Updated 3rd december 2003 –

Hinda Hala (=Alla) ZALCENSZTAJN (b.1912-d.10-sept-1979)

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Aline, Jacques, Tilly, Paul (80 ko)


Alla ZALCENSZTAJN (also known as Aline OLSER SALZENSTEIN) was born in 1912 in Lodz. Her parents were Icek Lajb ZALCENSZTAJN (1870-1942) and Frandla BORNSZTAJN (1866-1942). She married with someone in 1938 in Lodz.

The 1st of september, Germany declared war to Poland. The 3rd of september France and England declare war to Germany, but they will do nothing to help Poland. 2 weeks after Russia occupied the east of Poland and re-occupied the west of Bielorussia that was taken out of Russia at the treaty of Brest Litowsk the 3rd of march 1918. Only 3 of 4 days after Poland was all occupied. It has to be said that, the polish army did not fight against the russian army as it was considered friendly. When the german army came in Lodz in september 1939, Alla ZALCENSZTAJN decided to go to Baranowitch (= Baranowicz), a town located in the north-east of Warszawa (= Varsovie) in Poland. Why she went there? - because her brother Heniek (= Heinek, Henoch) was living there at that time with his wife. At the begining of the occupation, the border was easily crossable and a large part of polish people migrated to the Russian occupied territories, as it seemed that Russia was more friendly that Germany at that period. But the reality was a little bit different: the husband of Alla was arrested by the NKVD and deported to Siberia. Alla was not deported because she produced a document telling that she was called Alla Zalcensztajn, not married, and originary from the town Baranowitch, where she always have been living. This document demontsrated that she was not a deplaced personn, even if she wanted at first to go with her loving husband. So she stayed in Baranovitch. She was pregnant of 4-5 months at that time, but the baby did not live. She lived in this town until the war began. At the end of june 1941, the nazis entered in this part of Poland. As the city was a little one, other polish people said she was jewish. So she decided to escape from Baranovitch to go to Warszawa. She was a beautiful brown hair woman, but she decided to tint her hair as blond, because she was searched by the police as jewish. She said at that time that she was catholic because she did not wanted to be sent to the ghetto of Warszawa. She met a redhead jewish girlfriend called Miss ZARZEWSKA that helped her. This woman gave to Alla passport telling that Alla's name was ZARZEWSKA, and that she was the sister of her. As the two girls were afraid of living in Warszawa, they decided to leave this city and find a job in Germany. The two girlfriends were separated. Alla was sent to the region of Sudete, a region located in the actual Czech republic where were living a lot of german people annexed by Germany in 1938 since the traity of Munchen (=Munich). She worked there as a waitress in a restaurant (= serveuse dans une auberge) known under the name of Alla ZARZEWSKA. Her girlfriend Miss ZARZEWSKA went to Berlin and falled in love there with a Colonel of the Wehrmacht (= german army) called Von ... This Colonel thought she was an aryen woman. Alla knew it because she exchange letters by post with her girlfriend. Unfortunatly, despite the Colonel Von ... tryied to help her, her girlfriend was finaly arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, and at the end told that she was jewish. The Gestapo found the letter of Alla ZARZEWSKA at the home of Miss ZARZEWSKA. Then Alla ZARZEWSKA was arrested, and she was transfered to Berlin. Gestapo wanted her to say she was also jewish during the interogation. As she knew that telling she was jewish significated her dead, she said: “I was married with the brother of my girlfriend killed in september 1939, and I ignored that she and he were jewish. I am Aryen. If this man was married with me, it significate that he was not jewish, because jewish people never marry with nonjewish people, so it means he was not jewish!” [A1]. As german gestapists were not sure that she was jewish or not, they decided not to kill her and to through her in a jail located in Alexanderplatz, center of Berlin. She never knew what happened to her readhead girlfriend. Alla ' ZARZEWSKA' lived in this jail during two years. She was appreciated in the jail by the other women prisonners and also by the guards because she was a very good couturiere. In 1944, the prison of Berlin Alexanderplatz was bombarded by the bombardier planes of English or US army. A big part of the prison was destroyed. Many women prisoners were killed. But fortunatly the archives were burnt, and many guards were killed. And Alla was alive! After the bombardment, new guards and a new director came, and his first decision was to re-consider the case of all the women who were in the prison. As Alla was known in the jail by the survivors as being a nice kind woman, the director gave freedom to Alla. Known as Alla ZARZEWSKA, she went back to her former job of waitress in the restaurant in the Sudete and worked ther until the war ended.

Then she, Alla ZALCENSZTAJN, went back to Lodz. She learned that her parents, her brother Mordechaï were dead of hunger in the gettho of Lodz, and that other brothers Moshe and Heniek probly died in concentration camps. She met her brother Edmund, just coming back from an offlag where he was in prison during the war. Edmund decided in 1947 to go to Peru, south America. At the end of the year 1945, Alla went to France, precisely to Paris, as she had the adress of her sister Dora ( Dwora Ita ZALCENSZTAJN). In Lodz, she met a man with his son. This man was Jacques Olser and his son was Salek Olszer, survivors of concentration camps. They get married legaly in Paris, France, september 1945, and religiously in Munchen, Germany, may 1946.

The father of Salek Olszer (= Samson Olszer = Simon Olszer) is Jacques Olser and his mother is Huma BORNSZTAJN (=Nekhouma), a 1st cousin of of Alla! Huma BORNSZTAJN was a daughter of Usher Bornsztajn, brother of Frandla Bornsztajn. Jacques Olszer and Huma BORNSZTAJN met together and fall in love in Lodz in 1924 and Jacques was suppose to go to army in Poland after it for his military service. As he did not want to go to the army, he migrate in France. Jacques Olszer found a flat in the quarter of Saint paul in the 4th arrondissement (district) of paris and a job as a worker in the automobile factories of Citroën. When he had enough money, he helped Huma BORNSZTAJN to come to him in Paris. Jacques and Huma were married in september 1926 in Paris and there witnesses were Icek Lajb ZALCENSZTAJN and Frandla BORNSZTAJN, the parents of Alla ZALCENSZTAJN! that Salek Olszer was born the 19th of april 1927... After years of happyness the war came. Huma BORNSZTAJN was assassinated probably in 1942 in a concentration camp. Salek Olszer was deported from a gettho of Piotkow-Tribunalski (and not as it was written before, through the french camp of Drancy, then to Compiegne, in 1942. 2 or 3 days after he was in the concentration camp of Buchenwald near Weimar: Salek did not speak french before he immgrate ther in 1946 [A1]). The deported people were working there as slaves for BMW automobile, IG farbenindustries, Schneider etc... As Simon Olszer was only 16 years old, he was declared apt to work everydays for these industries until he was chosen to work in the new camp of Theresienstadt working as a slave to build bazookas wheapons for the german army. Those who were founded inapted by the nazis were sent to Auschwitz or killed immediatly. The complete description of what happen to Simon Olszer was written by my father after Simon Olszer described it in details for him in april 1997. Of course even the world 'horrible' is not enough... [A2, A3]. After a bombardment, Simon Olszer was transfered in a other camp, called Schlieben. Beetween the 6 and the 11 of may 1945 (Yes, even 3 days after the capitulation of Germany!), one million SS army resisted around his camp in the region of Prag against the soviet army lead by the great general Koniev, commandant the 1st Ukhrainian front. The SS killed many of the deportees before to capitulate. The french great poet Robert DESNOS was also in Theresienstadt, liberated the 8th may 1945 but died fews days after.

Alla ZALCENSZTAJN (=Aline OLSER) and Jacques OLSER (survived in Germany during the war, working for Railways) married together at the end of the war for their official wedding in Paris (France) in September 1945, and for their religious wedding in Munchen (Germany) in May 1946 (bravo! that is a great symbol!). Then they lived in there flat rue Pierre Semard in Paris. They died in France in the years seventies. Jacques OLSZER was born in 1903 and died the 6th of november 1976. I met Aline when I was young and I kept a very good souvenir of this sympatical woman. She has a daughter, Françoise BENASSOULI, born OLSER (who have two children: Anne et de Jean-David). Alla died the 10th of september 1979 in Paris. She was 67 years old. Simon OLSZER (OLSER), brother of Françoise BENASSOULI (they have the same father) married with a woman called Thérèse. Simon OLSER (19 april 1927- 16 september 1998) was the step-son of Alla, that mean Simon OLSZER was son of Jacques OLSER and Huma BORNSZTAJN.

[A2] Information given by Laurent Olszer, dec 2003

[A2] All these informations were written by my father Simon Salzenstein after he met Simon Olszer for an interview in april 1997.

[A3] it has to be mentionned that a french team of the Fundation 'Spielberg' based in Los Angeles, lead an interview asking many details to Simon Olszer in order to have his version, to keep the memory of the holaucaust by interviewing survivors.




ZALCENSZTAJN and MARCOWICZ ancesters of Alla:
1. Lajzer ZALTZENSZTAJN et Brana MARCOWICZ (1849-1882?) mariés en 1866
     2. Icek Lajb ZALCENSZTAJN (1870-1942) and Frandla BORNSZTAJN (1866-1942) married in 1897 (see picture 33ko)
             3. Alla (=Aline) OLSZER ZALCENSZTAJN (1912-1979)
                       4. Françoise BENASSOULI  OLSZSER married with Pierre  BENASSOULI
                                     5. Anne BENASSOULI
                                     5. Jean-David  BENASSOULI

BORSZTAJN (= BORNSTEIN)  and BRANDERS ancesters of Alla:
-1. Beryl BORNSZTAJN (= BORNSTEIN)
    0. Herszlik BORNSZTAJN and Bajla Ity BRANDERS
       1. Simsia BORNSZTAJN (1841-1921)  and Rywka KUMAN (1839-1925)
          2. Frandla BORNSZTAJN (1866-1942) and Icek Lajb ZALCENSZTAJN (1870-1942) married in 1897 (see picture 33ko)
             3. Alla (=Aline) OLSZER ZALCENSZTAJN (1912-1979)
                   4. Françoise BENASSOULI  OLSZSER married with Pierre  BENASSOULI
                          5. Anne BENASSOULI
                          5. Jean-David  BENASSOULI
 
KUMAN and BRANDERS ancesters of Alla:
   0. Uszer KUMAN and Frajdla BRANDERS
       1. Rywka KUMAN (1839-1925) and Simsia BORNSZTAJN (1841-1921) 
          2. Frandla BORNSZTAJN (1866-1942) and Icek Lajb ZALCENSZTAJN (1870-1942) married in 1897 (see picture 33ko)
             3. Alla (=Aline) OLSZER ZALCENSZTAJN (1912-1979)
                   4. Françoise BENASSOULI  OLSZSER married with Pierre  BENASSOULI
                          5. Anne BENASSOULI
                          5. Jean-David  BENASSOULI 

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