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The Professional School Darmstadt 1947-48
Moshe Mordchelewitz |
The best source is a living witness and this is the Madrich of the School, Moshe Mordchelwitz and he tells me his story.
Moshe was born on 18.2.1921 in Kovno, the capital of Lituania. he finished the high school (Gymnasium) and went during 1938-39 to the Memel, as a german port city to learn German. He joined the Betar movement already in 1937 in Lituania. His father was born in Riga, Lituania. Sfter returning from Memel, Moshe joint the families' textile factory. When the Russians arrived in 1940, they took everything away. They wanted us to joint the Army. The Jews, realized that there would be a war and Moshe went into hiding near his brother and his wife on the border with Germany at Krettingen. He was in the woods and the Germans came down with parachutes and captured him, but he managed to escape. .) He stayed in hiding for a half a year and the fled 400km by foot to Bella Russia and stayed there until the end of the war.
He arrived in Poland, at the end of 1946 where he entered a Kibbutz with the Name Ichud with most of the young men and women belonging to the Shomer Hazair. As I was senior Betar activist, I was able to convinced the group from Ichud to join the Betar Pluga and I arrived with this group in Germany in the DP Camp of Hessisch Lichtenau in the area of Kassel, Hessen for a few days of Camp(?) and we were called Herzog.* I came with the Kibbutz and I organized the whole Kibbutz. All in all there were approximately thirty young men and women. The majority was from Poland and Lithuania.
Moshe ws approached by Samuel Batalion to assist joint him to establish the professional Betar school in Darmstadt. Moshe was active in Betar as a Madrich(Instructor) for Hebrew, Jewish History and Philosophy and Betar philosophy. It was Moshe who told Sam to contact the central committee in Munich to discuss the idea of the school and to get their persmission and support. Moshe gave the students the military discipline training. There ws a line up(role call) every morning and evening and he gave his classes in the late afternoons.
With the hope of the establishment of the new state in Israel, Moshe left already in the beginning of May 1948 from Darmstadt through Marseille? He was on the Greek ship "Tep)" with 350-400 people. He arrived on the Saturday 15. may in Eretz Israel. He was later in the Etzel and served in the Israeli Army Gdud 54 Giv'ati – Shlulei Shimon.
He is now living in Cote St. Luc, Montreal, Canada.
Some Pictures from the period at the school
Lea Dror-Batalion has been discussing the school with Moshe since 2006 and received several letters from him. There were conversion on the phone and on Skype. |
7. Conversation on Skype on July 7, 2009 about the idea of the establishing the school and the financing.
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