Shlomo Breznitz

Shlomo Breznitz (M / Slovakia, 1936), Holocaust survivor

• KEYWORDS : <Czechia> <Hidden Children> <Catholic Schools>

• MEMOIRS : Memory Fields (1993)

Biography

Shlomo Breznitz was born August 3rd,1936 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. The night before their deportation to Auschwitz, the parents placed their children, both Judith and Shlomo, in an orphanage run by the sisters of the St. Vincent’s Convent in a final attempt to save their lives. In 1949, Shlomo along with his survived mother and sister immigrated to Israel. Breznitz later became an author, psychologist and professor.

Boook : Memory Fields (1993)

• Sedot ha-zikaron (Tel Aviv : `Am `oved, 1993). English ed. Memory Fields: The Legacy of a Wartime Childhood in Czechoslovakia (New York: Knopf, 1993). Also translated into German.

"Memory Fields recounts Shlomo Breznitz’s devastating experiences upon being placed in a Sisters of Saint Vincent orphanage just hours before his parents were sent to Auschwitz. He tells of events with other orphans, his teacher, classmates, the prelate and dreaded visits by Nazi officers periodically searching for Jewish children. He describes overwhelming feelings of isolation and loneliness, and persistent dread of being discovered. Interwoven throughout the book, Breznitz, the psychologist, draws on his history and explores the nature of cruelty and kindness, of stifling fear and outstanding courage, and the ways in which memory shapes our lives. University of Haifa psychology professor Breznitz, who was caught up in the Holocaust as a child, has written a spare and eloquent memoir of his experiences. Born into a Jewish family in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, he narrowly avoided transport to a concentration camp, because his parents, who were soon shipped to Auschwitz, managed to place the six-year-old Shlomo and his 10-year-old sister, Judith, in a Catholic orphanage, where they remained until the end of the war. There Shlomo strove to become a good Christian, hiding his circumcision from the other boys, who frequently treated him cruelly, and memorizing the Catholic litany so well that he was chosen to recite for the prelate. The pain of his memories of the convent was reinforced by an anti-Semitic incident that took place in 1959 when the author was traveling through Hungary as a member of the Israeli student chess team. The book is a moving contribution to Holocaust literature."--Publisher description.

"Moving artfully and easily from past to present, from a child's perspective to an adult's, Shlomo Breznitz's many voices relate this poignant, gripping, and often terrifying memoir. Caught in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust, Breznitz and his family moved from village to village until it became clear that there was no escaping the Nazis. Before they were sent to Auschwitz, however, Breznitz's parents persuaded the Sisters of Saint Vincent to take their two recently converted children into the convent's orphanage. Shlomo - called Juri - was just six years old. Separated from his parents and from his sister, Judith (the nuns segregated the sexes, and communication between them was rarely allowed), Juri recounts his often devastating experiences with the other orphans, the nuns, his teacher and classmates at the village school, the prelate and the mother superior, and the Nazi officers who periodically visited the orphanage. He describes his overwhelming feelings of isolation and loneliness, his persistent dread of being found out as a "stinking Jew" (constantly hiding his circumcision), his earnest determination to be a good Catholic, and the crushing sense of danger that loomed over him at every moment. Memory Fields, however, goes beyond its recollections of childhood. It speaks also for Breznitz the psychologist, as he explores the nature of cruelty and kindness, of stifling fear and outstanding courage, of memory and the ways in which it shapes our lives. In the last chapter of the book, almost fifty years later Breznitz returns to Czechoslovakia and revisits the places so vivid in his memory, in hopes of finding the nuns who saved his and his sister's life. A stunning and evocative story, beautifully told."--Publisher description.

Article by Christopher J. McClendon, University of Michigan (April 2020)

Shlomo Breznitz was born August 3rd,1936 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.

During the war, Breznitz lived with his mother, father and older sister Judith. His father’s position as chief engineer of the Transylvanian electrical company provided he and his family with a degree of immunity and for some time he was able to prevent them from being sent to a concentration camp. His family moved from village to village until there was no escaping the Nazi. In 1944, his father lost all immunity against being deported.

The night before their deportation to Auschwitz, the parents placed their children both Judith and Shlomo in an orphanage run by the sisters of the St. Vincent’s Convent in a final attempt to save their lives.

Shlomo is often referred to as Juri in his memoir. Juri recounts his often devastating experiences with other orphans, the nuns, his teacher and classmates at the village schools, the prelate and the mother superior, and the Nazi officers who periodically visited the orphanage. He describes his overwhelming feelings of loneliness, his persistent dread of being found as a Jew, his earnest determination to be a good catholic and the crushing sense of danger that looked over him at every moment. His phenomenal memory was discovered during his time in the convent and it helped him to recite the Christian prayers by heart. This ability earned him the protection of the local bishop who thought the boy would fulfill the fable of being a Jewish orphan who would one day become the Pope.

Shlomo’s father was murdered in Auschwitz. His mother survived and returned after the war to collect her children from the orphanage. The nuns gave up Judith but at first refused Shlomo due to his possible fulfillment of the highest position in the Catholic Church. Shlomo was only returned to his mother after the involvement of the authorities.

In 1949, Shlomo along with his mother and sister immigrated to Israel. Breznitz later became an author, psychologist and professor. He now is the founder and president of a brain fitness software called Cognifit.