable. It involved narrow escapes from death, chance reunions with family members and jumping off a moving truck on the way to a mass execution. Zygie and Sol were hidden for more than a year on the farm of a Polish couple, Zofia and Maciej Dudzik, who had business deal- ings with their father. The Dudziks and their children would have been murdered by the Germans if it had been discovered they were har- boring Jews. Later, Zygie made sure the Dudziks were honored for their bravery as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and also at the Holocaust Memorial Center's hallway of rescuers in Farmington Hills. The Dudzik and Allweiss families were reunited in 1999 when an Internet search by Dudzik granddaughter Barbara Rzeznik in Chicago brought the families back in contact. Prior to being hidden by the Dudziks, Zygie and Sol were imprisoned along with their mother and three sisters in a slave labor camp not far from their rural home. When their mother, Esther, died of typhus and starvation, Sol and other inmates Obituaries buried her alongside the only big tree in the camp. Zygie was in a typhus-induced coma at the time but was told of what happened. As a docent at the Holocaust Memorial Center, Zygie would tell groups of mostly gentile schoolchildren about his experi- ences. For Zygie, the emotional trauma of his child- hood cut so deeply that he would admit to the young visitors, "I can't remember my mother's face:' He would oLLC 4LUSr sincerely advise them, "Always keep a picture of your mother with you:' Searching For His Mother In 2006, Zygie traveled back to Poland for the first time, accompanied by his daughter Esther. His intent was to find his mother Esther's remains and bring her to the U.S. for a Jewish burial — and to rest in a more peaceful, sacred place. He described his quest as "the most important thing in the world to me:' In Poland, Zygie and Esther stayed as houseguests of his rescuers' son Janek Dudzik and his wife, Janina. With the assistance of Janek, Zygie found the site of the camp and had workers dig near where the burial might have been. Their efforts, however, were not successful. But for Zygie, the trip marked the tearful closure of an enormous personal loss. In 2007, Zygie and Esther returned to Poland for the poignant presentation of the Yad Vashem honor to the family of his rescuers, Zofia and Maciej Dudzik. Zygie loved gardening and animals, and he was always a proud supporter of Israel. In 1998, at age 71, he traveled there with Irma and had the bar mitzvah he never had before atop Masada — a symbol of Jewish bravery amid persecu- tion. Zygie Allweiss is survived by his dear wife, Irma; children, Esther (Mike) Ingber, Irene Wise, Janice (Loren) Young, Elizabeth Allweiss, Michael Allweiss; grandchildren, Erica (Phil) Bak, Alison Tschirhart, Jennifer (Mat) Stollman, Sarah Allweiss-Rosenbaum, Julianna Tschirhart, Renee Wise, Aiden Allweiss; great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Nathan and Ella Bak, and Clara Stollman. He is also survived by his sister-in- law, Frieda Allweiss; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Richard and Christa Burg; nephews and nieces, Jack (Patty) Allweiss, Ben Allweiss, liana Moss, Phil (Kat) Allweiss, Ted (Joy) Burg, Dan (Ember) Burg, Richard (Barbara) Burg and Eddie Burg; grandnephews and grandnieces, Jonathan Allweiss, Erin (Paul) Lietzan, Frank and Gwen Burg, and David and Aaron Burg. More survivors include cousin, Helen (Larry Manber) Muhlbauer; for- mer sons-in-law, Mike Davis, Richard Tschirhart and Larry Wise; former daughter-in-law, Christine Borgne; family friends, Margo Efros and Ursula Czachor; caregivers from Marisa Home Care. Zygie was the son of Jacob and Esther (Heller) Allweiss, who perished during the Holocaust along with Zygie's siblings: Sarah (the late Max) Federgrun, Loeser, Gittel, Mendel, Rachel, Fishel and Frimcha Allweiss. He was the cherished brother of the late Salek "Sol" Allweiss, who died Aug. 1, 2004. Zygie also was the great-uncle of the late David Allweiss and the late Sophia Allweiss; son-in-law of the late Benjamin (the late Bertha Klatzkin) Burg; and brother-in-law of the late Harry (the late Victoria) Burke, the late Jack (the late Mollie) Burke, and the late Leo (the late Gertrude) Burg. Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, (248) 553-2400, www. holocaustcenter.org or a charity of one's choice. Arrangements were by Ira Kaufman Chapel. ❑ 11 MARION AUGUST, 93, of Farmington Hills, died Aug. 19, 2014. She is survived by her son, Robert August of Nevada; daugh- ters and son-in-law, August Linda Gershenson of Bloomfield Hills, Karen and Kenneth Stern of Illinois; grandchildren, Nicolle and Aaron Obermyer, Heather August and fiance, Will Ezzell, Jill and Seth Cohen, and Jason Stern and fiancee, Meghan Stone; great-grandchildren, Chloe and Cooper Cohen, and Payton Obermyer. She is also survived by Joel Gershenson. Mrs. August was the beloved wife of the late Sam August; the loving sister of the late Shirley Neeman and the late Norman Silets; the dear sister-in-law of the late Maurice Neeman and the late Dora Silets. Interment was at Machpelah Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of one's choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.