OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 19

Cemetery monument memorializes the Kay family and
the graveless Holocaust victims of Wloszczowa, Poland.

T

he myriad of tombstones of
Chesed Shel Emes Cemetery in
Clinton Township are uniform
in height and shape, lined up in even
rows that mark the graves of hundreds
of Jewish Detroiters.
But Section 18 has one tombstone
unlike any other with several com-
ponents — a tall centerpiece with
two carved dark stones positioned
one above the other, framed by two
light-colored stones similar to the
cemetery’s gravestones. This is the
Kay/Kreps monument created by
Louis Kay to remember and honor
his 200 family members and 800
other Jewish families of Wloszczowa,
Poland, who were killed during the
Holocaust.
Leybus Szyja Kreps was almost 14
when the Germans invaded Poland
and took over his hometown in
September 1939. Wloszczowa
is located

in Kielce province, about 70 miles
north of Krakow. According to The
Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of the Ghettos
during the Holocaust before World War
II, the town had 2,700 Jewish residents
— about one-half of its population.
Kreps’ parents had a grocery store in
Wloszczowa, where the family had
lived for 150 years, according to his
adult children.
During the fall of 1942, Kreps’ par-
ents, six of his siblings and many other
family and community members were
transported to Treblinka and killed
on Yom Kippur. Kreps and two of his
brothers were saved from that fate as
they had been sent to Skarzysko — a
brutal labor camp in Poland.
The camp’s German operators
would ask new prisoners if anyone
wanted to go home. Those who raised
their hands to indicate yes, including
Louis’ brother Yisrael, were sent into
the forest and shot. His brother,
Shmuel, died from illness while at
the camp during Pesach in 1943.
Kreps managed to survive more
than three years of suffering in
seven labor and concentration
camps in Poland and Germany.
His son Dr. Marc Kay, 66, who
lives in Phoenix, said, “He sur-
vived in case there was a broth-
er, and so there would be some
Jews. No one could survive.
”
On April 11, 1945,
Kreps was liberated by the
Americans, and he then
returned to Wloszczowa.
Similar to other survivors’
experiences, some former
neighbors and townspeo-
ple were not happy to
see them — preferring
to keep the houses and
businesses that they had
taken over from Jewish
residents who were transported
to concentration camps. Kreps had
one bit of luck; he was able to retrieve
family photos saved by a childhood

friend. Many
Holocaust survivors have no
such family photos.
In 1949, the Joint Distribution
Committee helped Kreps emigrate to
the U.S. and he settled in Detroit. He
changed his name to Louis Kay and
began building a new life with Gladys
Silverman, his American-born wife.
Kay started off working in a factory
and then as a scrap metal dealer, even-
tually opening a bottle recycling com-
pany which expanded over the years.
The Kays had four children and lived
in Oak Park.

‘A PLACE TO GO’
“The Holocaust was very present in
our house. One side of the family
doesn’t exist. There were pictures of
his family on the wall. He would go to
cemeteries, and there was nothing to
go to,
” said son Marc.
“He needed a place to go,
” added
Victor “
Avi” Kay, 62, who lives in
Jerusalem.
So in 1969, Kay had a stone created
at Chesed Shel Emes listing the mem-
bers of the Kreps and Klainman (his
mother’s maiden name) families who
perished during World War II at the
hand of the Nazis. Individual photos
are encased next to the names of eight
family members along with their ages
at the time of death. (Photos weren’t
available for several family members.)
Part of the stone is shaped like the
tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Marc, who was 14 at the time, remem-
bers other survivors coming from out
of town for the monument’s dedica-
tion in 1969. Stuart Kay, 58, who lives
in Franklin, believes that this was the
first personal Holocaust memorial in
the U.S.
Visiting the cemetery monument

is located
the forest and shot. His brother,
Shmuel, died from illness while at
the camp during Pesach in 1943.

Kreps managed to survive more

than three years of suffering in
seven labor and concentration
camps in Poland and Germany.
His son Dr. Marc Kay, 66, who
lives in Phoenix, said, “He sur-
vived in case there was a broth-
er, and so there would be some
Jews. No one could survive.
”

On April 11, 1945,

Kreps was liberated by the
Americans, and he then
returned to Wloszczowa.
Similar to other survivors’
experiences, some former

residents who were transported

to concentration camps. Kreps had
Louis Kay and his four siblings: Brothers
Aaron and Szaya, Sister Rojza, nephew
Zuchor and Louis (front right).

KAY FAMILY

Louis Kay,
who was
named a JN
Mitzvah Hero
in 1989.

JN FILE PHOTO

continued on page 20