Goldstein and Bursztyn family papers

The Goldstein and Bursztyn family papers consist of Elie Goldstein's and Hela (Chajcia) Bursztyn Goldstein's diaries, written in Yiddish, describing Nazi occupied Poland, the liquidation of the Siennica ghetto, their time at the Mienia labor camp, and their experiences hiding in the Polish countryside with Christian families, on farms, and in fields. The collection also includes photographs documenting the Goldstein and Bursztyn families and their friends before, during, and after the war in Poland and Germany. Elie (Eliahu) Goldstein (1914-1945) was born in Siennica, Poland (Mińsk county), to David and Esther Goldsztejn and had six brothers and sisters. His brother Jojne (Jonas) Goldstein (1912-1998) married Hela (Chajcia) Bursztyn (1918-?) in 1942 in the Siennica ghetto. Chajcia’s parents were Jankel and Miriam Freydl Bursztyn. When the Siennica ghetto was liquidated, most Goldstein and Bursztyn family members were sent to Treblinka, but Jonas and Chajcia escaped to the labor camp in Mienia along with her sister Mindl (Mania) Bursztyn (1920-1943) and his brothers Elie and Schmiel Goldstein (1917-1943). When Mienia was threatened with liquidation, they returned to Siennica and its neighboring towns, hiding among the local Christian population, with the Król and Budzyński families, on farms, and in fields. Jonas’s and Chajcia’s newborn son was killed by the Polish people who were hiding them on the day he was born. Schmiel was captured in August 1943 and is believed to have been hanged by Poles for stealing food. Mania disappeared in September and is presumed to have been killed by people paid to hide her. Following liberation, Elie tried to help a cousin reclaim his home but was shot and killed by the Polish people occupying it. Jonas and Chajcia made their way via Tirschenreuth, Germany to Bogotá, Colombia, and had three more children.