Letters from Poland

In 1920, my mother, Sonia, was sent to America along with her three brothers. They left the Polish stetl of Amdur leaving behind their father and his new wife. Their mother had died during the flu epidemic of 1914. The new wife did not want to care for 4 children. Upon arrival in America, the children were sent to live with relatives. My mother began life in America in Tennessee, ending up in Brooklyn. Her brothers went to California and settled around Fresno. Their father, Alter Erbarem wrote letters to the eldest son, Ephraim; some pleaded for a photograph of the children, some asked only after their well being. Judging from the letters Ephriam was not responding to his father’s requests for photographs, and news of the children he sent away. Alter Erbarem and his new wife and children died in a concentration camp. My mother and her three brothers lived long lives in America. My mother died, the last of the 4 children in 2003. This series comprises thirty images. (some images are just text as seen here).

The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous offers information about those in Europe who at great risk, saved the lives of Jews, and now in their old age, need help to survive.