Courage to Care Chairman shares his connection to the Holocaust

After taking a seat at the helm Courage for Care, the non-profit social justice and education organisation, philanthropist Eitan Neishlos revealed that his tireless efforts for the Jewish community are about more than just ‘doing his bit’.

Mr Neishlos‘ community connections run deep through several generations; in fact, without the bravery of others during a time when bravery was put through the ultimate test, he may not have become the man he is today.

Related: Eitan Neishlos to drive social harmony as new Courage to Care Chairman

Mr Neishlos recently revealed that his grandmother, Tamara Ziserman nee Kantorovitch, was a young girl during World War II, and was forced to hide from the Nazi regime to avoid savage persecution for her heritage.

Fortunately, her courage and the support of those around her was enough to see her through to a happier life.

My Grandmother’s Rescue Story – by Eitan Neishlos

“Tamara Ziserman nee Kantorovitch, my late grandmother, was born on the 30th December 1929 in Minsk, Belarus.

In June 1941, Tamara went on a family summer holiday with her mother and her grandmother to Lahoysk, Belarus.

On 28th August 1941 the Jews in Lahoysk were gathered to the outskirts of the town by the Nazis and forced to dig a mass grave. Two days later, those same Jews were summoned to the freshly dug grave, undressed, shot and thrown into the grave en masse.

Janina and Piotr Chodosevitch, Christian locals from Lahoysk, secretly hid my 11-year-old grandmother in their basement, risking their own lives and those of their three little daughters. Janina and Piotr were eventually caught for their role in the Resistance and murdered along with one of their daughters. Surviving the brutal murder of her family, Tamara also found refuge for a time with Piotr’s mother, Antonina Chodosevitch.

Tamara was arrested by the Germans in the Spring of 1944 and was taken to the Metgethen Nazi Labour Camp in Keningberg, Prussia. In January 1945 at the age of 15, she escaped from the camp along with Russian soldiers who were also imprisoned.

Tamara married in 1948 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and gave birth to two children, my mother Hana (Anna) and Vladimir her son. She passed away in Latvia in 2011 at the age of 82.

In 1966, Janina, Piotr and Anotonia Chodosevitch were honoured at Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for their remarkable fortitude in hiding and protecting my grandmother Tamara during the Holocaust.”

Courage to Care is an outreach program of Jewish service organisation B’nai B’rith, and was established to educate individuals about prejudice and discrimination, and to empower them to take action and not be bystanders.