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At age 75, Aaron Herskowitz and his beloved Helen return to Bilky. It is the first time since World War II, and they did not want to revisit the hellish nightmares of their survival. It is only after much convincing from their children that they are able to get their father and mother, also a native Bilker and Auschwitz survivor, to make the journey.
Howard, who has been fascinated with his father’s stories since childhood, hadn’t truly understood his parents’ reluctance to return to their home town, at first the site of happy times, but then a time of sadness, when the Holocaust came to wipe out their families and loved ones. Together, Aaron and his family revisit familiar countryside while Howard uses video and audio to record his parents’ fascinating memories.
Aaron’s family
Circa 1925 (clockwise from far left): sisters Hannah, Sarah and Rachel, brother Harry, sister Bela, maternal grandmother Reisel Klein, grandfather Jacob Klein, Aaron’s father Jacob Herskowitz, mother Paula, Aaron and sister Leah.
Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz-Josef
Aaron’s family revered Emperor Franz-Josef (1830-1916), who was one of the first European leaders to emancipate his Jewish population.
Aaron in the Czech Army
Aaron was promoted from private to corporal early in his service due to his leadership skills and his intelligence.
Aaron
At the end of World War II
Helen
1945
Helen and Aaron
Married in 1946
Aaron and his niece Irene 1946
His only relative to survive the war
Aaron and Helen
Farm in 1948
Aaron
Riding horses in the 1970s
Aaron returns to Bilky
Showing that he survived to return to his hometown Bilky several decades after the war.
Aaron and Helen
Old friends during Aaron’s & Helen’s return to Bilke.
Aaron and friend
Aaron’s family had bred horses, and after immigrating to America, he was able to return to a childhood passion.
Aaron and Helen’s family
With children Louis, Philis, Howard, their spouses and grandchildren.
Aaron’s wild friend Ignatz Sax. After immigrating to America, Aaron searched in vain for his old comrade Sax. It was not until after the deaths of both men that members of the Sax family by chance attended a live presentation of “Aaron’s Revenge” and then stepped forward with the amazing news that their relative was the late Ignatz Sax of Aaron’s story. This photograph was taken in the mid-to-late 1940s.
Bilky Rabbi
Bilky’s Rabbi Weiss preached prayer rather than resistance; because of this, he was one of Aaron’s greatest adversaries.
