The Story of Rela Rogoff 1922-2006
Rela Rogoff was born June 1922, the youngest of seven children, into an Orthodox family in Stanislavov, Poland. One of her two brothers and two of her sisters survived the Holocaust. She died in London in 2006.
Rela’s parents were wholesale fruiterers; life before the war revolved around both close and extended family. Rela’s siblings were all married with families by 1939 when her hometown was first invaded by the Russians, then by the Germans in June 1941.
After her parents and some siblings were murdered in the early pogroms, she escaped to Lublin where, living as a Polish Catholic, she was soon betrayed, imprisoned and tortured for three months in a Gestapo prison before being transported to Auschwitz where she survived 19 months.
She met her future husband, a serving member of the British armed forces when she was on the run towards the end of the war. They married in Dusseldorf in November 1945 and he brought her to England to start a new life.
Subsequent investigations revealed that some of her family had survived and were now in Israel which resulted in many joyful reunions. Rela led a full life in London, bringing up her children, working, as well as being involved with many charities. She was extremely proud of her legacy of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren something she could never have dreamt of as she fought to survive the war.
Rela had amazing strength and determination as well as an incredible will to survive. Sam’s presentation is interspersed with his mother’s and aunt’s testimonies read by family members, including extracts from her book ‘The Will to Survive’ which was written by Rela together with her husband in 2005.
Presented by Sam Rogoff
Although Sam grew up aware that his mother was a Holocaust survivor, it wasn’t until her story was written down in later life that he fully learned of the many stokes of luck that gave her the courage to survive imprisonment, torture and 19 months in Auschwitz.
Now retired, Sam was a senior partner in his own accountancy practice. He is married with one daughter and three grandsons with whom he now spends a great deal of time at various sporting events. Sam is an active member of a North London synagogue where he holds the position of Financial Representative.
Watch an excerpt from the story of Rela Rogoff
