Table Of ContentCopyright © 2005 By Leon Segal
Second Edition March 2021
TEARS OF A HERO: THE AMAZING STORY OF RUBIN & IDA SEGAL
Copyright © 2005 Leon Segal
First Edition 2003
Second Edition March 2021
USHMM Library Call No. DS135.B383 S44 2003
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TEARS OF A HERO
The Amazing Story of Rubin and Ida Segal
Victims, Fighters Rescuers, Survivors Parents, Heroes
Dedicated With Love and Devotion to Our Parents,
Rubin and Ida Segal
Introduction:
In 1998, a researcher documenting the history of Holocaust
survivors for the Spielberg Shoah Foundation was interviewing
Rubin and Ida Segal. Like too many others, they were making a
videotape for posterity and for their family, telling stories that were
so inconceivable and shocking that only testimony by the witnesses
and the victims, would assure that people would continue to believe
these stories in the future.
Rubin told the interviewer about some of his many wartime
experiences, about the carnage he lived through, about his family
and relatives who were brutally murdered. Responding to
questions, Rubin recounted his life in the partisans, and described
how he had personally killed Nazis in revenge and in self-defense.
The interviewer then asked Rubin “How did it feel, to kill so
many people? How do you now feel?” Rubin stopped speaking,
perhaps because this was the first time in sixty years that he had
been asked this question. Tears filled his eyes; he started to sob,
then to cry. The accented words came slowly and softly through
the tears and sobs and tortured memories:
“I….didn’t….want….to….kill….anybody.
I….never….wanted….to….kill….anybody.
They….made….me….do….it. I...was...forced...to...do...it.
So..we..could..live,…….to….survive.”
Ida started to weep, and she said to the interviewer.
“He was a true hero……Did you ever see a hero cry?”
This is Their Story. This is Our Story.
Copyright © 2005 2nd Edition March 2021 Leon Segal
Rev. 8.03 Rev 3 1 2021
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The Toll
Our family, Rubin and Ida, lost nearly 100 close relatives to the
Nazis. These innocent victims were murdered in the streets,
ghettos, labor camps, and barbaric mass killings.
These people included sisters, aunts, uncles, first cousins,
contemporaries of Ida and Rubin, young people and children;
people who would likely be alive today.
If these relatives had lived, and if each contemporary of Ida and
Rubin had married and had only two children per family:
• Leon, Rosaline, Aaron, and David, would have had over
100 additional second cousins.
• Grandchildren Jennifer, Steven, Jason, Eric, Yale,
Jonathan, Neal, Danny, and Darren would have had over
200 additional relatives in their generation.
• Great grandchildren Harrison, Susan, Jillian, Sammy,
Matthew, Deborah and Emma would have had over 400
additional relatives in their generation.
Our family lost literally hundreds of people.
Generations were lost.
This is Our Story.
This is Our Descendants’ Story.
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TEARS OF A HERO
The Amazing Story of Rubin and Ida Segal
Introduction
THE SETTING: Eastern Europe· · · · 1
From Eretz Yisroel ישראל ארץ to Eastern Europe· · · 2
Jewish Life in Eastern Europe· · · · 6
The Shtetl· · · · · 12
THE SEGALOWICZ FAMILY· · · · 15
The Shtetl of Ivenets· · · · 15
Rubin’s Childhood· · · · 19
THE KOZLOWSKI FAMILY· · · · 26
The Shtetl of Ivye· · · · 27
Ida Kozlowski · · · · 29
RUSSIAN OCCUPATION· · · · · 33
NAZI INVASION· · · · · 37
The Killing Squads: The Einsatzgruppen · · 40
THE KILLING SQUADS IN IVYE· · · · 46
THE GREAT SLAUGHTER· · · · 50
THE IVYE GHETTO· · · · · 56
ESCAPE FROM THE IVYE GHETTO· · · · 59
THE KILLING SQUADS IN IVENETS· · · · 62
ESCAPE FROM THE IVENETS GHETTO· · · 65
THE PARTISANS· · · · · 70
Polish and Russian Partisans·· · · 72
Ukrainian Partisans· · · · 78
The Jewish Partisans· · · · 80
Partisan Life in the Forests · · · 83
RUBIN JOINS THE PARTISANS· · · · 86
RUBIN AND IDA SEGALOWICZ IN THE PARTISANS · · 91
SAVING LIVES· · · · · 95
THE MIRACLES· · · · · 99
THE END APPROACHES: 1944· · · · 105
The Bielski Otriad· · · · 106
LIBERATION · · · · · 111
THE JOURNEY ACROSS EUROPE· · · · 115
Destination Israel· · · · 118
In the DP Camps· · · · 119
A NEW LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES· · · · 125
The Immigration Experience· · · 125
Settling In· · · · 127
A DREAM FULFILLED: At long last, Israel — ישראל ארץ· · 133
POSTSCRIPT· · · · · 135
MEMORIES· · · · · · 136
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The Blake Avenue Market· · · · 136
At Brighton Beach· · · · 138
Summers in the City· · · 138
·
Up on the Roof· · · 138
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Living in East New York· · · · 139
Our Relatives· · · · 140
Effects of The Holocaust· · · · 141
RUBIN”S 80th BIRTHDAY· · · · · 142
Ida & Rubin’s 60th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY · · 142
PERSONAL STORIES:
Marcia (Kozlowski) Albert· · · · · 148
Joe Kazlow· · · · · · 158
Dinah (Magids) Kazlow· · · · · 167
SEGAL FAMILY TIMELINE· · · · 176
FAMILY TREEs Segalowicz & Kaslowski · · 179
MAPS: · BELARUS & Shtetl Locations· 182
THE SEGAL FAMILY ODYSSEY 183
The Descendants Legacy 1 184
Photograph section Not numbered
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EPILOGUE – March 13, 2021
Update to The Amazing Story of Rubin and Ida Segal, 2003
– [K.] denotes Kozlowski, Kazlow, etc. Sections include photos and commentary
EPILOGUE CONTENTS
• Cousins Family Trees – Kozlowski, Segalowicz 186-187
• Introduction to Epilogue 188
• Milestones: births, deaths, marriages, news 189
• Ivye & Ivenetz – modern times 194
Family Sections
• The Kozlowski/Segal Families
Aaron & Karen Segal Family 197
Leon & Patti Segal Family 199
Rosaline [Segal] Nogin / Eisenstadt Family 204
Linda Albert (Marcia [K.]) Family 206
Arlene [K.] & Art Feldman Family 207
Ira & Linda Kazlow Family 209
Dinah & Joe Kazlow Family 213
• The Starkman Family – Joe & Sonia [S.] (not K.) 215
• The Zeltzer Family – Morris & Ida [Bloch] (not K.) 220
Uncle Dave & Tante Jennie Kazlowski & Families 224
Bernie [K.] Carson 226
Freddie Kazlow 228
Joe (Heshie) Kaslofsky 229
• The Joseph Kazlow Family (Joe-the-Baker)
Coming to America 235
Joe-the-Baker 239
• Rose [K.] Cohen (Aunt Rose from Albany) 243
• Toby Rose [K.] {Taibele Rachael) Cohen 250
• Miriam [K.] Galinkin 254
ISRAEL 256
Yudovich Family - via Leah [Lipchin] Kozlowski family
Kalev Family - [via Bloch family]
• Gloria Kozlowski High School Essay – 1950 259
Monument 261
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to contributions by many of our mishpacha, including among others:
Linda Albert; Carol Brand, Alicia Brand; Andrea Carson; Deborah Carson Gottesman;
Moshe Dolev; Rosaline [Segal] Nogin / Eisenstadt; Arlene[K.] Feldman; Rina Kalev;
Ira Kazlow; Gary Kazlow; Philip Kazlow; Ellen [Zeltzer] Levine; Rose [Starkman] Littman;
Irene Faith [Polonsky] Resnick; Irene [K] Markus; Aaron & Karen Segal; Sidney Starkman;
Gloria, Mara, Michelle [K.] Stulberger; Nurit Yudovich
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