Imperial Russia, gold 5 ruble coin saved by a Jewish Polish family living with partisans

Henikel (Henach) Minuskin was born on July 22, 1938, to Shlamke, born on March 12, 1905, and Shanke Orlinsky Minuskin, born on September 17, 1914. He had one brother, Kalmanke, born on August 17, 1940. All of the family members were born in Zhetel, Poland (Dziatlava, Belarus). They lived in a home built by his father and his four brothers. Shlamke owned a bus transportation business. Shanke was trained as a hairdresser and manicurist. On September 17, 1939, the Soviets invaded and occupied eastern Poland, and Zhetel came under Soviet control. Shortly after the invasion, Shlamke prepared a secret hiding place under the outhouse in the backyard. On June 30, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and occupied Zhetel. The persecution of Jews became increasingly violent and on July 23, 1941, German mobile killing units murdered about 120 prominent members of the Jewish community, including Harold’s maternal uncle, Leib Orlinsky. On February 22, 1942, the Germans put up posters ordering all Jews to move into the ghetto which was established in the area where Harold’s family lived. They had to share their home with several others. On August 6, 1942, the Germans began the final liquidation of the ghetto. Shlamke was rounded up during the massacre and locked with hundreds of others in the synagogue. He was able to hide in the rafters in the midst of the confusion. After two days, he escaped into the Belorussian forest and joined the Jewish partisan resistance. During this time, Henik, Kalmanke, Sonia, and eight others hid in the underground hiding place. After three days, Shanke decided to flee with her sons to the nearby forest. Harold’s grandmother, Rivka Orlinsky, suffered from poor eyesight, so an aunt remained behind with her. Both were captured by the Germans and shot and killed the following day. Shanke and the boys received shelter and food from some peasants and farmers that Shanke knew, but many were afraid of the Germans and would not help. They slept in ditches and fields some nights. Shlamke found them hiding in a root cellar and led them to the partisan unit’s base in the Lipiczanski (Lipichanski) forest. He was a private in the Lenin Partisan Brigade. The boys and their mother stayed in camouflaged underground dugouts [zemlyankas] when the unit went on missions to sabotage German troops or eliminate collaborators. The group had to keep moving to avoid capture by the Germans. Living conditions were harsh; the family often had little food and many partisans perished from the cold and disease. The family subsisted on food acquired from local peasants or wild food from the forest. They had a supply of Russian Czarist era gold coins which they used to get supplies, but they often were not accepted and the partisans took things by force. Shanke would venture out at night to find milk or bread. She served as a seamstress for the partisans. She made the family clothing from silk parachutes left behind by Soviet officers and sewed coats for Harold and Carl from a German great coat. The boys had Russian aviator’s hats that were also scavenged n the woods. Harold’s father taught him to shoot a rifle and load machine gun magazines and he helped his mother saw logs to build shelters. The area was liberated on September 7, 1944, by the Soviet Army. The family briefly returned to their home in Zhetel after the war ended in May 1945. They decided not to stay because of the still strong anti-Semitism. In November 1945, they arrived at Zeilsheim displaced persons camp near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Their names were listed by the Red Cross as survivors of the war. Harold’s maternal aunt, Helen Orlinsky Gulfetta, who lived in New York, saw their names and sponsored their emigration to the United States. On September 16, 1946, the family emigrated to the US on the Marine Marlin. They Americanized their names to Harold, Carl, Sonia, and Sam. Harold received a masters in electrical engineering from the University of California, and was a senior design engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He married Arlene and had two children. In 2009, he translated his mother’s memoir of their wartime experiences. Sam died on August 14, 1984, age 79. Sonia died on November 7, 2008, age 94.

Shanke Orlinsky was born on September 17, 1914, in Zhetel, Poland (Dziatlava, Belarus). She married Shlamke Minuskin, born on March 12, 1905, also in Zhetel. Their first son, Henikel (Henach), was born on July 22, 1938. Shlamke owned a bus transportation business and Shanke was a hairdresser and manicurist. On September 17, 1939, the Soviets invaded and occupied eastern Poland, and Zhetel came under Soviet control. Shlamke prepared a secret hiding place under the family’s outhouse in the backyard. They had a second son, Kalmanke, born on August 17, 1940. On June 30, 1941, German forces occupied the town and Jews were savagely persecuted. On July 23, 1941, the Germans murdered about 120 prominent members of the Jewish community, including Shanke’s brother, Leib Orlinsky. On February 22, 1942, the Germans ordered all Jews to move into the ghetto. The Minuskin’s lived in the designated ghetto area, and they now had to share their home with several other people. On August 6, 1942, the Germans began the final destruction of the ghetto. Shlamke was rounded up during the massacre and locked in the synagogue with many other Jews. During the confusion, he and a few others hid in the rafters. After two days, he escaped into the Belorussian forest and joined the Jewish partisan resistance. During this time, Shanke, the two boys, and eight others hid in the underground hiding place. After three days, Shanke and the boys fled to the nearby forest. Her mother, Rivka, suffered from poor eyesight and stayed behind with one of Shanke’s sisters. They were shot and killed by the Germans the following day. Sonia and the boys occasionally received food and shelter and food from local peasants and farmers that she knew, but many refused to help for fear of the German occupiers. They walked for days as the forest was far from the village. They met two nuns who treated Shanke’s bleeding feet and gave the boys milk. Shanke and the boys stayed on the move, sometimes sleeping in ditches and fields. They were found by Shlamke when they were hiding in a root cellar. He took them to the partisan’s base in the Lipiczanski (Lipichanski) forest. Shlamke had become a member of the Lenin Partisan Brigade. They lived in camouflaged underground dugouts and were always on the move in order to avoid capture by the Germans. The partisans took revenge on local collaborators and sabotaged bridges and railways to stop German troop movements. In spring 1943, Soviet Army paratroopers trained the partisans in hit-and-run tactics. This increased their ability to obtain food, medical supplies, and weapons and ammunition which they acquired from ambushes of German convoys and collaborators, as well as from peasants and farmers. Food was scarce; the family subsisted on food acquired from local peasants or whatever they could forage in the woods. Shanke would go out at night, sometimes walking ten to twelve miles, to obtain some milk or a loaf of bread. Living conditions were harsh and many died due to the cold and disease. Shanke repaired and sewed uniforms for the partisans, as well as her family. She salvaged the while silk parachutes left behind by Russian paratroopers t make winter camouflage clothing. And she made warm coat for both boys from the greatcoat of a killed German soldier. As Henach got older, his father taught him to shoot and load machine gun magazines. The region was liberated on September 7, 1944, by the Soviet Army. The family briefly returned to their home in Zhetel, but did not stay because of the still strongly antisemitic atmosphere. In November 1945, they went to the Zeilsheim displaced persons camp near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Shanke wrote a memoir of their wartime experience while they were in Zeilsheim. Their names were listed by the Red Cross as survivors of the war and were seen by Shanke’s sister, Helen Orlinsky Gulfetta, who lived in New York. She sponsored their emigration to the United States. On September 16, 1946, the family emigrated to the U.S. on the Marine Marlin. They Americanized their names: Sonia, Sam, Harold, and Carl. Sam died on August 14, 1984, age 79. Sonia died on November 7, 2008, age 94.

The Imperial Russian coin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010 by Harold Minuskin, the son of Sonia Minuskin.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Harold Minuskin

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