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Eli and Ann Modenstein

Ann Modenstien, born Chana Idels, in Kovno, Lithuania, in 1928. Her parents, Shira and Abram, were the owners of a grocery store. In addition to her older sister, Chaya, Ann had a large extended family in and around Kovno. She attended a private Hebrew-speaking school until the war forced schools to close, but she was fluent in Hebrew, Russian, and Lithuanian, and spoke Yiddish at home.

Lithuania was annexed initially by the Soviet Union and then occupied by Nazi Germany. Ann’s family was forced into the Kovno ghetto, and later, Ann, her mother, and her sister were separated from their father and sent to Stutthof concentration camp. Having to leave their mother, never to see her again, the girls were forced into a series of labor camps until they were liberated in January 1945.

Eli (Elisha) Modenstein was born in Mława, Poland, in 1918 to a large, blended family with ten children. Some of the siblings had departed Poland for South America prior to WWII. Eli’s father had a metal scrap business and a small factory that produced linseed oil. His father passed away in 1933, but the family continued to run the businesses. Eli and his siblings participated in various Jewish Zionist activities and clubs in a predominantly Jewish town.

After the war began, the family was forced into a ghetto, and as a strong teenager, Eli often found work. Roundups and shootings were not uncommon in the town. His mother and sister were murdered at the end of the ghetto period. Later, Eli was transported to Auschwitz with two of his brothers. After being selected for work, they were disinfected, shaved, and tattooed. Eli’s number was 76470, while his brothers received numbers 76469 and 76471. He worked as a slave laborer in the Auschwitz III, Buna/Monowitz concentration camp. In January 1945, he escaped a death march and was later liberated.

Eli and Ann met and married in 1945. They had hoped to immigrate to Israel, but had family in New York and Lincoln, Nebraska. After untangling mishandled paperwork to get to the US, Ann and Eli arrived in Lincoln with their oldest daughter, Faye.

Hear Ann and Eli’s testimonies in their own words.