Names Not Numbers

Yani Halpert

Bardejov, Czechoslovakia

In Hiding

1937

Yani Halpert

Bardejov, Czechoslovakia

1937

Yani was born on August 11, 1937, in Bardejov, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). His father owned a dry goods store, and the family lived in the apartment above the shop. His mother took care of the home, and Yani grew up with his sister, who was six years older and is still alive today. One of Yani's earliest memories of anti-Semitism came around 1940 or 1941,

when he looked out the window and noticed something written on the sidewalk. Confused, he asked his father what it meant, and his father quietly explained, “Jews go to Palestine.”

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Despite the rising tensions, the family was able to stay in their home until 1944, thanks to a special exemption known as a "vinenaka." Their business was considered necessary for the German war effort, as they provided clothing for German soldiers.

This exemption, however, only offered temporary protection. By the summer of 1944, Yani's father, who had close ties with the local police, was warned that the Gestapo was coming and the family would be deported. Acting quickly, they went into hiding.

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For nearly a year, until March 1945, Yani and his family moved from one hiding place to another, staying in around ten different locations.

Their ordeal finally ended in March 1945 when they were liberated by Russian forces while hiding in an underground bunker. After their liberation, the family returned to their home in Bardejov, though life was forever changed.

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In October 1949, Yani immigrated to the United States, where he enrolled in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath.

Following his education, he joined the wholesale business with his father before eventually branching out on his own. Yani never married.

Names Not Numbers

Yani Halpert

Yani Halpert

The End