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Celia was born on December 1, 1935, in Lvov, Poland (now Ukraine). Her father was a sheet metal worker. She was an only child and lived in a multi-family unit with her aunt, uncle, and two older cousins. As a child, she was enrolled in ballet classes, but the night of her recital, she learned about the Nazis when the performance was abruptly canceled.
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In 1941, Celia's father was drafted by the Russian Army. By the summer of 1942, she noticed a change in her local friends’ attitudes. They started mocking her, calling her names, and treating her differently. One day, local kids pushed her onto a truck, and in desperation, she grabbed the officer’s pant leg and asked why he had taken her. He grabbed her braids and threw her off the truck. Celia ran back home.
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In 1943, she and her family were forced into the Lvov Ghetto, where food was scarce, and living conditions were terrible. During this time, her mother was drafted into a forced labor camp called Yanovska, located on the outskirts of Lvov. Celia remained in the ghetto with her aunt, uncle, and cousins, but during a raid, her family was discovered, leaving her all alone.
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In March 1943, her mother returned on leave and managed to smuggle Celia out of the ghetto. She was taken to a non-Jewish family who knew her father from his factory. This childless couple took her in and raised her as their own, though they imposed strict rules to ensure her safety while hiding her. In 1944, her new Polish father learned that families hiding Jewish children were being discovered.
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He arranged for her to be sent to an orphanage that transported children to Palestine. However, just before he could send her away, her Polish mother hid her in their barn. That same night, Celia was miraculously reunited with her mother, who had escaped the labor camp. By 1945, Celia and her mother learned that they could return to Lvov to start their lives over.
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They also discovered that her father had escaped the Russian Army and was reunited with them. The family later went to Germany, where they stayed in a Displaced Persons (DP) camp. Celia’s mother was able to secure an uncle's sponsorship for them to immigrate to the United States. On August 27, 1949, they moved to the Lower East Side of New York City.
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In 1950, Celia’s mother became pregnant with a baby boy. In 1952, Celia met Paul, and in 1954, they got married. They had three children, numerous grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Despite many efforts over the years, Celia was never able to locate the Polish mother and father who had saved and hidden her during the war.
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Celia Kener interview at Shaarei Bina Torah Academy For Girls - 2023-2024
Shaarei Bina Torah Academy For Girls
