Chana Iwinietcka Ryback

This report is based on a chapter of Betty Brodsky Cohen’s upcoming book “The Tunnel People”  which tells the personal stories of the Novogrudok tunnel escapees. Chana Iwinietcka Ryback was born on March 31st, 1913 in Novogrudok, Poland. She...

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David Bakst

David Bakst was born to a loving Jewish family in Ivie, Poland (modern-day Belarus) on December 15, 1922. He had three siblings: Eliyahu (“Ellie”) (born 1924), Batya (born 1927), and Gussie (born 1932).  The Bakst children attended one of...

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Bernard (Berel, Boris) Novick

Bernard (Berel, Boris) Novick was born August 14, 1922, in the small town of Marzinkance, Poland, deep in the forests near the convergence of Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania. He lived with his parents, Yehuda ben Dov and Sarah Eshe...

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Robert Lesser (Rachmil Lazowski)

Robert Lesser was born Erachmil (Rachmil) Lazovski (Lazowski) on May 13, 1933, in Bielica, Poland (pronounced Belitza), what is now Belarus. Bielica was an agricultural and fishing community, and the town’s trading post became a center for Jewish merchants....

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Faige Merin Porter (Puchtik)

Faige Merin Porter (Puchtik) was born in Horodok, Ukraine, on March 15, 1909. She lived with her parents, Nosson and Baila, along with seven brothers and sisters: Yankel, Aron, Sender, Zisya, Rivka, Chana, and Elka. Faige’s father, Nosson, owned...

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