Bernard Ksionzenicki, Ruza (Rosa) Ksionzenicki, and Urek Ksionzenicki

Jan Abby Liff honors the story of her friend and cousin (by marriage) Henryk Ksionzenicki. Shortly after his arrival to Israel through Youth Aliyah, he changed his name to Tzvi Harel. Soon thereafter he settled at Kibbutz Mizra, and he is now known as Chibi. Liff has honored Chibi as well as his family of origin, Bernard, Ruza (Rosa), and Urek Ksionzenicki. Chibi has spent much of his life “trying to find a clue” about his identity. He has no birth certificate, but he believes that he was born in Warszawa, Poland, around 1937 or 1938. Through the Missing Identity program on Israeli TV, Chibi discovered that before the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943, he had been placed in the care of Halina Suchocka, a Polish woman. By protecting him during the war, she saved his life, and has since been recognized as a Righteous Gentile.

Little is known about Chibi’s father, Bernard. Chibi discovered his mother’s name, Rosa, in an archive. He had an older brother, Urek, but Chibi was the only one in his family to survive the war.

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