November 11, 1903 - January 10, 1991
Yahrzeit: 24 Tevet 5751
Click on photo to enlarge
Click on photo to enlarge
Jack David Moraff (Murawczyk) (1903-1991)
Jack (Yakov Dovid) Murawczyk was born in Kazhanhorodok in Belarus, one of four boys and five girls. He lived in Lachva. He was in business in Belarus and was very successful. He sold fabric and cigarettes. He married late in life and he had a son. During the Second World War, his wife and child were killed by the Nazis. He hid in the woods in Belarus and lived with the Partisans. In 1949, Jack came to Sydney to join his one remaining brother, Hymie. For many years, he had a convenience store at the corner of Victoria Road and Breton.
This story is told in Larry Gaum’s “From Belarus to Cape Breton and Beyond”. The sources are Evelyn Davis and Morey Altman.
This is a story told to us by our uncle Jack Moraff, who lived in Lachva, Belarus. When the Nazis arrived in Lachva in 1943, they herded all of the Jews into a field which was fenced in to prevent anyone from escaping. They killed all of the babies with bayonets to save bullets. All of the men were forced to shovel coal into boxcars as the guards stood by with guns and whips. By morning, most of the older men were either beaten to death or had died from exhaustion or shock. One night Jack, another man and his 4 year –old-son escaped into the woods. Jack left behind his wife and young son. When they heard the Nazi patrol they hid in a small body of water. The child was about to cry out and to prevent this, the father put his hand over his son’s mouth. When the patrol passed, they noted that the child was dead, due to suffocation. Jack and the man dug a grave by hand and buried the lad by the pond. They hid in the woods for months and eventually joined the Partisans.
One evening, as they hid, the weather was below zero. They tried to stay warm by covering themselves with snow. In the distance they saw smoke from a fire and upon investigating it, realized that it came from a small house. A woman let them in and fed them. They slept for awhile and then departed as the Nazi patrol checked this area every day. One night as they camped by a river, Jack discovered his cousin Szymon Cheifetz, who convinced Jack to join the Russian army. The Russians needed people who spoke Polish. Jack became a cook for one of the Russian officers, who protected him for the remainder of the war. He stayed with the 1st Russian Battalion and entered Berlin as the war ended. When peace was declared, they marched back to Moscow and Jack was then on his own. With the help of the Jewish Immigration Services, he managed to get to Austria. He had one opportunity to go back to Lachva, but did not, as he could not face what he would find. He knew at his time that his wife and son were dead.
The Red Cross assisted him in writing his brother Hymie, but he couldn’t remember how Hymie spelled his “Canadian” name. Jack also did not know where Hymie lived, other than in Canada. The letter was address to “Hymie Murav, Canada”. One day a letter arrived at Hymie’s store. Thinking that it was a request for a donation, Hymie put it aside, planning to attend to it later. After several days, he opened the letter and to his surprise, discovered that a brother had survived the war. But how did the letter get to Hymie?
It was Easter vacation and Ed Thorne, who lived on Bay Street and who worked for the Red Cross, came into Hymie’s store. “Hymie,” he said, “Did you get the letter? Can you imagine, they couldn’t even spell your name. When I saw it, I wrote on the envelope, corner of Bay and Victoria Road.” The mystery of how the letter got to Hymie was solved. If it wasn’t for the young Thorne boy, who knows what might have happened?
Jack came to Canada, and lived in the Pier for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 84.
I was born in Whitney Pier and for some years my widowed mother and her 6 children rented the back part of Mr. Jack Moraff’s store at 931 Victoria Rd. I well remember Mr. Moraff and I know he extended credit over and over to my mother to help keep her hungry brood fed. I will never forget his kindness and the store itself. We moved to Toronto in 1956 for work for mom and the two eldest girls, and I never saw Mr. Moraff again. How I would love to see a photo of him if anyone has one to attach to my email address, he was a good man.
This story is told in Larry Gaum’s “From Belarus to Cape Breton and Beyond”. The sources are Evelyn Davis and Morey Altman.
This is a story told to us by our uncle Jack Moraff, who lived in Lachva, Belarus. When the Nazis arrived in Lachva in 1943, they herded all of the Jews into a field which was fenced in to prevent anyone from escaping. They killed all of the babies with bayonets to save bullets. All of the men were forced to shovel coal into boxcars as the guards stood by with guns and whips. By morning, most of the older men were either beaten to death or had died from exhaustion or shock. One night Jack, another man and his 4 year –old-son escaped into the woods. Jack left behind his wife and young son. When they heard the Nazi patrol they hid in a small body of water. The child was about to cry out and to prevent this, the father put his hand over his son’s mouth. When the patrol passed, they noted that the child was dead, due to suffocation. Jack and the man dug a grave by hand and buried the lad by the pond. They hid in the woods for months and eventually joined the Partisans.
One evening, as they hid, the weather was below zero. They tried to stay warm by covering themselves with snow. In the distance they saw smoke from a fire and upon investigating it, realized that it came from a small house. A woman let them in and fed them. They slept for awhile and then departed as the Nazi patrol checked this area every day. One night as they camped by a river, Jack discovered his cousin Szymon Cheifetz, who convinced Jack to join the Russian army. The Russians needed people who spoke Polish. Jack became a cook for one of the Russian officers, who protected him for the remainder of the war. He stayed with the 1st Russian Battalion and entered Berlin as the war ended. When peace was declared, they marched back to Moscow and Jack was then on his own. With the help of the Jewish Immigration Services, he managed to get to Austria. He had one opportunity to go back to Lachva, but did not, as he could not face what he would find. He knew at his time that his wife and son were dead.
The Red Cross assisted him in writing his brother Hymie, but he couldn’t remember how Hymie spelled his “Canadian” name. Jack also did not know where Hymie lived, other than in Canada. The letter was address to “Hymie Murav, Canada”. One day a letter arrived at Hymie’s store. Thinking that it was a request for a donation, Hymie put it aside, planning to attend to it later. After several days, he opened the letter and to his surprise, discovered that a brother had survived the war. But how did the letter get to Hymie?
It was Easter vacation and Ed Thorne, who lived on Bay Street and who worked for the Red Cross, came into Hymie’s store. “Hymie,” he said, “Did you get the letter? Can you imagine, they couldn’t even spell your name. When I saw it, I wrote on the envelope, corner of Bay and Victoria Road.” The mystery of how the letter got to Hymie was solved. If it wasn’t for the young Thorne boy, who knows what might have happened?
Jack came to Canada, and lived in the Pier for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 84.
I was born in Whitney Pier and for some years my widowed mother and her 6 children rented the back part of Mr. Jack Moraff’s store at 931 Victoria Rd. I well remember Mr. Moraff and I know he extended credit over and over to my mother to help keep her hungry brood fed. I will never forget his kindness and the store itself. We moved to Toronto in 1956 for work for mom and the two eldest girls, and I never saw Mr. Moraff again. How I would love to see a photo of him if anyone has one to attach to my email address, he was a good man.