women and children from Brzezów in southeastern Poland were murdered by the Nazis in August 1942 A Polish artist's mural project is commemorating them where they lost their lives 2023Get email notification for articles from Ofer Aderet FollowAug 28 when many Israelis were vacationing abroad Esti Zeller from a Tel Aviv suburb got on a plane to a destination that doesn't appear on many Israelis' bucket list She was headed to the southeastern Polish town of Brzozów around 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Ukrainian border USC Shoah Foundation is saddened to hear of the recent passing of Millie Zuckerman Holocaust survivor and longtime friend of the Institute Millie was surrounded by her family when she passed away on August 9 Poland and was a hidden child of the Holocaust Her small town of Humniska had a population of only five hundred families of which less than thirty were Jewish When the war began in 1939 and the Nazi’s invaded Poland her family was allowed to keep their home but with restrictions all Jews were forced to wear identifying armbands and they were made to perform forced labor for the Nazi’s they believed the occupation would not persist past a handful of months In 1942 conventional wisdom shifted as life in Poland changed for the worse The family was no longer allowed keep its grocery store open for business and the Nazi’s mandated the removal of all Jewish people from the village all of whom were arrested and moved to Brzozow a larger village where they were forced to do hard labor the family lived cramped into schoolhouses until they were once again moved to another town the Nazi’s ordered that all Jews were to assemble in the town stadium sensing and fearing the gathering would be a mass execution decided that they would not go Instead he formed a plan for his family to escape back to Humniska and seek refuge at the home of Michalina Kedra Michalina was a friend of her fathers who was widowed with four children Before the occupations she often shopped at the family’s grocery store where Abraham would sometimes give her credit when she couldn’t afford her grocery’s The family had only planned to stay at Michalina’s for two days until they could figure out their next move The family stayed in her attic for two years The straw filled attic was a cramped space where they made the best of rationing what little food they could gather Michalina would often visit the family to help pass the time Their new-found freedom was coupled with a range of emotions from joy to apprehension While they were overjoyed by their liberation the family still faced tough decisions on what their next steps would be Hungary where they were assisted by a Jewish agency that covered housing and meals the family left to a displaced persons camp in Bindermichel Austria that was established by the United States It was at this camp that Millie was able to regain some of the youth that was robbed from her She met her husband Abe at this camp as well They were married in August of 1947 and began building their lives together in 1949 and two months later the small family emigrated to the U.S which was dedicated in honor of Millie and Abe The book chronicles the making of the film along with the establishment and evolution of USC Shoah Foundation which was founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg after the making of the movie Millie and Abe devoted their lives to honoring the six million who were murdered during the Holocaust They played a role in supporting and building numerous remembrances across the country including The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City and The Shoah Foundation Millie lived out her life as a beacon of kindness and joy She made it a point to focus on the good in the world and to live every day in the present She is survived by her daughters Ann and Ruth and their husbands Bernard Sklar and Steven Katz ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren Millie will be deeply missed and forever in our memories Sign Up Today! Be the first to learn about new articles and personal stories like the one you've just read Digital Accessibility | Accessibility Guidelines This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page © All Rights Reserved | May 06, 2025 | Catholic Star Herald of the Diocese of Camden Add the Catholic Star Herald to your home screen For Android users(Chrome) tap the at the top right vertical 3 dots then tap “Add to Home Screen” For iPhone tap:at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen” If you need assistance with submitting your subscription, please call Neal Cullen at 856-583-6139, or email Neal.Cullen@camdendiocese.org © All Rights Reserved | May 06, 2025 | Catholic Star Herald of the Diocese of Camden 2022Get email notification for articles from Ofer Aderet FollowMar 10 a resident of the town of Brzozow in southeast Poland received a WhatsApp text message from Israel “They wrote me that five refugees from Ukraine were at that moment making their way to my house.,” she recounted they had told me to prepare to take in a grandmother and grandson but I didn’t have enough food for five people.” Get important news about your town as it happens Get the top stories from across our network Are you sure you want to unsubscribe from daily updates — Urszula Paluchniak of Wallington died on Dec Urszula Paluchniak of Wallington was 34 years old Poland to Janusz and Elzbieta (Bak) Paluchniak She came to the United States and Wallington in 2000 Urszula was known as a very kind woman to many in Wallington She could be seen walking with her beloved son Krystin Grzegorczuk Urszula is survived by her beloved son Krystin; parents Janusz and Elzbieta; brothers Przemek She is also survived by her nephews Nicholas and Alexander (she was Alexander's God Mother); and her paternal grandmother Maria Paluchniak