Mauerstein family papers

Israel Mauerstein (1912-1981) was born on 17 February 1912 in Zborów, Poland (Zboriv, Ukraine) to Markus and Taube (née Buchwald) Mauerstein. He had at least two brothers, David and Benjamin. Israel was married to a woman named Fani and they had one daugher, Tova. In September 1941 his family was deported to the Zborów ghetto. At some point, Israel and Yetta’s uncle Sigmund Appel were taken to a work camp. They escaped and joined some partisans hiding in the woods. He was wounded several times while he was with them, and was captured by the Germans and tortured in a prison. During one of several massive killings of the Jews in Zborów, Israel’s wife and child were murdered. On 25 February 1944 he was deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp. The camp was liberated by the US army in April 1945. After liberation Israel first went back to Zborów. He then went to the Leipheim and Landsberg displaced persons camps. He was also reunited with his brother David, who survived under a false identity near Crailsheim.. In 1946 Israel married Yetta Friedmann in Leipheim. Along with his brother, Israel and Yetta went to Italy where they stayed in several camps including Adriatica and Trani. Israel’s brother Benjamin immigrated to the United States in the 1920s and sponsored the Mauersteins for immigration to the United States. On 15 March 1950 they sailed out of Bremerhaven on the USNS A.W. Greely to the United States. They settled in New York. Their daughter Mina later worked for the United Nations in the areas of development and health.

Yetta Friedmann (sometimes spelled Jetty or Jetti, later Yetta Mauerstein, 1908-1955) was born 15 February 1908 in Zalozitz, Poland (Zaliztsi, Ukraine) to Ben Zion Friedmann and Mischa Appel. Her father was a cattle dealer and died around 1938. She had two sisters. When the Germans occupied Zborów in July 1941, Yetta lived in town with her grandfather, and her mother and sisters lived nearby in Zalozitz. After they were sent to the Zborów ghetto, Yetta worked in a labor camp outside the ghetto. Her mother and sisters were murdered when the ghetto was liquidated in July 1943. Yetta fled to the woods and hid with a woman and her two children until they were liberated by the Russians in April 1944. After the war ended, she went to the Leipheim DP camp. In 1946 Yetta married Israel Mauerstein in Leipheim. Along with Israel's brother David, Yetta and Israel went to Italy where they stayed in several camps including Adriatica and Trani. Israel’s brother Benjamin immigrated to the United States in the 1920s and sponsored the Mauersteins for immigration to the United States. On 15 March 1950 they sailed out of Bremerhaven on the USNS A.W. Greely to the United States. They settled in New York. Their daughter Mina later worked for the United Nations in the areas of development and health.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mina Mauerstein-Bail

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Mina Mauerstein-Bail.