Remembering the Heinflinks
Fiszl, Cruce, Eliezer (left), and Mordechai Heinflink
Eliezer Heinflink was born in 1931. A year later, in 1932, his brother Mordechai was born. They were born in Zaklikow, in the Lublin Province of Poland. When Eliezer was four and Mordechai was three, their parents, Cruce (Fabrikant) and Fiszl sent them to the local cheder, a school where Jewish children learned the basics of Judaism and Hebrew.
Eliezer’s and Mordechai’s parents managed a sawmill in town. In the mid-1930s, their business was very profitable. As anti-Semitism increased in Poland in the late 1930s, and others in the Fabrikant family made plans to leave the country, the Heinflink family chose to stay in their home and continue to manage their business. The family died in the Belzec extermination camp in 1942. Based on research, we believe that they may have been part of the November or December 1942 transport.
Eliezer and Mordechai were my Mom-mom’s first cousins. If they had lived to raise children of their own, the children would have been my Dad’s second cousins. Eliezer and Mordechai were my third cousins.
I choose now, during this important milestone in my life, to remember my cousins. In Judaism, there’s a Hebrew phrase “l’dor v’dor.” It means from generation to generation. We speak of “l’dor v’dor” in our prayers and we sing about it in Jewish songs. Throughout history, Jews have passed on traditions from generation to generation so that Judasim may continue to flourish. And we remember family history from generation to generation because when a family remembers, the roots of the family tree grow a little bit further into the ground, and from generation to generation, that family tree remains rooted.
Eliezer’s and Mordechai’s parents managed a sawmill in town. In the mid-1930s, their business was very profitable. As anti-Semitism increased in Poland in the late 1930s, and others in the Fabrikant family made plans to leave the country, the Heinflink family chose to stay in their home and continue to manage their business. The family died in the Belzec extermination camp in 1942. Based on research, we believe that they may have been part of the November or December 1942 transport.
Eliezer and Mordechai were my Mom-mom’s first cousins. If they had lived to raise children of their own, the children would have been my Dad’s second cousins. Eliezer and Mordechai were my third cousins.
I choose now, during this important milestone in my life, to remember my cousins. In Judaism, there’s a Hebrew phrase “l’dor v’dor.” It means from generation to generation. We speak of “l’dor v’dor” in our prayers and we sing about it in Jewish songs. Throughout history, Jews have passed on traditions from generation to generation so that Judasim may continue to flourish. And we remember family history from generation to generation because when a family remembers, the roots of the family tree grow a little bit further into the ground, and from generation to generation, that family tree remains rooted.
