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Helena Silvers

Helena Silvers

Helena Rosenbaum Silvers, an indomitable, spirited survivor of the Holocaust, passed away peacefully at her home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Jan. 1, 2021, one day before her birthday. Rabbi Dovid Vigler of PBG Chabad officiated at the Jan. 3 graveside service at Star of David Cemetery.

“Mom was smart, stylish, cultured and cost-conscious, as she was my father’s secretary-accountant in the business for years,” said her son Dr. William Silvers of Denver.

Mrs. Silvers was born Jan. 2, 1923, in Radom, Poland, to Wolf Rosenbaum and Miriam Den Rosenbaum, prominent secular Polish Jews. She rode to her private school in a horse-drawn carriage and was privately tutored in English.

In August, 1942, the Nazis conducted a three-day Aktion that resulted in the deportation of 30,000 Radom Jews to Treblinka. The remaining 3,000 members of the Jewish community were ordered to the ghetto.

Leon Zylberstein (Silvers) met Helena in the ghetto and they married there.

One night, Leon had a premonition that the Nazis were closing in. He pushed Helena over the ghetto walls into the gentile section, where she remained for days.

In August, 1944, they were deported to Auschwitz, and were separated during the death march of January, 1945.

After liberation, and unaware of her husband’s fate, Mrs. Silvers scoured her hometown for survivors. Her family was gone; Poles had appropriated their home.

In August, 1945, Mrs. Silvers reunited with her husband at a railway Red Cross Station in Prague. They lived in Munich until Mrs. Silvers discovered that she was pregnant. The thought of having a child on German soil repulsed her.

Mrs. Silvers contacted family who had moved to the US after WW I, obtained papers and immigrated to Indianapolis. “I was born three months after my parents arrived in the US,” Dr. Silvers said.

The couple built several businesses. They moved to North Miami Beach, Fla., where they started the specialty company, Dixie Dinette.

The Silvers were married for over 75 years. Dr. Silvers says, “They were thankful for every day.”

Mr. Silvers passed away in October, 2017, at age 97.

Mrs. Silvers was active in Hadassah with her daughter Rosemarie.

Helena Silvers is survived by her son Dr. William Silvers of Denver and daughter Rosemarie (David) Kanter of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; grandsons Joseph (Alanna), Ryan (Maria) and Benjamin Kanter; and great-granddaughter Aliza Kanter.

Donations may be made to the Holocaust Survivors Fund c/o Jewish Family Service; or charity of choice.

Copyright © 2021 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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