Abram Zyzemski (later known as Alfred Zenner) was born on August 5, 1927, in Lida, Poland (now Belarus), to Mordechai, a cobbler, and Tzirel Magulska. He was the youngest of five with older siblings Gedalia, Shayna, Sholom, and Chaika. Abram was especially cherished by his family, including his loving grandparents, who lived nearby.
Abram enjoyed a happy and carefree childhood. He attended a Jewish school, excelled in sports, and especially loved playing soccer. He spent countless hours playing with neighborhood friends, including Michael Stoll (Stolowitzky), who would become his lifelong friend. The two boys survived the Holocaust together and remained close throughout their lives, as they built their families and successful careers in America.
Before World War II, Abram’s oldest brother, Gedalia, immigrated to Palestine. The rest of the family remained in Lida, which fell under Soviet occupation in 1939. Life quickly became difficult as shortages increased and Jewish schools were closed, forcing children to attend Russian schools. In June 1941, Germany invaded. Much of Lida was destroyed, Jewish leaders were murdered, and all Jews were forced to wear the yellow Star of David.
In September 1941, the Lida Ghetto was established. The Zyzemski family was confined within its overcrowded walls under brutal conditions. While Abram was away performing forced labor, his parents and sister Shayna were rounded up and murdered along with thousands of other Jews. Soon afterward, at just fifteen years old, Abram escaped into the surrounding forests.
Not long after, his brother Sholom and sister Chaika also escaped and were reunited with him. Together they joined the Bielski Partisans, the Jewish resistance group that rescued more than 1,200 Jews while carrying out sabotage against the Germans. Initially, the Bielski brothers hesitated to accept Abram because of his age. However, Chaika insisted he would prove himself-which he did, but only after turning over his Mauser gun to the brothers.
As a partisan, Abram took part in dangerous raids, derailed trains, scouted for food and supplies, and guarded the camp. He repeatedly risked his life by returning to the Lida Ghetto to bring food to those still trapped inside. During one mission, he became suspicious that a local baker was hiding supplies in his cellar. Under cover of darkness, he investigated and successfully secured much-needed food and supplies for the camp.
On another occasion, Abram was captured and beaten by German soldiers. He survived only because a Polish official recognized him and intervened. Tragedy struck again when his brother Sholom was killed while searching for food. Having lost his parents, his sister Shayna, and now his brother, Chaika and the Bielski partisans became his only remaining family.
After the war, Abram hoped to immigrate to Palestine, where he believed Jews could rebuild their lives free from persecution. Until that opportunity arose, he traveled through Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria before arriving at the Displaced Persons Camp (DP Camp) in Bad Gastein, Austria. Surrounded by the Alps, he began the long process of rebuilding his life. He skied, played soccer and cards, and slowly recovered from the trauma of war.
As his time at the DP Camp came to an end, Abram remained uncertain about his future. He played center while proudly wearing his favorite number 7, on a soccer team that competed in the Maccabi Games. Also, he traveled through Italy with a friend, repairing metal roofs, to earn a living while waiting for a chance to begin again. Like many survivors, he refused to let his immense losses define his future.
That opportunity came when Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) informed Abram that his aunt, Sarah Widoff, his mother’s sister, who lived near Boston, had agreed to sponsor him. Ironically, both Abram and his father had the chance to come to America under much different circumstances. Before the war, and unaware of what the future would bring, Abram’s father visited relatives in Pittsburg, PA. but chose to return to marry and start a family. In contrast, Abram had already experienced the Holocaust and went to America to start a new life.
On March 10, 1947, Abram departed Bremerhaven, Germany, aboard the troopship SS Ernie Pyle, arriving in New York on April 5. He traveled alone, as his sister Chaika, had married Wolfke (Wolf) Alexandrovich and chose to settle in Montevideo, Uruguay with his family. What Abram may have imagined as a temporary stop on the way to Palestine instead, became his permanent home.
In America, Abram embraced new opportunities. Through determination and hard work, he became an entrepreneur. He owned a grocery store, worked as a butcher, invested in real estate, and eventually became co-owner of a successful wholesale meat company serving restaurants throughout the Boston area.
While attending an English as a Second Language (ESL) class, Abram met Micheline Himelfarb, a Holocaust survivor from Paris. Over the years, he told his daughters how he was smitten from the very first moment he laid eyes on their mother. They married in 1950 and built a life grounded in love, resilience, and hope. Together they raised three daughters and were blessed with six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
After becoming an American citizen, Abram changed his name from Abram Zyzemski to Alfred Zenner. Humble and soft-spoken, he was reluctant to publicly discuss his wartime experiences or the lives he helped save in public. Yet others will never forget.
At a Lida survivors’ reunion, a lifelong friend called him a true hero. Nearly a decade later, at the November 2023 Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation Tribute Dinner in New York City, two of Alfred’s grandsons met a fellow Bielski survivor who shared another remarkable story. During an evacuation through a swamp, Alfred had carried a young boy on his shoulders to safety. The man speaking was that very child, whom Alfred saved.
Alfred remained deeply connected to fellow survivors from Lida, members of the Bielski Partisans, and the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston. They gathered regularly, preserving the bonds forged through unimaginable hardship. Alfred didn’t view them as friends; he considered them family.
Alfred Zenner passed away in January 2014, just three months after the death of his beloved wife, Micheline. Despite unimaginable loss and hardship, he never surrendered to despair. His life became a lasting testament to courage, compassion, resilience, and hope. He leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire his family, all who knew him, the people he saved, and the generations to come.
“With resilience, the human spirit can endure even the darkest of times.”
