Courtesy of those photographed

Survived the horror, conquered life: the ballad of joy and wholeness

She was born in Hungary, survived the hardships of the Holocaust and immigrated to Israel at the age of 8. He, was born in Tunis, and after the war immigrated to Israel.

They got married, started families, and became widowed, and only then did they fall in love with each other.

An optimistic story about boundless love and faith

Sheee system

27/04/2022

27/04/2022

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Hedva Raber was born in 1942 in Hungary.

At the age of one she was taken to an orphanage of the Red Cross, her father was sent to a labor camp and her mother to Auschwitz.

Thanks to the work of Raoul Wallenberg, Hedva's parents survived.

After the war, they picked her up from the orphanage, and in 1950 immigrated to Israel.

Shlomo Buchnik was born in 1936 in Tunis.

When he was 6, the city of Sfax was conquered by the Germans, and his family fled the city to the village, until the liberation of Tunis in 1943. Shlomo and his family immigrated to Israel in 1955, and Shlomo was allowed to start a family and embrace 6 children, 16 grandchildren and some great-grandchildren

. Not in their childhood, if at all it can be said that they had one.The childhood years of Hedva Raber (79) and Shlomo Buchnik (86) were a daily existential confrontation with the cruel reality of the Holocaust. At a very young age, many years passed before each of them managed to rehabilitate himself, stand on his own two feet and build a new family, here, in Israel.

Hedva started a glorious family, and a few months ago she even became a great-grandmother to her first granddaughter.

She came to "Amek" 18 years ago with her husband, from whom she was widowed in 2013.

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Established homes in Israel.

Shlomo and Hedva (Photo: courtesy of those photographed)

After setting up homes in Israel and it seemed that for the first time life was smiling at them and flowing on who rests, each of them individually experiences a shaky bereavement experience again.

Hedva's husband died and left her alone in the world again, and Shlomo's wife also separated from the world and left him with great sadness.

It was clear to each of them that once again, despite their supportive and loving children, they would have to deal with their lives alone until their last day.

All the doors seemed to close in front of them and the loneliness would win again.

But life, as in life, is surprising in places we did not expect.

Shlomo came to the "Amach" club about 5 years ago thanks to his daughter who worked as a psychologist at the association's branch in Netanya.

Shlomo, an accordion player and music teacher by profession, utilizes his talent and teaches music to other Holocaust survivors at the branch.

When Hedva came to the activity she has been participating in for many years she did not know she would meet here her next love, she says, love at first sight.

"He gives music lessons from time to time at the club. I remember the first time I came to the class he gave. I liked him and probably me too, because he asked me for my number that day. From there, everything is history."

Shlomo agrees with her description of the situation, he also says that within seconds it was clear to him that "I want this woman in my life."

The love story between a Tunisian and a Hungarian may seem almost "ordinary" nowadays, but for Shlomo and Hedva it is not only about unexpected love, but also about breaking stigmas and social conventions.

"In our generation, connections between the Ashkenazi community and the Mizrahi community were not acceptable, certainly not romantic relationships," says Hedva.

"I'm glad that today is no longer the case, and children today do not pay attention to these things at all. I wish it would always be like this. We want to move. "

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Shlomo and Hedva (Photo: courtesy of those photographed)

Shlomo agrees and adds with a smile: "At my age, what should I have been ashamed of? When we were young, bereavement and despair lurked in every corner. Whoever surrendered to them did not survive. I always made sure to maintain optimism and belief that in the end must be good, and I do to this day. Therefore, when I saw Hedva, and I liked her, I decided to ask for her number, "he says.

When asked how the family members reacted to the relationship, Shlomo and Hedva said that the reactions were very supportive.

"It is important to them that we be happy. We, Holocaust survivors, face difficulties that most people will not understand, physically and especially mentally. Our relationship facilitates this daily struggle. We will never forget what we went through and the spouses who were and are not, whom we loved and started a family with. "And at the same time, when we are together, for a moment we forget for a moment how old we are and the pain of the past relaxes for a moment. It gives us the strength to continue, even today at our young age."

On the activities at Amek, the Israeli center for psychological and social support for Holocaust survivors and the second generation, Shlomo said only one word - "Together. To laugh together, to dance together, to be together with my peers and people who have had similar experiences to mine." Amek "is like a second family "For me, and I'm happy to have met Hedva here, who has become my life partner. I did not plan to come here and find a partner, but life is always full of surprises."

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