Lichta family papers

The collection documents the postwar experiences of Holocaust survivors Itzhak and Judith LIchta in several displaced persons camps. Included are photographs and an album from Föhrenwald, Reichenhall, Bergen Belsen, and likely Milbersthofen-Am-Hart displaced persons camps; pre-war photographs of Itzhak’s family in Falenica, Poland and Judith’s family in Oszmiana, Poland (present day Ashmyany, Belarus); pre-war membership cards for a sports club Itzhak belonged to; and a Zionist Organization of London Shekel receipt. Itzhak Shlome Lichta (Isadore Lichta) was born on 15 May 1914 in Falenica, Poland to Herschel and Chaya (née Cieszyinska) Lichta. He had one older sister, Esther Rivka, and a younger brother. Prior to World War II, Itzhak’s family owned a hardware store. Itzhak was a forced laborer in Falenica from 1939-1942, and the family remained in the Falenica ghetto until April 1943 when it was liquidated and they were deported to the Treblinka concentration camp. His family was killed upon arrive to the camp, but Itzhak survived the selection process and was assigned to a work group. At some point, Itzhak and three other men overpowered their guards and managed to escape. Itzhak survived the duration of the war hiding in barns and in the forest. After the war ended, he went to Germany and was in Milbersthofen-Am-Hart in early 1946. He met Judith Golubek while he was there, and they married on 23 June 1946. In July 1946 they went to the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp. Their daughter Chaya Gittel (later Gail McKay) was born in the camp on 16 July 1947. In September 1949 they immigrated to the United States on board the USAT C. C. Ballou, which sailed out of Bremerhaven, Germany. Judith Lichta (born Judith Golubek, 1923-2008) was born on 23 March 1923 in Oszmiana, Poland (present day Ashmyany, Belarus) to Isaac and Gitel (née Lubelska) Golubek. She had four siblings, Feigele, Judah, Aaron, and Mulinere. Her father and brothers Judah and Aaron were murdered after they were taken from the synagogue in Oszmiana. Her mother was later killed. Judith was in the Oszmiana ghetto from 1941-1942. From 1942-1945 she survived several concentration camps including Kaiserwald, Stutthof, Dachau, and Bergen-Belsen. Her sister Feigele also survived the war.