Bajla (Bella) Rotner
APRIL 25, 1921 – JULY 13, 2024
(A Bajla note at her photo: It is me, here in America, Bala Rotner née Borenstein)
Bajla (Bella) Rotner died on July 13th, 2024, in an age of 103 years. Born in April 1921she was the oldest person born in Olkusz. She was 18 when Germany invaded the country. In September 1941, Bajla and her family (parents, 3 brothers and 2 sisters) were sent to the Olkusz ghetto at Sikorka. In March 1942 she was separated from the rest of her family and sent to Czechoslovakia occupied by Germans, to the Bernsdorf (Bernatice near Trutnov) forced labour camp, to become finaly liberated by the Red Army on May 8th, 1945
She returned to Olkusz in hopes of finding her family, but they had all been killed, except for 1 uncle. According to her family memories the 2 of them tried to leave Poland on foot, but her uncle was killed by Polish Partisans and Bajla was jailed at the border. When she was released she went back to Olkusz and then to Sosnowiec, where she met Chaim Rotner, whom she knew from Olkusz. Chaim was older and had been married before the war, during which his wife and children were killed by the Germans.
Bajla and Chaim were married in January 1947 and had 2 children (Alek and Ewa), before the whole family was eventually able to leave Poland in 1969. They traveled to Vienna and then to Rome, where they lived as displaced persons for a year, before finally emigrating to Brooklyn NY in 1970. After her husband died in 1980, Bajla worked as a cook in the Bookdale Senior Citizens Center for many years before retiring. She lived independently in her Brooklyn apartment until she was 98, and then moved in with her daughter Ewa to Teaneck, NJ.
Bajla is survived by her son Alek, 3 grandsons, and 2 great-grandchildren.
Her death on July 13, 2024, left a painful void in Olkusz as well, where she was one of the last people who personally reminded us of the lost Jewish community of our town. Several years of my correspondence with Bella, which so enriched the message on this website, was a unique experience for me.
Michał Ostrowski
This information follows an obituary in
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/hackensack-nj/bajla-rotner-11895414