Brothers For Resistance And Rescue By David Gur

Barzel ShoshanaSteiner ZsuzsaBorn in Pozsony (Bratislava) in 1924Member of “Maccabi Hatzair”In the spring of 1938 Shoshana helped Jews who were deported from“Burgenland” and were aboard a ship anchored on the Danube inBratislava. In 1941 she settled down with her family in Budapest, whereshe gave assistance to the refugees who arrived from Slovakia. Sinceshe had an Aryan appearance, Shoshanna was given the task ofobtaining authentic Christian documents. In 1944 she traveled aroundHungary and visited ghettos in order to warn the Jews of their fate, todistribute forged documents and to accompany friends to Budapest. InJune 1944 she helped her husband (Alex Barzel Vas), whom she hadmarried in April, to run away from a forced labor unit and reach Budapest.Shoshanna left Hungary on the train of the Relief and RescueCommittee.Shoshana made aliya in 1945 and was one of the founders of KibbutzTze’elim. She has been a member of Kibbutz Kfar Hahoresh since 1948.Baumer Joseph 'Yoshko'Baumer JózsefBorn in Nagymihályi (Michalovce) on 20.12.1914Died in 2001 in IsraelMember of “Hashomer Hatzair”Joseph’s parents were pious Hasidim Jews and Joseph studied in aYeshiva. In 1939 he became member of the Hasomer Hatzairmovement’s leadership in Bratislava and as the coordinator of theHehalutz organization. He dealt with the aliya of young people fromSlovakia.In 1940 Joseph traveled to Budapest in order to enlist in the Hungarianmovement and help refugees. In 1941, before the invasion of Yugoslaviaby the Germans, Joseph and some of his friends tried to open an aliyaroute from that country. They were caught, freed, caught again andarrested and then returned to Slovakia. In 1942 Joseph moved toBudapest with Mimish (Yitzhak Herbst) in order to organize help for manySlovak refugees who were members of the movement who arrivedillegally in Hungary.Brothers for Resistance and Rescue 52