70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz,"The Last 500," and a Tribute to all Mothers

The 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz brings to mind a group of families, 500 slave laborers designated as metal workers from the Lodz Ghetto. that are believed by scholars to be the only group that survived the death camp in tact with young babies, as described in “Walk Forward," in Ebook and paperback on Amazon.com. However, women and children were taken from this group later in concentration camp Stutthof and at least two members of the group continue to be unaccounted for.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Going beyond what happened to Jews, German born Rosa Raskin (nee Chimowicz) describes the life of Christians in Germany during the Second World War and her lifelong search for her older sister in “Walk Forward,” a different Schindler's list. What Raskin has found since publishing "Walk Forward," is intriguing. Although she has not found new information on her sister, she found the grave of an Uncle Leo Chimowicz, her father's youngest brother, in the New Jewish Cemetery in Prague. His three young sons were with her sister and were sent back to Auschwitz for a final time on September 10, being murdered on September 11, 1944. Through a new contact in Germany, she found the son of a replacement of some taken at Stutthof. The son wrote a book about his mother and lives in Canada. Most important, Raskin found a lady in the USA who was on the journey and three years older than her 9 year old, blond-haired sister. The lady's granddaughter published an incredible book entitled "Through Eva'a Eyes." Raskin visited her new found friend and felt it was her once in a lifetime chance to get a glimpse of her sister's world from another child who was at the same place at the same time and also a member of "The Last 500."

Using letters sent to her from a newly found cousin in Israel, Raskin has detailed dates and exact facts as written by her Uncle Alfred Chimowicz, Head of Metals #1 in the Lodz Ghetto, who selected each member of "The Last 500.” Jewish family members are caught in a hellish spider's web. As pawns in the chess game between Hitler's assistants, the group designated as metal workers, survive the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Stutthof, the last place where two young Chimowicz mothers and their four children were seen alive. the fate of one mother and her three sons is on the cover of a book from the Museum of Stutthof, while the fate of her sister and her sister's mother remains a true mystery. Those who survived concentration camp Stutthof, were sent to a converted cigarette factory in Dresden to make munitions. On the burning of Dresden, they continued on a horrific death march to concentration camp Theresienstadt from which they were released by the Russian Army

On September 10, 1944, many women and children were taken from Stutthof back to Auschwitz where the 500 had come from the week before on September 3, 1944. Raskin's sister is not documented on this return trip as are her three young male cousins of the same age. Her sister, Eugenia Chimowicz, is not documented to date in any verifiable format, but Raskin has filled out memory forms at Yad Vashem and posted her name on many lists.

Born in Germany after the Holocaust, Raskin describes her endless search and promise she made to her father.

“Walk Forward” is $2.99 in ebook format and $8.99 in paperback. It was written over a periood of twenty years and many chapters stand alone as the story is an ongoing mystery. It has been very difficult to get the book into Germany where the author believes more information might exist, but is popular in the U.S. and the U.K.

A silent tribute, “We walk forward, but will never forget,” is presented in the book's video trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp7uQap6p2M.

Lessons learned

Although the Holocaust (Shoah) is a Jewish tragedy, the themes and lessons learned transcend religion and ethnicity. The fallout from that period in our history is overwhelming when one realizes how many families are yet to be reunited, how many graves are yet to be found, how many children are yet to be named?

I recently found my Uncle Leo Chimowicz's grave in Prague from a simple statement made by a child survivor named Eva, "Maybe your Uncles hitched a ride from concentration camp Theresienstadt to Prague with my family?" I had searched cemeteries worldwide, had zoomed in the Czech ones, but did not find his grave until I was given this potential clue! I had searched the worldwide cemetery databases, I had searched cemeteries in the Czech Republic, I had searched cemeteries in Prague, but when I heard Eva's words, I zoomed in on one city, and one city only.

Since my Uncle Alfred Chimowicz had seen his youngest brother, Leo Chimowicz, who was alive on release from Theresienstadt, in a hospital, I figured this youngest brother must have been buried, but the question was what hospital, in what city? As a child, I saw my father and uncle light memorial candles for their youngest brother. We knew that this youngest brother wanted to go back to the East to search for his wife and three sons, just as my father went to the West to search for his wife and young daughter.

The Holocaust cut short the lives of 11.5 million persons of all faiths. What can we do to tell the true stories as we know them and what can we do to "fix" those stories that are false about such an unbelievable event in the history of the world?

If you have a story to tell, do not hesitate to publish it on a blog, in comments on a blog, on a website, on Facebook, or whatever media you feel comfortable with. If you are searching for answers, for the truth, for the fate of lost family members, better to get it out in the media sooner rather than later.

Do not wait until you have a "perfect" book, write up what you have and get it out there.
There will be negative reviews no matter how "perfect" or how well-edited your book might be, but any closure, any new information that you might find, will most certainly be worth the effort.

If you are a member of the 2nd or 3rd generation, search the word "Holocaust" or "Shoah" in FB groups and join one that would welcome your family's stories.

When you connect with someone who may have information on the fate of one of your ancestors, do not let go, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity might never come again!

I am grateful to have found someone who was close to my sister's age and on the journey with my lost sister. Although I had older cousins that were with my sister, having found a child close to her age and seeing the world from the child's eyes is incredible and truly beyond what I expected.

I was fortunate to get a glimpse of my sister's world, literally "Through Eva's Eyes."

Eva's journey was documented in a children's book written by her granddaughter, Phoebe:

If it is time to explain what happened in that horrible period of our world's history to a child, Phoebe Unterman's book, which is most beautifully illustrated, "Through Eva's Eyes," is a wonderful place to start the journey and begin to "Walk Forward."

Eva's story is my lost sister's story, a story about the group now called "The Last 500."