Otrzymaliśmy wzruszający list ze Stanów Zjednoczonych Ameryki, w którym Jay Kozlowski – syn Edith London Kozlowski – prosi aby jego mamie, która 20 września br. kończy sto lat, przesłać urodzinowe życzenia.
Pani Edith London Kozlowski bardzo lubi otrzymywać takie listy i pocztówki, sprawiają jej wielką radością. Jest ona radomską Żydówką ocalałą z Holocaustu. Od 1947 r. mieszka w USA, gdzie pielęgnuje pamięć o Polsce, jako kraju swego dzieciństwa.
Serdecznie zachęcamy do przesłania życzeń szanownej Jubilatce.
Można to zrobić w Resursie, gdzie wszystkim chętnym przekażemy jej adres, oraz pokryjemy koszt znaczka pocztowego. Kartkę można wysłać na darmowych widokówkach przekazanych przez Radomską Inicjatywę Pocztówkową, dostępnych w Resursie.
Treść listu prezentujemy poniżej:
I am the child of Holocaust Survivors and I have a favor to ask. My mother is looking forward to her 100th birthday on September 20, 2022. One of the simple pleasures she enjoys is receiving cards on holidays and special occasions. She particularly loves getting birthday greetings! My father passed away in October, 2020 at the age of 100!
My mother (and father) grew up in Radom, Poland, a town of about 100,000 people of whom about 30,000 were Jews. My mom and her family had a comfortable and happy Jewish life in the Radom Shtetl. Radom is about 60 miles south and slightly east of Warsaw, the biggest city in Poland. They began to suffer from discrimination and anti semtism around 1933. This grew in scope and intensity and got particularly bad with the occupation of their town by the Nazis in 1939. Radom was attacked on September 8, 1939 and occupied on September 9. Edith survived the onslaught and also, her time in the bigger of the 2 Radom ghettos. With the liquidation of the ghetto came a selection process. Her parents and grandparents were marched to a train and loaded onto a boxcar bound for the Treblinka death camp where they were murdered in the crematoria. The chaos, screaming, and sheer terror were impossible to describe. There was no opportunity to say goodbye to family and friends. Fortunately, Edith’s 2 sisters remained with her throughout the war and they were liberated together by the Russian army. They survived the horrors of Auschwitz and other smaller camps. They also spent time in Bergen Belsen. After liberation, they lived in a DP (displaced persons) camp in Stuttgart. Germany.
They were granted visas to come to the US in 1947 as they had family ‘sponsors’ here. Edith reconnected with Marvin Kozlowski when he arrived in Michigan in 1949. As he had promised, he asked her to marry him and they were wed on January 15, 1950. My mom raised us in a loving and nurturing environment. She enjoyed cooking but loved to bake and everything she made was infused with love. A dear friend of hers helped create and publish a small cookbook with our favorite recipes. She would often bake 20 to 30 honey cakes around Rosh Hashanah to help friends and family usher in a sweet year. She continues to love knitting and has knit at least one scarf for almost everybody she knows well! My mom was always home when we returned from school to help with homework, prepare dinner and shower us with love and attention. My dad was a tailor and as I was starting my senior year in high school, he opened a small clothing and tailor shop. My mom was his helper and partner in the business.
My mom gave all of her love, kindness, sensitivity and energy in raising us. She and my dad had many habits and customs that they brought from the ‘old country,’ their native Poland. They both spoke with heavy accents as English was their 3rd or 4th language. They were different from the parents of my friends but they were incredible and literally lived their lives for us. Nothing was more precious to them than bringing new life to this world. My mom is blessed with 3 children, 6 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. She is not able to get out much these days given her frailties and the constraints of COVID. She anxiously awaits the arrival of the mail carrier every day. Nothing excites her more than receiving a card on a special occasion! She would be thrilled to receive a birthday card (written in POLISH or ENGLISH) on the occasion of her anticipated 100th! PERHAPS, this email could be shared with others. Thanks for your consideration.
Please consider sending a card to
and adding a personalized message if desired
Thanks… and be well!
Jay Kozlowski