Marek and Bronislawa Redner papers

Marek Redner (1898-1984) was born on 3 July 1898 in Lwów, Poland (also referred to as Lvov or Lemberg, present day Lviv, Ukraine) to Berisch or Baruch (1871-1935) and Reize “Rosa” (née Findling, 1873-1942) Redner. Both of his parents were from Lwów, and his father owned a small furniture manufacturing factory. Marek was the oldest of ten siblings: Amalia (1897-1943), Mahla (1899-1942), Sylvia (1900-1988), Elka (b. 1901), Julia (1904-1988), Fydka (1905-1988), Bronislawa (1907-1942), Benjamin (1908-1996), Abraham, and Pozieba. He studied medicine in Lwów and also served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. He completed his studies in 1923. In 1924 he married Bronislawa Schrenzel (1903-1997), daughter of Izrael Schrenzel (1875-1942) and Sabina Pordes (b. 1880), and they had two children: Emilia (1926-1992) and Salomon (b. 1929). After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the Soviet Red Army occupied Eastern Poland as part of the German-Soviet Pact, including Lwów. In June 1941 the Germans broke the pact with Russia, and Lwów was occupied by the Nazis. In November 1941, Marek and his family were sent to the Lwów Ghetto where he continued to work as a doctor. In September 1942, Marek acquired a forged birth certificate for Salomon, and he went to live with Mr. Sochacki until December 1942. By January 1943, Marek’s wife and children went into hiding in Stare Sioło, a village approximately 20 miles south of Lwów. They hid in a coal cellar owned by Stefania Ciemiega. Marek joined them in May 1943, shortly before the liquidation of the ghetto. On 27 July 1944 Lwów was liberated by the Soviets. After liberation, the Redners remained in Poland. Marek continued to practice medicine and Emilia and Salomon completed high school. In 1948, Marek and Bronislawa immigrated to Montevideo, Uruguay. They immigrated to the United States in 1963. Salomon and Emilia both moved to Paris in 1949. Salomon studied engineering at the Sorbonne and Emilia studied dentistry. While in Paris, Salomon met Lily Lustig (b. 1930) and they married 1952. They had four children: Isabel (b. 1953, later Isabel Alcoff), Sylvia (b. 1955), Barbara, and Francine. They moved to Montevideo in 1953. Salomon immigrated to the United States in 1958 and Lily, Isabel, and Sylvia joined him in 1959. They settled in Pennsylvania where Salomon worked as a mechanical engineer and Lily was a French teacher. Emilia married Kuba Polakiewicz and immigrated to Montevideo in 1951. They had three children. Marek’s mother Reize, his siblings Mahla, Amalia, and Bronislawa, and Bronislaw’s father Izrael Schrenzel all perished in the Holocaust. Salomon’s wife Lily’s parents, Benjamin-Hersch (1900-1942) and Lea Elisabeth (née Klinger, 1907-1942) Lustig both perished at Auschwitz in 1942.

Bronislawa Redner (née Schrenzel, 1903-1997) was born on 13 April 1903 in Lwów, Poland (Lviv, Ukraine) to Izrael Schrenzel (1875-1942) and Sabina Pordes (b. 1880). She worked as a schoolteacher. She married Marek Redner (1898-1984) in 1924 and they had two children: Emilia (1926-1992) and Salomon (b. 1929). After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the Soviet Red Army occupied Eastern Poland as part of the German-Soviet Pact, including Lwów. In June 1941 the Germans broke the pact with Russia, and Lwów was occupied by the Nazis. In November 1941, the Redners were sent to the Lwów Ghetto where Marek continued to work as a doctor. In September 1942, Marek acquired a forged birth certificate for Salomon, and he went to live with Mr. Sochacki until December 1942. By January 1943, Bronislawa and her children went into hiding in Stare Sioło, a village approximately 20 miles south of Lwów. They hid in a coal cellar owned by Stefania Ciemiega. Marek joined them in May 1943, shortly before the liquidation of the ghetto. On 27 July 1944 Lwów was liberated by the Soviets. After liberation, the Redners remained in Poland. Marek continued to practice medicine and Emilia and Salomon completed high school. In 1948, Marek and Bronislawa immigrated to Montevideo, Uruguay. They immigrated to the United States in 1963. Salomon and Emilia both moved to Paris in 1949. Salomon studied engineering at the Sorbonne and Emilia studied dentistry. While in Paris, Salomon met Lily Lustig (b. 1930) and they married 1952. They had four children: Isabel (b. 1953, later Isabel Alcoff), Sylvia (b. 1955), Barbara, and Francine. They moved to Montevideo in 1953. Salomon immigrated to the United States in 1958 and Lily, Isabel, and Sylvia joined him in 1959. They settled in Pennsylvania where Salomon worked as a mechanical engineer and Lily was a French teacher. Emilia married Kuba Polakiewicz and immigrated to Montevideo in 1951. They had three children. Marek’s mother Reize, his siblings Mahla, Amalia, and Bronislawa, and Bronislaw’s father Izrael Schrenzel all perished in the Holocaust. Salomon’s wife Lily’s parents, Benjamin-Hersch (1900-1942) and Lea Elisabeth (née Klinger, 1907-1942) Lustig both perished at Auschwitz in 1942.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Salomon Redner

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Salomon Redner, via his daughter Isabel Alcoff.