Lindenbaum and Landau families collection

The Lindenbaum family: Grandmother: Gitel Rosen (d. 1942) Mother: Curtla Lindenbaum (née Rosen, d. 1942) Father: Tobias Lindenbaum (1878-1939) Son: Dawid Lindenbaum (b. 1902) Daughter: Wella Goldberg (née Lindenbaum, 1904-1942) married Mietek Goldberg (d. 1943), their son, Sewek Goldberg (d. 1943). All perished during the Holocaust. Daughter: Sara Kuniegis (née Lindenbaum, b.1908) married Bernard Kuniegis. Their son, Jerzy Edward Kuniegis, did not survive the Holocaust. After the war, they raised their niece, Kystyna Linden, as their daughter. Son: Leon Lutek Lindenbaum (Leon, 1910-1943) married Rutka Lindenbaum (Rozalia, née Labenska, d. 1943). Both died during the Holocaust. Their daughter, Krstyna Linden, survived the war in hiding and was raised by her aunt and uncle, Sara and Bernard Kuniegis. Daughter: Renia Lindenbaum (Rebeka, b. 1917) married Michal (Mulek) Landau in Warsaw, Poland on November 9, 1941. She later married Leon Ilutovich (1914-1997). Tobiasz Lindenbaum married Curtla Rosen. They had six children: Dawid (b. 1902); Wella (1904-1942); Sara (b. 1908); Abraham (b. 1909); Leon (1910-1943); and Renia (b. 1917). Before the war, Tobiasz Lindenbaum was part owner and administrator for the apartment building at 27 Nalweki Street in Warsaw, Poland, in which the family also lived. In 1937, Curtla visited Palestine to see if it was possible to resettle the family there but she ultimately decided that the climate was too difficult. The family remained in Warsaw. On October 8, 1939, German soldiers looted the Lindenbaum apartment and attacked Tobiasz, who died two days later of an apparent heart attack. Their daughter Renia acted as sole provider for her mother and grandmother while also acting as building administrator in her father’s place. At some point after 1940 the family was forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto. In early 1942, Curtla’s mother, Gitel Rosen died in her sleep. In May 1942, Curtla Lindenbaum died. Abraham Lindenbaum (b. 1909) and Dawid Lindenbaum (b. 1902) resided in Israel throughout the war. Wella Lindenbaum (1904-1942) married Mietek Goldberg (d. 1943) and they had a son, Sewek Goldberg born in the mid-1930s. (d. 1943). The family was forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto. During one of the mass deportations, Wella Goldberg was deported and killed at Treblinka concentration camp in Poland. Mietek Goldberg and his son Sewek survived in the Warsaw ghetto until its last liquidation in 1943. They were deported and killed at Trawniki concentration camp in Poland in 1943. Lutek (Leon) Lindenbaum (1910-1943) married Rutka (Rozalia, née Labenska, d. 1943). Before the war, Lutek worked as an engineer. They were forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto and had a small room in the Schultze workshop. On September 6, 1942 a massive deportation took place in the ghetto. Despite being nine months pregnant Rutka avoided deportation by holding a raincoat and standing between Lutek’s sister Renia and brother-in-law Michal Landau. Three days later, on September 9, 1942, Rutka gave birth to a daughter, Krystyna Krysia. The German guards were bribed to allow Rutka to keep her child. After a few weeks, a close Polish friend, Mary Gasinska, smuggled the baby out of the ghetto in a wicker basket. The infant was taken to Żółwin, Poland where Michalina Janiszewska cared for Krystyna for almost five years. Krystyna was baptized by her rescuer in 1944 and her naturally dark hair was dyed blonde. Janiszewska received money for her care and support. Lutek and Rutka Lindenbaum escaped the Warsaw ghetto in April 1943. They were hidden with a Mr. Czechorowski in Warsaw. However, after a few weeks he took the couple to an open field and abandoned them. They were discovered and denounced by an unnamed Polish couple. The Polish police turned them over to the Gestapo who executed the couple near the Brudno cemetery. Their daughter, Krystyna survived the war in hiding. After the war, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle, Sara and Bernard Kuniegis, who raised her as their own daughter. Before the war, Renia Lindenbaum (b. 1917, later Renia Landau and Rebeka Ilutovich) was active in the “Ha ‘Noar Ha’Zioni” Zionist youth organization, where she met her future husband Michal (Mulek) Landau and likely her second husband Leon Ilutovich. In July 1940, Michal Landau escaped the Łódź ghetto and found his way to the Warsaw ghetto where he was reunited with Renia. Shortly after his arrival in the Warsaw ghetto he and Renia contracted typhus. Both recovered and on November 9, 1941 they were married in a rabbi’s study. It was a traditional Jewish wedding. Renia wore her sister Sara Kuniegis’ wedding dress and they served carrot cake. In February 1943, Renia and Michal escaped the Warsaw ghetto. Renia hid with her brother Lutek and her sister-in-law Rutka. However, after a few weeks Mr. Czechorowski took the three of them to an open field and abandoned them. Despite attempts to persuade her to stay, Renia decided to leave Lutek and Rutka in order to find her husband who was hidden elsewhere. Soon after Renia left, Lutek and Rutka were discovered and executed by the Gestapo. Renia found Michal and together they hid in a coal pit for a couple of weeks before making their way to the Hotel Polski. There they obtained Palestinian certificates. In 1943, they were deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. In April 1945, the prisoners were forced aboard a train and traveled without food for several days. The train was abandoned by German soldiers outside of Magdeburg, Germany and American forces liberated the prisoners the following day. The survivors were taken to the Hillers Leben village where they were able to recuperate. Renia and Michal were among the survivors. In September 1945, after spending a month in Belgium, Renia and Michal arrived in Palestine aboard the British military ship “Mataroa.” Eventually Renia Landau married Leon Ilutovich. During her life Renia also went by the name Rebeka. Sara Lindenbaum married Bernard Kuniegis in 1932. Their son, Jerzy Edward Kuniegis was born in the mid-1930s. During the war, Jerzy was smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto and sent into hiding, separate from his parents. They never saw him again and it is presumed that he perished. Sara and Bernard survived under the false identities of Waclaw and Janina Kierski. After the war, Sara and Bernard retrieved their niece Krystyna, adopted her, and raised her as their own daughter. For the first years following the war, Krystyna’s rescuer, Mrs. Janiszewska, visited the little girl around Christmas time and brought her a small tree and treats. However, Krystyna hid from her. Krystyna’s aunt and uncle never told her she was adopted or about her cousin. In 1954, Krystyna discovered she was adopted after looking through family papers. In 1962, Krstyna and her adopted parents immigrated to Israel. Krystyna lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. She the mother of two daughters, Ruti and Yael and has three grandchildren, Bar, Tomer, and Ilay.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Rebeka Renia Ilutovich

Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Rebeka Ilutovich donated the Lindenbaum and Landau families collection to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006.