Jewish Partisans.... Another Then & Now story

Discussion in 'Veteran Accounts' started by Ron Goldstein, Jan 11, 2009.

  1. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    One aspect of WW2 that has probably not been explored in the same depth as others is the subject of Jewish Partisans.

    For those new to to the subject, a brief history of their activities can be found here:
    The Jewish Partisans

    I have been privileged to know one of these amazing and truly brave characters, Florian Mayevski, who just happens to be married to my wife's cousin. I have known Florian for many years now and hold him in the highest esteem.

    A brief history of his life as partisan in the Polish Home Army can be seen on the back cover of his book shown below, but if you wish to read the whole story I can thoroughly recommend "Fire without smoke" by Florian Mayevski, sub-titled "Memoirs of a Polish Partisan" ISBN 085303 461 3, published by Valentine Mitchell. (I've just been online and noticed that Amazon has got some reduced copies)

    To bring this story up to date.

    Florian's wife, Sylvia, celebrated her 80th birthday today and I managed to get a snap taken with her & Florian, now well over eighty six years old.

    I thought that this might make a good "Then & Now" subject, the photo on the front of his book providing the "Then" factor.
     

    Attached Files:

    James S likes this.
  2. At Home Dad (Returning)

    At Home Dad (Returning) Well-Known Member

    Sounds interesting, Ron.

    One question though, mis-quoting the back cover synopsis:

    "after WW2 anti semitism drove him into exile first to Israel
    and then, finally, England".

    What happened in Israel?


    All the best
     
  3. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    AtHomeDad
    No mystery here, in 1972 Florian met a British girl in Israel, and in 1975 married her and made England his eventual homeland.
    Ron
     
  4. At Home Dad (Returning)

    At Home Dad (Returning) Well-Known Member

    Cheers Ron.

    Sorry, I was confused, it sounded as if he faced anti-Semitism in Israel too!


    All the best
     
  5. Stig O'Tracy

    Stig O'Tracy Senior Member

    My God, she looks fantastic at 80!
     
  6. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Stig

    My God, she looks fantastic at 80!


    As you obviously have a good eye I couldn't resist letting you see "she who must be obeyed" at the same age :)

    Cheers

    Ron
     

    Attached Files:

  7. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    Ron, you are pulling our leg, right? She simply can't be that age :)

    And that book goes for my "someday" list too ;)
     
  8. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    Very interesting subject Ron and the book lokks like a good read. I wonder were there many like Florian?
     
  9. Stig O'Tracy

    Stig O'Tracy Senior Member

    Stig



    As you obviously have a good eye I couldn't resist letting you see "she who must be obeyed" at the same age :)

    Cheers

    Ron


    Obviously some good genes at their end of the pool!
     
  10. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Thought I'd give this thread a bit of a bump because I was delighted to attend Florian's 90th Birthday party today which he celebrated with his lovely wife Sylvia, many of his family and lots of his friends.

    Ron
     

    Attached Files:

  11. TTH

    TTH Senior Member

    Please give Florian and Sylvia all our best, Ron.

    On the same subject, I saw the following film about Jewish partisans many years ago and it is simply amazing. I recommend it to everyone, and if you can get it you should see it. Partisans of Vilna - Docurama - Docurama Films
     
  12. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    I regret to report that Florian has just passed away.

    It was an honour to have known him for so many years and I send my sincere condolences to his widow Sylvia and all his family

    Ron
     
  13. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    The following eulogy to Florian, amended only to discount personal details, was made at his funeral by his stepson Stephen Annett.

    My stepfather, Florian Mayevski, was a courageous and inspirational man … one of the last survivors of an elite band of Jewish men who took up arms to help defeat the fascist forces which set out to annihilate their people.

    Florian was born Moshe Aaron Leibzeiger in central Poland in 1922. When the second world war broke out 17 years later, Florian might well have perished in the holocaust which claimed the lives of 90 per cent of Poland’s Jewish population including almost every member of Florian’s own family.

    But there were certain key factors in Florian’s life which equipped him better than most to survive the Nazi occupation of his country. Most pupils at the school he attended were Catholics. As a result Florian, brought up in a yiddish speaking family, came to speak Polish like a native and could easily be taken for a Catholic.

    Even at this early stage in his life Florian established himself as a fighter, taking on the anti-semitic bullies in his school and earning respect for standing up to them.

    Just as important to his future survival was the fact that his amiable nature enabled him to form many friendships with non-Jews, some of whom would later play an important part in enabling him to stay alive. And after leaving school, apprenticeships - first as a baker and then a carpenter - helped equip him with the manual dexterity and practical skills which would also prove crucial to his survival.

    In 1941, Florian was arrested by police in a round-up of young Jewish men and taken to a labour camp which was still under construction. He managed to escape and return home by slipping into a group of Polish labourers who were leaving after a night shift.

    Shortly afterwards, Florian cheated fate again, when German troops and Polish police drove all Jewish families, including Florian’s, into the town square. When an SS officer ordered all tradesmen to ‘step out’, Florian reluctantly did so with the encouragement of his sister and his mother, who told him: ‘think of yourself’. He never saw either of them again. He was one of only 15 of the town’s 2-thousand Jewish inhabitants to be left behind that day.

    Wracked by guilt over leaving his mother and sister – something he carried all of his life - Florian was sent to work for the local police chief where he eventually learnt the tragic truth that his family, along with all the other Jews taken away with them, had perished.

    It was at this point that Florian went on the run and eventually into hiding. He spent the winter of 1942/43 living as a fugitive in an underground bunker he built himself in the forest … what he later called his ‘living grave’. He was fortunate to receive the support and help of a pre-war contact, a friend called Marian Kowalski … one of the many Poles to whom Florian remained forever grateful.

    In the Spring of 1943 a new phase in Florian’s life began, when he was recruited to join the armed struggle against Fascism by linking up with the underground partisan forces. He became one of a very few Jewish members of the Home Army, loyal to the Polish government in exile in London. Their aim was to interrupt German communications, although they spent much of their time acquiring weapons (often by force) and dealing with German collaborators.

    It was during this period that Moyshe changed his name to Florian Mayevski as part of an attempt to conceal his Jewish identity. Even amongst those opposed to the Nazis, not all were sympathetic to the plight of the Jews.

    And in fact a year later, Florian became concerned about the right wing nature of some Home Army groups. When questions were raised about his so-called ‘questionable’ origins he decided to leave the Home Army and join a unit of the People’s Army, a Soviet-backed organisation which was more willing to absorb Jews. Florian’s unit was made up largely of Poles but also included several Russian parachutists and even a couple of German veterans of the Spanish civil war. It undertook a number of actions against German forces, including the blowing up of army railway transports.

    So, Florian finished the war as a distinguished partisan fighter. After searching unsuccessfully for members of his family, he determined to assimilate into post-war Polish society. He entered the Polish army as a sergeant, married and had two children, Kamilla and Zbiscech. He retired in 1964 having reached the rank of captain, serving on the Polish-German border.

    After retirement, Florian became actively involved in local politics, as a councillor and president of the Combatants Association. But again anti Semitism was to impact his life. A wave of anti-zionism swept communist Poland following the Israeli victory in the six-day war and once again Florian’s Jewish origins became an issue. When he refused to denounce Israel his position became increasingly uncomfortable. In 1969, he finally got permission to visit a friend in Brussels. Once there, he applied for political asylum in the West.

    And so began yet another phase in Florian’s life. While working in Brussels, he became aware that one of his relatives – his cousin Max – had survived the war. After being reunited with him, Florian went to manage a hotel in Israel which his cousin owned. It was there that a problem with air conditioning and a bathroom door that wouldn’t close properly brought him together with a hotel guest who he at first thought was the celebrated Greek singer, Nana Miscouri … but who turned out to be my mother, Sylvia.

    A holiday romance blossomed and as they got to know each other it developed into a love which would go on to underpin a 38 year-long marriage. Once again, Florian uprooted himself and moved to London to be with Sylvia. Another country. Another culture. Another language. The ever-resourceful Florian took it in his stride.

    Despite arriving in the UK without a word of English, Florian had soon established his own, very successful building and decorating business. A loyal and devoted husband and son-in-law to my late grandfather (papa), he slotted effortlessly into the role of grandpa in our family. He lavished love and care on my four children and, in turn, on their children.

    The warmth, generosity and hospitality of the life he created here in London with my mother has been enjoyed by us all – friends, relatives and neighbours… with many of us benefiting from Florian’s DIY skills, world class roast chicken, his sense of fun and repertoire of practical jokes and his charming and disarming smile.

    What an inspirational figure he was.

    After the tragedies and disruptions which punctuated his life, this courageous man remained remarkably optimistic and free from bitterness. I believe we can all feel privileged to have known him and to have been part of his extraordinary story … a story that Florian gave to the world with the publication of his biography, ‘Fire without Smoke’.

    Ron
     

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