Shai-Mendel

Shai-Mendel Geyzer was a rabbi in Artsyz, Bessarabia, ( part of Romania at the time, today in the Odessa Oblast, Ukraine ).

Not much is known about Shai-Mendel's family, perhaps this can shed some light. Also, here is the story about Shai-Mendel's relatives.


Israel ( Sruleib )


Moshe


Sanya


Benzion


Riva

Riva married Shimon Treistman in 1923.

Riva and her family lived in Tarutino, Bessarabia, ( part of Romania at the time, today in the Odessa Oblast, Ukraine ). Tarutino, at that time, was a provincial town of mixed German-Jewish population ( 1546 Jews reported on the eve of the World War II ) with the Germans mostly involved in agriculture and the Jews in commerce.

Riva's husband Shimon Treistman was a technician at the soap factory and Riva was a housewife active in volunteer work for the Jewish poor. The family rented a four room apartment and kept moderately religious life style. They had a son Yosef and two daughters: Sara and Sonya. Life was quite comfortable until June 1940 when the region became part of the USSR. They ( 5 individuals ) were moved into one room of their four room apartment, Shimon Treistman lost his job and family fell on hard times.

On the 21st of June, 1941 the Soviet Union was attacked by the Nazi Germany and on the 12th of July, 1941 the family left their home and moved East. First they stayed in the village of Kalach ( on the Don river ), but as the Germans were approaching the family continued East. That was an arduous and dangerous journey, just ahead of the advancing German army. Constantly under attack, on one occasion they missed the train they were assigned to and, when continued on another one, saw their train bombed with most of the passengers killed or severely wounded. In Stalingrad they crossed the Volga river and in the late autumn of 1941 arrived in Zhanybek, Kazakhstan. Riva's husband Shimon and her son ( Yosef ) were transferred to the city of Chkalov and Riva, together with her dauthers Sara and Sonya, worked on the local collective farm.

In the early November, 1942 by pure luck and coincidence, the family was able to unite in Chkalov ( today Orenburg ) - a city on the Ural River in central Russia.

Riva Treistman passed away in 1944 in Chkalov.

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