An enclosed brochure distributed by UNRWA in Washington presented a one-sided attack on Israel, mentioning only the Hamas side of the story in Gaza and essentially condemning Israel for war crimes. It went on to describe the suffering in Gaza with no indication of the murderous attacks and incessant rocket firing at Israeli citizens from that Hamas enclave.
The contents of the UNRWA brochure only confirmed my strong belief that UNRWA should no longer be funded for Palestinian refugee relief and that the U.S. should place UNRWA on its list of terrorist-supporting organizations and insist that any money given to the UN not go to UNRWA.
Nelson Marans
Silver Spring, MD
Searching For Uncle
In 2013 I returned from a trip to Terezin (Theresienstadt) where I received stunning confirmation that my uncle, Menachim (or Menachem) Yehuda “Moniek” Galas, born in Lodz on June 11, 1919, was alive at the end of the war, having survived the Lodz Ghetto, Skaryszko-Kamienna and Czêstochowa labor camps, Buchenwald, and a death march to Terezin.
After liberation, he was given permission to leave Terezin in May 1945 once the typhus epidemic had subsided, and he appears on a list of survivors (Sherit Haplatah) in Celle, Germany, near Bergen-Belsen in July 1945.
From there, the trail goes cold.
In addition to having contacted just about every agency I could think of, I have lots of documentation of my uncle’s time in Buchenwald; I have his Lodz Ghetto ID card; and I have other documents I received from the Red Cross and the International Tracing Service.
I have sent a new tracing request through the Red Cross and ITS based on the very bare information I have from the list. I have looked at the most obvious and obscure resources at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the UN, and YIVO. I have also started to make phone calls to entries for “Galas” in various Internet phone books in Sweden, Canada, Israel, etc. And I’ve created a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/searchingformenachem).
The archivist in Celle, Rainer Voss, is a friend of mine, and has thoroughly checked his archives and those of nearby Bergen-Belsen. There is no more documentation about Menachim in his records. Apparently Menachim did not register with the British or Celle military police, so he may not have remained in Celle very long. I need help in finding where he may have gone from there.
It is possible that my uncle returned to Lodz between his liberation at Terezin and his time in Celle. Perhaps he even stayed in Poland, although it is unlikely.
I would be grateful for any help or guidance as to the whereabouts of my mother’s dear brother. Please contact me at [email protected] or at 919-968-3742.
Deborah Long
(Via E-Mail)