During a meeting at her home for the "Picking up the Pieces" project, Miriam Tamari handed over a poignant item to Yad Vashem: a dedication book filled with rhymes, secrets, advice, and wishes from young girls in the Lodz Ghetto during World War II. This book was part of the Roshitzky family collection from Lodz, Poland, which includes various documents and photographs from the ghetto.
The book contains messages exchanged among several young girls from the Lodz Ghetto to a girl named Tzilla Slodkowitz, who was murdered in the Holocaust along with her parents. It had been in the possession of Yehuda Leon Roshitzky, Miriam Tamari's uncle, since he survived the camps and returned to Lodz.
"Yehuda Leon was the eldest of his five siblings, with my father, David, being one of the brothers. After their father died, presumably from the Spanish flu, Yehuda Leon became the head of the family," Tamari recounted. She handed over the item to Yad Vashem in February 2023. "Before the war broke out, as early signs of antisemitism began to appear, the family buried barrels in the ground in which many valuable items were stored.
"After the war, my father, who had fled to Russia and returned in the uniform of the Red Army to Lodz, found the barrels with everything that had been put into them, including the book of dedications. When he met his brother Yehuda Leon, who had survived the camps and returned to Lodz in very poor physical condition, the two found the book of dedications, which Yehuda Leon had kept close to him."
After the death of her father and uncle, Tamari inherited documents and photographs, including the book of dedications, whose significance she did not fully grasp at that time. "After my mother, Malah, passed away in 2007, I deeply researched what was written in the book, with the help of a friend who knew Polish and interpreted some of the text, as it was very well preserved," she noted. "It was sad to discover that over the years, the contents of the book of dedications reflected the increasing despair among those girls. From happy contents and beautiful messages, there were contents and messages related to survival."
In the book of dedications, a heartfelt message from Ruthka (Ruth), the daughter of Yehuda Leon, stands out. On December 26, 1941, she wrote to Tzilla, "Remember, little Tzilusha, I wish for you that the war will end, that the (yellow) patch will be removed from our clothes, and that no one will yell at you anymore, 'Stop, Jew'." Ruthka and Tzilla are believed to have been the same age, both born in 1931.
Miriam Tamari shared, "From what I know, based on testimonies, little Ruthka was murdered with her mother during the 'death march' in the Holocaust. It is very important to emphasize that deciphering the names and the connection between the two girls, including their relationship and the educational frameworks in which they studied, is of utmost importance. Every detail that is revealed about them adds another piece to the puzzle that tells their poignant story."