Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Eliezer Welbel served in the Polish Army Wojsko Polskie and was taken prisoner at Biala Podlaska at the beginning of World War II.
He escaped and returned to Lunna Лунно, and was sent by the Soviets to prison in Minsk.
When Minsk was overrun by the Germans in June 1941, he returned to Lunna Лунно again.

At the end of November, 1942, transports from the Grodno Ghetto Getto w Grodnie to the Kiełbasin transit camp, from where, the Jews were sent in cattle trucks to Auschwitz and Treblinka.

On December 5, 1942, the 3rd night of Chanukah, the Jewish prisoners from Lunna-Wola and neighboring towns were ordered to assemble in the middle of the Kelbasin Transit Camp.
They were marched two kilometers to the Lososna train station, where they forced into some twenty small railroad cars, each car, mainly freight cars, although there were a few passenger cars, was crammed with 120 prisoners.
The transport consisted of about 2,500 prisoners.
During the journey from the Kelbasin Transit Camp to Auschwitz took 3 days, by which time, most prisoners had run out of the small amount of water and food that they carried with them.

On December 5, 1942, Eliezer Eisenshmidt was put on the transport that left the Kelbasin Transit Camp for Auschwitz.

On December 5, 1942, Aron Leibowicz was put on the transport from Kiełbasin Transit Camp to Auschwitz.

On December 5, 1942, Eliezer Welbel was put on the transport that left the Kelbasin Transit Camp for Auschwitz.

On December 8, 1942, the 5th day of Chanukah, between 7 and 9 o’clock on the morning, the transport from Kelbasin Transit Camp arrived at Auschwitz.
From the entire transport of 2,500 prisoners, approximately 315 men were selected for labor and were sent to Block 9 in Auschwitz-Birkenau, while the rest, including all women and children, were sent to the gas chambers.
Danuta Czech, historian at the Auschwitz Museum, cites: " RSHA Transport No. 3 is listed at Auschwitz as follows: "December 8, 1942. Jews from Grodno; 231 men with numbers 80764-80994 were sent into the camp. Children, mothers and old men were gassed.""

On the evening of December 9, 1942, the SS soldiers selected about 80 strong, young strong men from Block 9 in Auschwitz-Birkenau, and moved them to Block 2, the block for the Sonderkommandos, those forced to carry dead bodies from the gas chambers on wheelbarrows and burn them in Bunkers.
The average Sonderkommando lasted about three months, as the Germans liquidated Sonderkommandos every so often, replacing them with new prisoners.

Shtetlinks cites: "By the spring of 1944, the Germans were operating four crematoria in Birkenau, which they numbered II, III, IV, V (the prisoners used the numbers: I, II, III and IV; further references will use the German numbering system.) The crematoria also included undressing rooms and gas chambers; two were underground (Crematory II and III) and two were at ground level (Crematory IV and V). Approximately 120 Sonderkommandos worked at each crematorium."
"The Sonderkommandos from Lunna who were forced to work in Crematory II were: Zalman Gradowski, Yosef Derewianski, David Goland, Moshe Chernyawski and Shneur-Zalman Friedman. Those in Crematory IV were: Eliezer Welbel, Eliezer Eisenshmidt, Berl Becker, Nissel Lewin, Aizik Nowik, Aron Leibowicz, Tewel Gisser, Aba Suchowlanski (Nissel Lewin's brother in law), Zalman Rochkin and Kalman Furman."

Eliezer Eisenshmidt was among the prisoners on the Kelbasin Transit Camp-Auschwitz transport who was selected to work in the Sonderkommando.

Aron Leibowicz was among the prisoners on the Kelbasin Transit Camp-Auschwitz transport who was selected to work in the Sonderkommando.

Eliezer Welbel was among the prisoners on the Kelbasin Transit Camp-Auschwitz transport who was selected to work in the Sonderkommando.

Eliezer Eisenshmidt escaped from the Death March from Aushwitz-Birkenau.

Eliezer Welbel was put on the Death March from Aushwitz-Birkenau to Mauthausen.
On January 25, 1945, he made it to Mauthausen.

On the second night of the march, Aryeh Leib Lebovitz managed to escape, until he recaptured by his SS sergeant for whom he had been working.
In March, 1945, he escaped with another group, managing to evade detection until they reached Landshut.

On May 5, 1945, Eliezer Welbel was liberated from Mauthausen-Gusen 2.

On November 14, 1945, to Leah 'Elonka' Mortkovic was reunited with Rose, in the Santa Maria DP Camp, and she was introduced to Eliezer 'Lazer' Welbel.

At 03:00AM, August 6, 1946, the eve Tisha beAv תשעה באב, Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט weighed anchor, sailed from Bacoli (Boca di Magra), under French flag, at 5-6 knots, carrying 183 passengers.
Dudale Ben-Chorin served as Palyam Commander aboard Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט.
Yonatan Kinarti served as Palyam Escort aboard Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט.
Yosef Lustig Israeli served as Gidoni, wireless radio operator, aboard Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט.
The crew aboard Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט was French, and so was the Captain.

Dudale Ben-Chorin served as Palyam פלי"ם‎ Commander aboard Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט.

Yonatan Kinarti served as Palyam פלי"ם‎ Escort aboard Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט.

Yosef Lustig Israeli served as Gidoni גדעוני, wireless radio operator, aboard Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט.

On August 6, 1946, Eliezer 'Lazer' Welbel, and his wife, Leah 'Elonka' Mortkovic Welbel, sail on Idéros Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט, from Bacoli to Palestine.
On August 16, 1946, they landed in Palestine, where Leah found her sister, Rose, and her brother, but she had lost 30 family members in the Shoah.

A French reporter from France-Soir, who was on board Amiram Shochat עמירם שוחט Idéros, cites: Roberto, approximately 13 or 14 years old, was entrusted to the captain by his mother.
Ilan Braun cites: official documents did not mention that an additional person was brought on board.

Ilan Braun cites: "Le 14 juillet 1946 la goélette française Idéros venant de Bretagne va appareiller pour Marseille. Mais un incident survient: un pied qui dépasse d'un canot éveille l'attention d'un marin qui découvre..un passager clandestin, puis deux puis trois, enfin huit en tout! La police est appelée et les pauvres, rêveurs de lendemains français, sont arrêtés, à l'exception de deux d'entre eux: Raphael Garcia, espagnol, et Alberto, âgé de treize ans environ, qui serait juif?"
"On July 14, 1946, Idéros Amiram Shochat sail from Brittany for Marseille. But a problem arose: one dinghy was hanging lower than the others, attracting the attention of a sailor who discovered .. a stowaway, then a second, then a third, and finally a total of eight! The police were called and the poor dreamers of a French future, were arrested, with the exception of two: Raphael Garcia, Spanish, and Alberto, who was about thirteen, and possibly Jewish?"

Eliezer 'Lazer' Welbel and his wife, Leah, left Israel to join Eliezer's brother.
They settled in San Francisco, for two years, and then moved to Chicago,
They opened a coin laundry at 3352 North Marshfield.
They retired in 1980.