Szwergold-Elfenbein family. Collection

Maurice Szwergold, son of Aaron Szwergold and Leah Goldman, had two siblings: Leon (Elyzer) Szwergold and Cecile (Cyrla) Szwergold-Platovsky. The Szwergold family immigrated from Poland to Belgium around 1929. Many lived in Antwerp and Brussels. Maurice Szwergold vacationed in the Ardennes with friends in the late 1930’s. Leon Szwergold was imprisoned in Breendonk from 9 June through 20 November 1941. Upon his release the family first hid in the outskirts of Brussels, and then moved to the Ardennes. They lived in both Bohan and Alle sur Semois during the war and all survived. Abraham Szwergold, a cousin of Gary Swergold, together with his wife and children (Sabine and Marcel) survived the Second World War. They fled to Cuba and later to the United States of America. Marcel, who did much of the family research, died in Israel. Maurice Szwergold survived the Second World War thanks to a false identity card. After the war, Maurice re-established his family’s business in Brussels together with Marcelle Elfenbein that he met in New York. Eventually they did settle back in New York where Gary Swergold, his sister and his brother were all born. With him, Maurice brought his hiking stick with which he hiked through the Ardennes. Marcelle Elfenbein, daughter of Sarah Matuzewitz and Gilel Elfenbein, had one sibling: Joseph, born in 1936. The family lived in Antwerp. Her grandparents Gabriel Matuzewitz and Gitel Bleier, born in Novogrudok, did so as well. In total they had at least several children: Fanny, Joseph, David, Sarah, Rachel and Leo. Gilel Elfenbein, who was born in Ukraine and became an Austrian citizen in 1923, arranged for his family to emigrate from Belgium to the United States in 1939 to escape the coming war. There Marcelle met Maurice Szwergold.

In 2023, Gary Swergold permitted Kazerne Dossin to digitally archive 571 photographs and 2 false identity cards in this collection.

Gary Swergold