The Importance of Family

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  • World War II - USSR

  • World War II - USA

  • In Memoriam

  • Families Reunited

  • The Importance of Family

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  • Rebuilding After The War

  • The Third Exodus

One thing that has continued to jump out at me as I have researched the Bezbrozhs is the importance of family — Sam, Abe and Morris saving money for years so that they could bring all of their cousins and siblings over from Russia; Practically every new Bezbrozh who came to America, even distant cousins, stayed at Sam Bernstein’s apartment in the Bronx; relatives starting businesses together, like Phil Bernstein and his brother-in-law Max; cousins and in-laws going to the courthouse to witness each other’s citizenship papers, and relatives flying half way around the world to see their long lost relatives after the war.  Even though I was a small child at the time, I was lucky enough to witness the tremendous bond of family that existed between the Bezbrozh, Bernstein, Litrov and Chilkov families.  As Abe and Dora’s daughter Edith remarked, “It would require a banquet hall every time we all wanted to get together.”  Below are just a few examples of the many, many family gatherings that took place during the 60s, 70s and even into the early 1980s.

From left: Dora Bernstein (Isaac's wife), Jack Bernstein, Riva Bernstein, Rachel Bernstein, Joe Bernstein, Dora Bernstein (Abe's wife) and Abe Bernstein at a wedding in the 1960s.

From left to right: Dora Bernstein (Isaac's wife), Riva Bernstein (Jack’s wife), Dora Bernstein (Abe's wife), Rachel Bernstein (Joe’s wife) and Fannie Bernstein (Phil’s widow) in the late 1950s or early 1960s.