https://bertlewyn.com 2019-05-22T23:12:38+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/51ece217ae4e3504bdbce636db5b09f46238006b02528181e7e97af660ffdc25/Portrait-of-man-reading--1923-FRONT.jpeg Updates & New Discoveries https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/76212e5f75bf401cebb574fe20e02f265309ab7016747c60bce4842bc323f5ed/An-Aunt--1928-FRONT.jpeg Questions & Prompts for Book Clubs & School Groups https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f36edf55f89259567ed4e65430c5eeea99feb353d49b3ffc453b77feef7cafd0/ORT-Work-Card-1-copy.jpeg Image Galleries https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5cd3c9076b497f742e17870eec935d5cdf91cde3581b7e06647f581fa78c31ae/Bert-and-Dov-at-grave-of-Rebecca-Gutman1989.jpeg Transcripts, Interviews, & More https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3bcb5a0dde3c48ed910cae321ab5bbe68e307e0d717505ab530e4d16eb0122e1/Bert-speaking-in-Scranton-2002.jpeg Important Links https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bd110cdc13191523b207c4babacd1e1366ecb113c5b75660157abc20e16f73ea/on-the-run-original-cover.jpg Reader Responses to the First Edition https://bertlewyn.com/Jake-Krakovsky-Eulogy 2019-03-05T07:14:21+00:00 always 0.5 https://bertlewyn.com/Text-of-a-speech-given-by-Bert-at-a-book-signing-event 2019-03-05T07:14:21+00:00 always 0.5 https://bertlewyn.com/Reader-responses-to-the-first-edition 2019-03-13T02:27:23+00:00 always 0.5 https://bertlewyn.com/Questions-and-Prompts-for-Book-Clubs-and-School-Groups 2019-03-16T23:20:55+00:00 always 0.5 https://bertlewyn.com/Transcripts-Interviews-and-More 2019-05-22T23:16:10+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/58928adabb9e140bbc6c72b8c5654f4fa9d662445207d9b48a75d8df513ae89e/stern.jpg Text of a speech given by Bert at a book signing event https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/874b7dd7fcff226a6e2f3f973a52965f3e9282566ef161f9e900773fe6456b2f/Jake---Papa-2015.jpg Eulogy delivered at Bert's funeral service by his grandson Jake Krakovsky https://bertlewyn.com/Updates-New-Discoveries 2019-05-22T23:22:06+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9e95f144d151decdd747309d693740268abf57377c7f0baaf4372402cb097f06/Updated-Gedenkbuch--Johanna.jpeg https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/650c51e53a0a89655be298396ba504c075413faa7b6a3fa2dc1dba37e21d9f0d/Updated-Gedenkbuch--Leopold.jpeg https://bertlewyn.com/Important-Links 2019-03-05T07:45:23+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/38cfe5e724e7e1627b35e6bb0260cdd5b66d73cdf3fb10178473dab769e2922f/IMG_3150.jpg The German translation of "On the Run in Nazi Berlin," titled "Versteckt in Berlin," translated by Judit Lichtenberg https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/eb2dbfda5840c1b588632327b08c7e38e5b3aa813e6b593e717cb059cc3cb278/Baby-papa.jpeg Bert and Esther Lewyn family papers housed at MARBL, Emory University's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bf31fe494903f3c92fb3adc403b1603447a0bfed5a122e33103d139f9809a529/Screen-Shot-2019-03-03-at-9.23.38-PM.png An interactive map of Berlin showing places of importance from "On the Run in Nazi Berlin" https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d7c20f6a8bbf13a4de571ff8c1b61298204845696c763dc3b817d408895d81ff/obituary-bert-lewyn-92-01.jpg Bert's obituary in the Atlanta Jewish Times https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6716482738fe6f38f0b2efde2f635ea5f16674e6da0e4913b54dd9b720ae45f/Rabbidavidgeffen.jpg-400x250-1542752735.png A feature about Bert in the Jerusalem Post, written by Rabbi David Geffen, grandson of Rabbi Tobas Geffen (2009) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3ff17a37698c5db27a7399f37965594030f9742610c195730a117ac238305c7e/Screen-Shot-2019-03-05-at-12.02.21-AM.png Re-Post of an article about Bert's story, originally printed in The Jewish Georgian. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e8f8bef44121a5862b402dae63b2b6a8c2ceb22f353b12318def5ca52f7a8e9a/woodworking.jpeg Obituary honoring Bert from the Woodworking Network https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f8c9dfcb9275f0a62f07369a353f0a68fcac3682c3fca6c5eaeebaf7ae62950/34174683_237222880374896_8353147281125408768_n1.jpg Full video of the 2018 ceremony for the laying of Stolpersteine memorial stones for Dagobert, Johanna, and Bert, at the site of their former home on Köpenicker Straße https://bertlewyn.com/Publication-and-Speaking-Engagements 2019-05-22T23:14:51+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6eb5e7883f29c557b18b2fcbeae8cdcbe1e943b2634401bf35ccd6c8f7b9233d/Bert-speaking-w-Judenstern.jpeg Bert at a speaking event, holding a Judenstern, the yellow badge that Jews were forced to wear throughout the Nazi-occupied Europe. Bert's life as a U-Boat (slang for Jews living "underground," pretending to be gentiles) began the day he cut off his Judenstern. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/104109f7cbd0d51b875af79fb48803117209cb0d8dc3aa40096f4cdc001c570f/Esther-and-Bert-at-ORT-alumni-event.jpeg Bert and his wife Esther at an ORT alumni event. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8289e42a6cefd043146c91846daa731235ce5c201f4bd23448759675aec9ebe1/Bert-and-Bev-at-Emory-book-event-2002.jpeg Bev and Bert signing books and greeting readers at a book release event at Emory University. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c1be57c2f7088f1458d0db6c236edcc82832dcbd68df141a14d86c1001cb016/Bert-speaking-in-Scranton-2002.jpeg Bert speaking to an audience at the Scranton, PA Jewish Community Center in 2002. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0277537e78101a18bcb1699b174ac82fe0a1ed5e196b5b57770a82a7fdcc3eef/Bert--Esther-with-Georgia-Holocaust-Commision-and-Gov.-Nathan-Deal.jpeg Bert with his wife Esther and other members of the Georgia Holocaust Commission, meeting with then-Governor Nathan Deal. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cf2c5368ff246e5c9ade570f4b42d3a63030deae7bc33262a02b24a773ed22ea/candle-lighting-2013-ga-holocaust-commision.jpg Bert and his granddaughter Rebecca at a Holocaust memorial candle-lighting event sponsored by the Georgia Commission for the Holocaust, of which he was a member. (2013) https://bertlewyn.com/Writing-and-Researching-On-the-Run-in-Nazi-Berlin 2019-05-22T23:14:44+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9437f588dbaea676ae0dcd589d6ef31387ff10323845aeee1b2bc884df1350d1/Bert-with-manuscript-1994.jpeg January 1, 1994 — Bert poses with the first set of edited manuscripts and research. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/55100f782794078a5e74f25ffff26565b8fb61e2beb7be69348a37d554c8b2bf/DREAM-12.jpeg Manuscript excerpt that was cut from the final book: Bert relays a dream he had about his parents (the first time in 50 years that he dreamt about them), as well as some question and response with Bev about his memory, the impact of being orphaned on his own fatherhood, and his ways of coping with the trauma (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/27d1c26f66754e31ae6261162c514b13827f386acf9fc6c5068b8a25fc0e1fff/DREAM-22.jpeg Manuscript excerpt that was cut from the final book: Bert relays a dream he had about his parents (the first time in 50 years that he dreamt about them), as well as some question and response with Bev about his memory, the impact of being orphaned on his own fatherhood, and his ways of coping with the trauma (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/995ec4c37e94ee3146efefdbb2e8db93d36ac5547903e31ddebec93cd7e31425/early-notes-about-Berlin-childhood-15.jpeg Early, handwritten notes about Bert's childhood in Berlin (1/5). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6677a540bf6172a2090f5749e8727279d18e099bd57969cd7c1983d06aed4406/early-notes-about-Berlin-childhood-25.jpeg Early, handwritten notes about Bert's childhood in Berlin (2/5) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d705a926b2a07a3e926174740e0e7575acdf76275adb0a5553050242c2197ef7/early-notes-about-Berlin-childhood-35.jpeg Early, handwritten notes about Bert's childhood in Berlin (3/5)" Of note, here Bert writes about his father Leopold's business being attacked on Kristallnacht, shortly after which it was taken from him without compensation. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6eb0a8f2540277cfc31b5c86ec57b655e572417a41c9480ca6b83de92348c187/early-notes-about-Berlin-childhood-45.jpeg Early, handwritten notes about Bert's childhood in Berlin (4/5) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9b2b29f1a8e2cd88ffd5c484604e4d5623b41589376be06e07ac0fdc096e2ff2/early-notes-about-Berlin-childhood-55.jpeg Early, handwritten notes about Bert's childhood in Berlin (5/5) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7804312f7df4be79a98947889feb5095ce8a31e9f1e2b33cbb317f409db5c0bf/early-sketches-of-The-Key-.jpeg Early sketches of the key Bert fabricated from a piece of lead pipe, instrumental in his escape from a makeshift Gestapo prison. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/872b929a62eaf3da7c8955550838056412d3252340edda8e96ab244b2d29d971/Manuscripts.jpeg A later look at process: stacks of binders and folder, containing interview transcriptions, drafts, and other research papers. (2/26/2001) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4f3e59a14060d649c58a05344a44c33d35547d324542f2fa0bb188b44836108c/Levin-Family-Kovno-handwritten-list.jpeg A handwritten list of the Kovno Levin/Lewin family tree https://bertlewyn.com/Letters-Correspondence 2019-12-05T20:21:53+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/157016a51444059d84ab647958b0f778567e34b33838ba4f41cb6b63aa42b1e3/envelope-from-Leopold-to-R.-Tobias-.jpeg Envelope of a letter sent from Bert's father Leopold Lewin to his uncle, the Rabbi Tobias Geffen. The letter was sent to the same Atlanta address where, a couple decades later, Bert would find family and a home with Rabbi Geffen and his wife. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/567380b8741f4383a8d60c94a81c89d726de742d26b36baf14e6aead1c65675b/Letter-1960-from-Uncle-Alfred---12.jpeg A letter to Bert from his Uncle Alfred and Aunt Susie, dated November 10, 1960. Alfred was the only member of Bert’s mother Johanna’s family to survive — his siblings and parents were all either killed by Lithuanian SS in the Kovno ghetto, or in a death camp. Alfred managed to escape and make his way to America with his wife Susie and their son Peter. (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/697cbe16d7b7b6a3cc468ccda9b65344768e40762a7b1456d3b0198c468b61c5/Letter-1960-from-Uncle-Alfred---22.jpeg Letter to Bert from Uncle Alfred and Aunt Susie in NYC, 1960 (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6ba5c6fe066e085faa7f60f97057ee37b61b1ea8f40b4ef8b043def9aa13294/Letter-from-Bert-to-Harold--1950.jpeg A letter from Bert to his cousin Harold, dated October 20, 1950. The letter reads: "Dear Harold, It's been a long time since I intended to write you. Today I decided not to postpone it any longer. So, here i am. I was glad to learn that you like your college and that you get along all right. Did you make new friends? Do you find your subjects interesting or boring? I would like to know all about it. A couple of weeks ago I started attending night classes at Georgia Tech. It is a very tough going for me, as you can imagine. After all, I speak English just 16 months. I don't think I can succeed doing both, holding a full time job and going to "Tech." I hope to hear from you some time. Regards and love, your cousin Dagobert." https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6c737e69047a5e95c11b1538a6edb3c9251de17ff9f94759854a25393ec7b2cf/Letter-from-Leopold-Nov.-5-1936.jpeg A letter from Leopold Lewin, dated November 5, 1936, likely to Rabbi Tobias Geffen and his wife. In the letter (written in German) Leopold expresses thanks for a recent message, and, responding to an offer to send money, explains to to wire it. He mentions generous gifts from his brother Benjamin for Dagobert's recent Bar Mitzvah, as well as Benjamin's desire that they send Dagobert to New York to live with him — a prospect Leopold doesn't not relish. He also mentions Dagobert's enrolling in a locksmith apprenticeship, his learning English, and the family's desire to make the long trip to Kovno. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ab24e0e10685c7e7192dfc58126562e413463cc660428fcf755136194a6c2ac9/12348.jpeg A letter to Riva dated January 23, 1948. This would have been soon after Riva left Feldafing for Israel. Of note is that the letter is in Yiddish (as are most of Bert's letters to Riva from this period), a language he had only just learned over the previous year in the DP camp. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9cc764b3da577d5bbc7bdd7c95c9752e916a8c2085895e4d524f910b7dcc86ab/22048-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated February 20, 1948 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c101c433c43c1844c79eec2854525cc7e846224c2bcb4310dc65b258bab9f49a/22048-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated February 20, 1948 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fdb567f727623f0585dbcc09b911d5647aad764288a226ef8321f7d268a8502a/22548-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated February 25, 1948 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/56d53b517bfc241c74c49c042ff03936e9003c9c9bb49eac0503350e7e6fb13b/22548-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated February 25, 1948 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b2bb13f6f965bcd6bda0695acf99303bf09a7243d26f019127b622636896f25e/33148-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated March 31, 1948 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a9ab363f393665f8729c26e20d990bd23dad139be42f8cc0180498c402f5f824/33148-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated March 31, 1948 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/17fc232e76403524ee598ff86af58d690517309a1019910f20fb5fc43e7392b2/52448-German-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated May 24, 1948. Notably, this letter is in German, unlike the preceding and successive letters in Yiddish (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c9982d3dae9dbf6943df74cd6e219e532ea3981906e0ef7f6fb2a6a1ebae5f2/52448-German-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated May 24, 1948. Notably, this letter is in German, unlike the preceding and successive letters in Yiddish (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/83ddfd38a4ec8f78c57c309e76641176eee984323129738d6af0f6a450d496b7/7548-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated July 5, 1948 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/942d243489c8b9c09cbc73479556b95fbf51f404b8e94a80f6b85fbaf5c0ae05/7548-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated July 5, 1948 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9fbb0f48fc04b6107163b6bae782116d30e0614eccd998940376b95364698992/72548-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated July 25, 1948 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/205a959f8140ae96a8947f03d3a3919d182894d661d9c8a3e31ab05bc34f7717/72548-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated July 25, 1948 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a9f94df211a735e5a78b950a1eed6c415c9208bf02ed1443c65e1031aaef2e72/92248---Stockholm-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated September 22, 1948. Unlike previous letters from Feldafing, this letter was send from Stockholm, where Bert was pursuing pedagogical study under the auspices of ORT (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7d16e823f891fadb1912f19b868c4f9b64abbb74bd99d0a5f18b998140261554/92248---Stockholm-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated September 22, 1948. Unlike previous letters from Feldafing, this letter was send from Stockholm, where Bert was pursuing pedagogical study under the auspices of ORT (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4b7a2ca301250fd550aeec7b1963451354919585e22367b7ad5562194d8cdca1/92448-Stockholm-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated September 24, 1948. Also from Stockholm (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f0b70ab05ec93aae44cb70b09a437240a38e43a2233e43b7da2026a890635980/92448-Stockholm-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated September 24, 1948. Also from Stockholm (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/293b1632838917f8c252e1c14bdb0cbbdd57de45f23f7ec2ace1da355fca3578/111848-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated November 18, 1948. By this point Bert had returned from Stockholm to Feldafing (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cadb45fd8bbae0aef0d5ea660d3d034aea87a4035417f55be74620d1b00686d4/111848-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated November 18, 1948. By this point Bert had returned from Stockholm to Feldafing (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/16c3076d48e3eb0dccc89316d3eba77b82f6362f7bcc030da0e78b55c8111cab/112848-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated November 28, 1948 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c92ca1ff7a8238dc13e39162735ed874cea28a297f58b9cfbf6bbf154d1f6791/112848-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated November 28, 1948 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c857b9fec189950e48aa83b6e8b7ada718222de71125fa3da0263cab47e3ed78/12748-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated December 7, 1948 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/47028628d105b55bb50dac3c5aaf83a1214e1db08b32b104021401ce6ea81420/12748-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated December 7, 1948 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8208800b4ab42ec68644d939e9efca5a4abe8f1c795e0558227d0235aa0a0aac/1849-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated January 8, 1949 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/549b7e466ba7d4372fa2ce5bd6ee421332b3791b59818f2dba6f9e781876311e/1849-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated January 8, 1949 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b9e5988bbcda789ad4ff27d189878594b621373d55c1366fcfe29f811575501b/22249-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated February 22, 1949 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9d5453e75a9367c8d9a1a2cc1d29c6c01559cca2658e70d24219d6d5afa472a9/22249-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated February 22, 1949 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/25a1cc57a0a2a907acbaf3c50ba9e2afab478b5545640a2e6e0c5cbe4888ca6c/3849.jpeg Letter to Riva dated March 8, 1949 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e7dd57c019641bea270df9f6c22e50eba65147bff5180450d1d76f8cc1c6389d/4449-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated April 4, 1949 (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/48988d6f740b1f4936ab5a7aa83dcf61afc1d705b669d0e17630680b03d17c89/4449-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated April 4, 1949 (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a7e3549f573c2209a647d45529a69df7c9288c98faf4d500435b20e49349a48b/62049-just-arrived-NY-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated June 20, 1949. This letter is included in full translation in "On the Run in Nazi Berlin." Written from New York the day after arriving in the US, the letter details Bert's trip across the ocean, arrival in New York, and plans to move to Atlanta a week later (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cb52318516e690ea78fc63d8279e9a272eb326f8f71af86d60a0b34ee47d38cf/62049-just-arrived-NY-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated June 20, 1949. This letter is included in full translation in "On the Run in Nazi Berlin." Written from New York the day after arriving in the US, the letter details Bert's trip across the ocean, arrival in New York, and plans to move to Atlanta a week later (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1fba8d0b85573715be911b83af0f6d05268c2bdf9c5d94e8dff547c5c2ccbb90/11653-to-Riva-from-Atlanta-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated January 16, 1953. A few years later, this letter would have been written from the home of Bert's new mother-in-law, Eva Sloan, where he lived with his wife Esther. At this time he would have been in the very early stages of planning and starting his business (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/92df72498927903ad3470769f05a1436d588e2a9e72ff88d297b05d2231ca87b/11653-to-Riva-from-Atlanta-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated January 16, 1953. A few years later, this letter would have been written from the home of Bert's new mother-in-law, Eva Sloan, where he lived with his wife Esther. At this time he would have been in the very early stages of planning and starting his business (2/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7d1acca6f16d1b52a000c3bee8d948648a2713737e064f46d73d67b286468ac8/10351-to-Riva-from-Atlanta.jpeg Letter to Riva dated October 3, 1951, a couple of months before his marriage to Esther. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e9338bdecea892f328b723661ca8db5bd885c0bfc250ff059ccfd59ef5469d7f/8958-English-12.jpeg Letter to Riva dated August 9, 1958. Written after a long pause in communication, this letter is in English (1/2). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2baaceda2d5535b60278661c4400f43491d07d615dce3bc55c0fa2a3a6237eb4/8958-English-22.jpeg Letter to Riva dated August 9, 1958. Written after a long pause in communication, this letter is in English (2/2). https://bertlewyn.com/Bert-Esther-selected-images-from-65-years-of-marriage 2019-05-22T23:13:45+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6fea62d78dd5982fec4766d9a18a9634f1c5b0b7608862f2ab29273020ce246e/---.jpeg Esther's closest friend Louise Freedman. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4647cf738d9c5fce16a6c8bc194cd86d489e57d675fa9577eb6d9ed995a5f77d/Bert---Esther-kiss.jpeg https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7851a546954e75226b014514c78ea59b4e571ad4e16fc236533624087915d112/Bert-and-Esther-cutting-cake.jpeg Bert and Esther, cutting the cake. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3c3f8e2b1008989abf5e6104e166b7548c60323765c42214b5be60a972075741/Bert-and-Esther-stepping-over-threshold.jpeg Bert and Esther crossing the threshold on their wedding day. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ea6fa7745a22ad710b6aa7e16878ed0c546763a7c5987c194e40c1d49dd20302/Esther-and-her-mother.jpeg Preparing for the ceremony: Esther with her mother, Eva Sloan. Esther and Bert would live with Eva for many years, as Bert started his business and the two of them started a family. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dc545602d73ee4831d64e2daac8e4dcc4279fe6b1bf390bbb2baa242ef767cc0/Esther-with-.jpeg Esther with her sister Ida Borochoff. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7b656932cd7bd308e41d6d7debee5e5a3e26bf3e21e102b170929c24d5c278a9/Esther-with-bouquet-.jpeg https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2109fabff650b895f348c550e79fb65e4e94d7d2279b447b2ec1191f18e82834/Esther-with-garter.jpeg Esther putting on her garter before the wedding. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d0a7e1861a540ebcbe6d906cfcd3270a30fee3b904310d72ef9a7f295932252b/Esther-with-veil-in-mirror.jpeg https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dec77d222e7a5859944d8c183c1cbba4e1f593996861cbb0283981922fde2590/Newspaper-Announcements.jpeg Local news articles announcing the couple's engagement. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/07dc7076af32fe991b139c2ad7add17b8aa503f8558dbde9469b184980dced09/Wedding-group-.jpeg Bert & Esther with family. On the left, Esther's brother Meyer Sloan and his wife Beryl; on their right, Esther's sister Ida Borochoff and her husband Charles. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2733c1ed8296c13b070ea74a2ed79dbdb20499e7bf10184661180e4e867366aa/Bert-and-Esther-on-vacation.jpeg Esther and Bert on vacation together with family friends the Sturms. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/047ee5bccf4eb89159eb8dc4b8556547a6b3b48b1f88e2b5dc855cfc4066860e/Esther---Bert-1985.jpeg https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/515490d51b74f09c740eabff930b86c22300342cb6f233df447732586df96805/Esther-and-Bert-1995--suprise-party-for-Esther.jpeg Esther and Bert at a surprise birthday party for Esther, party thrown at the home of their son and daughter-in-law Marc & Bev Lewyn. September 1, 1995. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/19eb9f468c38040ddbe6d76fbf43aed1674fb0acd0ce18db759a471acae77373/Screen-Shot-2019-03-04-at-8.31.02-PM.png A similar wedding announcement in the November 30, 1951 edition of The Southern Israelite. https://bertlewyn.com/Building-a-family-in-the-USA 2019-05-22T23:13:36+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0f4fdeee2502926cadff778189f8120b680214f5721c740ef1b7f2cd5b12afc1/Bert---Esther-with-granddaughter-rebeccaa-at-hebrew-school-2003.jpeg Esther and Bert with their second-youngest grandchild, Rachel Lewyn, attending a family event at her Jewish day school. Photo dated February 27, 2003. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7ade561c533cacec662aa14640894f31445b8cbf876c27f96706761d0bf18d21/Bert-with-Geffens-1998.jpeg Bert pictured in Atlanta, where his uncle Tobias Geffen was Rabbi from 1910 until his death in 1960. Here with (L-R) Anna Geffen, her son Rabbi David Geffen, her husband Louis Geffen (son of R. Tobias), and Bert's eldest daughter Andrea. Photo dated November 3, 1998. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5c87fc41a7d6f15e0f3c255f480b96b1377b145a13323cd354180c2ef5b68772/Bert-and-Dov-at-grave-of-Rebecca-Gutman1989.jpeg Bert with his cousin and fellow Holocaust survivor Dov Levin, visiting the grave of Riva Gutman (written here in Hebrew as רבקה גוטמן) in Israel where she is buried. Photo dated June 6, 1989. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/06a1db6e7dc75a210294d8b02c55ff85cc86f7c48127b67a3ce51ea5fb55c14c/Bert-with-Dov-Levin--2000-NYC.jpeg Bert with his cousin Dov Levin. After escaping from the Kovno ghetto, he joined "Death to the Conquerors," a militant partisan detachment operating in the forests around Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania, working to liberate ghettos and sabotage Nazi machinations. After Soviet liberation, he made the trip from Vilna to Bari, Italy (an arduous journey which included crossing the Alps on foot) eventually settling in Tel Aviv, Israel. Dov went on to become a soldier, serving as a Patrol Commander and in the intelligence corps with the IDF for multiple wars, and later a professor at Hebrew University, where he had a decades-long career researching and writing about the memory of the murdered communities, the history of the Holocaust and Holocaust denial in the Baltic states, particularly Latvia and Lithuania. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6bf6e7760265d194c0f0169bf7a857397d822662930616ee02e34c5fd984aa4/Bert-Esther-and-Bev--surprise-Bert--Esther--and-Bev-at-surprise-party-for-Esther-s-birthday-1995.jpeg Bert with his wife Esther and daughter-in-law (and co-author of "On the Run") Bev Lewyn, at a surprise part for Esther's birthday thrown at Bev (and her husband Marc)'s home. September 1, 1995. https://bertlewyn.com/Lewyn-Machinery 2019-03-13T02:24:19+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6aa4ded9003d9e7f010d6fe0066f45bb8951ae322296c79f1b965eab5f830201/Bert-at-his-Desk.jpeg Bert working at his desk. He initially founded Lewyn Machinery as a home business, driving 200,000 miles a year, cold-calling customers all throughout the American South. He would go on to hire his first employee in 1961. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f69735206f90448ca95e131697cc5bbacba88ae26179f368f5702750137a8921/Bert-meeting-Jimmy-Carter.jpeg Bert with former US President Jimmy Carter. Known contemporarily for his work building homes and furniture through Habitat for Humanity, here President Carter can be seen visiting a woodworking industry trade show, which Bert helped organize as a founder of WMIA. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ba5ab154ce347ea029fd7b5625d005929f50dd2bebb7a377d0196bac51e8a934/Bert-with-machinery.jpeg Bert on the showroom floor with a client, giving a demonstration. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e8f534e34faaa10c33aa250dd7ea7cb62818d799468ee62afd542dec56fffc27/Bert-with-Woodworking-Machinery--70s.jpeg Bert in a moment of laughter, pictured here with some examples of the machinery sold, imported, and serviced by Lewyn Machinery. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0ec398eade2d715866c4957e5c7f8fe27e8bac98e9aaa806a240a19c4ed1134b/Founding-Fathers.jpeg In 1978, Bert (bottom-right) was one of seven leaders in the North American woodworking industry who came together to found WMIA (the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association). In 1980, these leaders organized and launched the World Woodworking Expo, a trade show created to showcase its members and their imported woodworking machinery. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bfb90e524b9ca3e0e1db952ab2148e95de83b254d4d82acc135f615ae98d0b56/Lewyn-Machinery-ad-1972-back.jpeg https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ec8f8f8577161a891aa3aa0569f984a16c34fa185bbb3a76e2d17984308350f3/Lewyn-Machinery-ad-1972.jpeg A mailer advertising the 20th year of Lewyn Machinery. "Your gold mine for greater profit...greater productivity...thru better equipment." https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/07789835b08aa61664776f3b11d1fe1a54be29f81f062363523467469af5cfbf/Lewyn-Machinery-facade.jpeg The facade of Lewyn Machinery Co, Inc, offices located on South Atlanta Road. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b228594de668f200a01d4f0de64e7e530b5c844d11fb86d40bd7037e401601b1/Lewyn-Machinery-new-location-announcement---30-years-.jpeg In 1982 Lewyn Machinery celebrated 30 years of successful business and expansion. Four years later, Bert would sell the company to Koch Machinery (Koch Maschinen), the German manufacturer whose products Lewyn Machinery began importing and distributing in 1976. Bert would continue to consult with Koch until his retirement in 1991. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6802a01eaf4e47602667378bb82edcc588e5c075c1428b7d5988e981fcc2dabb/Lewyn-Machinery-new-location-announcement.jpeg Ten years later, a mailer advertising the new expanded facilities of Lewyn Machinery on South Atlanta Rd. in Smyrna, GA. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1f74b44c688c0d98c9b393efced81169bf6f33bc473d9a57e7873abf1c244f1c/Lewyn-Machinery-showroom-floor.jpeg Machinery on the showroom floor. Having spent almost two decades representing machinery manufacturers throughout the American Southeast, in the early 1970s he broke with tradition and began importing machinery from overseas, including from Germany and Japan. Lewyn Machinery would eventually become one of the nation's premier importers and distributors of woodworking machinery. https://bertlewyn.com/Naturalization-and-Early-Life-in-the-US 2019-03-13T02:04:56+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7bc3cfb6d9ece927bb5b25d2354847209d936ed4240b1f84b1ac5b4282e2f3f1/Bert-Naturalization-Certificate-.jpeg This Certificate of Naturalization made official Bert's status as a US citizen. Dated February 5, 1953. Notably, this certificate establishes his new legal name, Bert Lewyn, changed from Dagobert Lewin primarily from a desire to ensure correct pronunciation. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d5e4d3ad308fb60512853cba64c5b1445615826323f13ae713796c99c84d5902/Alien-Registration-and-Receipt-Card---Back-1.jpeg Alien Registration Receipt Card (back), with date of admittance, date of birth, and other identifying details. (2/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c1d899733f165891602859a3bb5479e1548491d41a090404b3c4a8247dca5b02/Alien-Registration-and-Receipt-Card---Front-1.jpeg Bert's Alien Registration Receipt Card (front), signifying his status as a legal permanent residence in compliance with the Alien Registration Act of 1940. (1/2) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f5ff9f40d13ebeb1e20fb3b643f557fd5ddf763cb9b272d6facbd76e6a2d2730/Declaration-of-Intention-1950.jpeg Bert's Declaration of Intention, filed with the District Court in Atlanta on May 4th, 1950. The document indicates his intention to become a US citizen, and includes mandatory affirmations such as renouncing all allegiance to foreign states or leaders, and the assertion of not being an anarchist. Here his name is still listed as "Dagobert Lewin." https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b09f71f1097f600117bad5905075f297ccd1fe7618401d2a4e96a1e0f52c9bec/Receipt-of-Application-for-Naturalization.jpeg A receipt from the US Dept. of Justice Immigration and Naturalization service, indicating their receipt of Bert's application for naturalization. Dated May 26, 1952. Still "Dagobert Lewin," for now. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1e572d4809263b7f19cd22364fb94caf3647d5d941d78eb8ca94f5ae8f2e24ca/Report-Card-1-Inside.jpeg Bert's intelligence, hardworking nature, and determination to start a new life can be glimpsed here: straight A's his first ever semester of school in the US. At the time, Bert's teacher Julia Clifton told Esther that, at this rate, “he would become the most successful man in the South in whatever field he chose." https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1900e89cdd79d5a87c2acb4038b7b374700641739bb3d3890afa3865a4a2b620/Report-Card-1-Outside.jpeg Bert wasted no time after arriving in Atlanta, enrolling that same fall in night courses at Central High — despite having only started learning English a few months prior. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7678e3fdec4093b67e0b48152e2b91e4dce7a7eb7ce31b3af3e9be8d158ec212/Report-Card-2-Inside.jpeg Another semester of straight-A's. Seven months after beginning night school, Bert graduated with his high school diploma, and would go on to take night courses for the next two years at the Georgia Institute of Technology. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7c2ce4b1ab5a6f94bb29d076954009c26ac78983669ad5939c2d4d0edeacc7db/Report-Card-2-Outside.jpeg By Spring of 1950, Bert had leapt from a 9th grade class level to 12th, continuing night classes while he worked as a sewing-machine mechanic for the Berger Sewing Machine Company. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fecd0eb80fd8f91877f64492e7604e21c33ff3ecbf73f8301e8abba5acc7af7c/W2-1949.jpeg Bert's first ever W2 tax form, for a yearly income in 1949 of $664 (about $6,700 in 2019 dollars) from Bernard Berger Sewing Machines. For his work as a mechanic, Bert was paid 49 cents an hour ($5.11/hr in 2019 dollars). https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/da0a4f8fe4f5c54818058a25b952d4f2c955fe3f9229d596cdf976de235bc579/W2-1952.jpeg Three years later and Bert's yearly income had increased — $2693.55 from the Machine Tool & Engineering Corporation (about 28K in 2019 dollars). https://bertlewyn.com/Post-War-Pre-Emigration-1946-1949 2019-03-13T02:30:11+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/551bda80837408986039f5906ef3fec10210dd590fbe1c6ce5a022d38d9cc363/envelope-of-letter-to-bert-from-stockholm-1949.jpeg Envelope addressed to Bert from Stockholm, dated May 26, 1949. Just one month later he would find himself in the USA, making his way to Atlanta, GA where he would live with his aunt and uncle, Sara Hene and Rabbi Tobias Geffen. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/65ec6ea1f88cfe13a133abc7a7e7d716346249bf44549f564c98671859913233/IRO-Certificate-Cover.jpeg Header page for Bert's certificate of successful completion of professional testing by the IRO (International Refugee Organization) an org. founded in 1946 to respond to the massive refugee crisis throughout Europe. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/60f819ca3797c87c673e14fb743f1b5b707d1c622f3c0d62beaced858737ed23/IRO-Certificate-inside.jpeg This certificate from the IRO's Displaced Persons Professional Testing Board, dated March 16, 1948, certified Bert's qualifications as a welder. This would become very important as later that year he would apply to and attend training through ORT to study teaching and pedagogy in Sweden — skills he would apply back in Feldafing as a welding instructor for fellow refugees. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/388157616915c4b8b87302a721abda5ea236f37a4ea0d431eaba2b7358628c9d/letter-from-World-ORT-Union-re-bert-workingtraining-in-Paris.jpeg A letter from the director of ORT offering Bert a position as assistant instructor in an ORT vocational school in Paris. Dated January 5, 1949. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/18ada4c83041ae3e2d4622781c0f4c76f2046f146100df0fa2fd241d5a4afafe/ORT-Work-Card-1.jpeg Bert's ID and Work Card through World ORT — issued January 15, 1948 (1/4) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1a697dffc27b4c94e072332f57dbeb21734dfd1deeddf1f8236a958ab52f07d5/ORT-Work-Card-2.jpeg Work card page identifying Bert as a "teacher of welder's worskhop" under the auspices of the ORT school. (2/4) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/07c57614e9b499ca889350dd4e21f8051ed7c068a2ff0184b8590b9276d1404e/ORT-Work-Card-3.jpeg Inner page of Bert's ORT work card. Feldafing DP Camp was founded and initially run by the U.S Army, and was notable for being the first all-Jewish DP Camp in the U.S occupied zone. (3/4) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a2836f99fa9f6e396382239073039840bed717949c72e5e77f39db6c9b5411af/ORT-Work-Card-4.jpeg Back pages, ORT ID card, showing the dates of Bert's seminar in Sweden training as an instructor. (4/4) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5076cd256fbbcb414746fd6325c7f4d2a1ba7dcca62be604adc579b8e468aa14/Riva-and-Bert-Feldafing.jpeg Bert with his Aunt, Riva Gutman. Her husband and children having been brutally murdered by the Nazis, and Riva herself having survived concentration camps, forced labor, and forced marches, she eventually found Bert in Lübars at the countryside home of the Kusitzkys, where he had been regaining his strength post-war, desperate to discover the fate and whereabouts of his parents and others. Soon after, Bert and Riva would make their way to Feldafing, a Displaced Persons camp for Jewish refugees in Bavaria. Bert and Riva developed a close, intimate, friendship in the camp, and in many ways she became like a second mother to him, his closest surviving family. They would go on to exchange letters for many years after he settled in the US and she in Israel. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/43bf2a7c0686f9d0a74c7939e4cc4b0f41d742a1a3f59aa53444c608ecb07906/Royal-Board-of-Vocational-Training-certificate-Sweden.jpeg Certificate from the Royal Board of Vocational Training in Sweden, noting Bert’s hours of study and successful completion of a “pedagogical course for the training of instructors and teachers at vocational schools.” Dated November 27, 1948. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/065be388a396cfae8152a16b3b10efd8f7f2c3df82318a26a75339e23b922c87/letter-from-stockholm-2-ORT-docs.jpeg An envelope addressed to Bert from Sweden, likely containing some initial correspondence regarding vocational training with ORT (Organization for Reconstruction and Training). https://bertlewyn.com/Before-the-War 2019-03-13T02:06:21+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fc620fd9a5ca3f675bacf87d2c1f759cf2eb1dc8172122eca99b66c1e7c8bda2/Baby-papa.jpeg Bert at age 6 in Berlin, holding a "zuckerhut," a paper cone full of candies and chocolates, traditionally given to a child on their first day of school, to associate learning with sweetness and joy. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/917321c5fbfa3adefc93a2e4f3312e1797f94ef5412ac6a03ab24ad8df4b51a2/dovid-levin-s-kovno-header-.jpeg Selected examples of stationary used by Dovid Levin (Bert's paternal grandfather) in his suitcase and leather business in Kovno (Kaunas) Lithuania. Selections in Russian, Yiddish, Lithuanian, and German advertise for the business, founded 1891. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/64769c469e06297f528f479a7fcd9d0bbb5271947646e9f5b0c595431e4db96e/Lewyn-fam-in-Kovno.jpeg Family portrait of the Levins in Kovno, Lithuania. Not pictured are Bert’s parents Leopold and Johanna Lewin, who were living in Berlin, and his uncle Boris Levin, who was living in Moscow. FRONT ROW: Basva, Chana, Sarah, Mordecai, Dov-Berl. MIDDLE: Chave, Hirsh, Minne, Emanuel, Dovid, Benjamin, Riva. BACK: Chaim Tevye, Bluma, Gerson, Golda, Chapse, Chasia, Moses, Meier Gutman. This photograph was originally sent by Dovid Levin (Bert’s paternal grandfather, pictured center with beard) to Rabbi Tobias Geffen in Atlanta. This photo along with others was obtained from Rabbi Geffen’s archvies at the American-Jewish Historical Society in Waltham, Massachusetts. Of those pictured, the only survivors of the Holocaust were Benjamin, Riva, Dov-Berl, and Chapse. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0780c7540466d090732dabdde01b0d6cc1dfa58986c11daaf35876bf6a59c1e8/Leslie-Brent--Fred-Gerstel--and-Bert-1935-at-Waisenhaus.jpeg Leslie Baruch Brent, Fred Gerstl, and Bert in soccer outfits, in the courtard of the Jüdisches Waisenhaus (Jewish Orphanage) in Pankow, Berlin. Approximately 1935, the boys would have been 13 here. After Jews were largely excluded from German public schools, the few private Jewish schools, like the one at this orphans' home, were the only options for Jewish children. Bert lived at the Waisenhaus from age eleven to fourteen, where he studied, made friends, and, on one occasion, hid from crowds of Hitler Youth, no older than the children in the orphanage, harrassing the Jews inside and attempting to break in. Bert had his Bar Mitzvah at age thirteen at the Waisenhaus. Leslie Brent (on the left) left Berlin on the first kindertransport to England and grew up to be part of the team that won the 1960 Nobel Prize for Medicine for the discovery of acquired immunological tolerance. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ff826519f1b7640507e381c244c120f2e3e3088c3f0264528551bc60aa022f13/Postcard-with-Woman-s-Portrait--Kovno-1928-FRONT.jpeg Postcard portrait of Bert's Aunt Chasia (Kovno, 1928) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1d3a58cedeac0ca628d7134ef55d0074ec6d52b01263e5b2785c7035d9672e51/Postcard-with-Man-s-Portrait-labelled--Atelier--JACOBY--Kaunas--Kovno-1938-FRONT.jpeg A portrait of Bert's Uncle Chapse, taken at a studio in Kovno, 1934. Chapse was one of the only other survivors in the Lewin family, he left Lithuania for Palestine not long after this photo was taken. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b798bcaea8254973599cd3a42b22e682a031db586c454a9b76f88c4c01e0e201/Portrait-of-man-reading--1923-FRONT.jpeg Portrait card of one of Bert's uncles — possibly Gerson. Kovno, 1923 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3c6186065856e3ab3e15f47b38844496d8cc7e04f1ed4314fd4e621ccc725439/man-at-desk-writing---Shabati-.jpeg One of Bert's uncles, possibly Chapse. Kovno. https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/de12e7a285cdb98aac01337a6e827d863d97e476042dd9e3545b2082a84ee055/-Mishael----Family--Kovno--1934---FRONT.jpeg Portrait of Bert's Uncle Moses with his wife and son. Kovno, 1932 https://bertlewyn.com/Image-Index 2019-03-05T07:45:54+00:00 always 0.5 https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0c68ea10a6720fa0c63b12719a6d54c016490ca8cd0bfd5c0d92fe44709fb009/Manuscripts.jpeg Writing and Researching "On the Run" https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4dc92103cb273cadd200d4f7915335d8deb4d6d0fae75cff06f1aa76a607ccce/ORT-Work-Card-3.jpeg Post-War, Pre-Emigration (1946-1949) https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a9f2ea18360b03fc07a44a0292075db9fa8d063fa49bc14f876224c466918b16/Bert-face-1952.jpeg Naturalization and Early life in the US https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3bc7d44ea87385fef0d99e346d77becfefb2c76f402cede811a7167700a87696/Bert-speaking-w-Judenstern.jpeg Publication and Speaking Engagements https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/75057295a426ad6bba3ef5ebab2e03abb534bf3eeda8bb44b0b54863912fedbe/Bert-and-Esther-cutting-cake.jpeg Bert & Esther: selected photos from 65 years of marriage https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8086910c3818afcd70cb45980d35f802a1a2646bb01506ea030ebd3a687c2dc8/Bert---Esther-with-granddaughter-rebeccaa-at-hebrew-school-2003.jpeg Building a Family in the USA https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1d2858c1275d50cbf0f859834df6624edb73c4e249e456db0cf5102b2713222c/cropped-Lewyn-Machinery-new-location-announcement-copy.jpeg Lewyn Machinery https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/886de91552c2e6b0a9c850dc183d8ab4ed44903b6660a574fe309fd1e3034792/25II.48-side-one.jpeg Letters & Correspondence https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/854f38f8c7aee723d2d554290d1718a438c344c1fc75273b62b909180a7f2648/Lewyn-fam-in-Kovno.jpeg Before the War: Lewins, Levins, and Others https://bertlewyn.com/About-the-Authors 2019-03-06T00:54:44+00:00 always 0.5