Holocaust survivor Luba Wrobel Goldberg (1923 – 2022) was born and raised in Ciechanowiec, Poland. She attended the Zionist Tarbut school. After her father’s sudden death, Luba was sent by her mother to nearby Bialystok to study dressmaking at ORT Trade school. Little did Luba know at the time that this trade would later save her life more than once.
After the war Luba married Chaim Goldberg, a Holocaust survivor from Sokoly, Poland. They fled Poland due to persistent antisemitism and were put in a Displaced Persons Camp in Waldenburg, Germany, where daughter Goldie was born, and soon, a son, Jack, in Milan, Italy. In 1949 they emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, aboard the Napoli. In Melbourne, Luba and Chaim worked 16 hours days in manual labor. They opened a shmatte shop with their savings in Brunswick. Luba’s shop became a haven where women gathered to receive advice, blessings, and clothing, free of charge if in need.
In her early seventies, Luba studied VCE English. Most of Luba’s inner circle were Holocaust survivors, but Luba loved to meet people from all walks of life, young and old. She would smile, advise, and stress the importance of optimism and faith.
Spark of Hope
Luba’s story begins in the small village of Ciechanowiec, rural Poland. The author takes us on an emotional journey through her childhood in a tightly knit Jewish community. She goes on to describe the Nazi invasion of Poland and her harrowing years in hiding from the Nazis.
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