Henny M. (Rosenbaum) (Markiewicz) Simon

Henny Markiewicz Simon, nee Rosenbaum, passed away tragically on the afternoon of Tuesday (April 4, 2017) from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident.  Born July 15, 1925 and raised in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany, she was the daughter of the late Ludwig and Jenny (Jacobowitz) Rosenbaum.  After the outbreak of World War II for only the sake of being Jewish, she and her mother were deported by the Nazis and sent to the Ghetto in Riga, Latvia, were she and her mother were imprisoned until being moved to the Strasdenhof Work Camp in Riga in December of 1941.  From November of 1943 through January 1945, she endured the atrocities of the Stutthof Concentration Camp (near Gdanzk) and Korben Work Camp (a branch of K.Z. Stutthof).  On January 20, 1945, yet another transfer commenced but she and many others were liberated in Koronowo, Poland by the Russian Army.  It was while in Poland, she met (the late) Abram Markiewicz, a survivor of the concentration work camp Auschwitz.  The two were married on August 25, 1945 and left Poland together to return to Germany in the hopes of finding any of her surviving family members - in particular, her dear mother.  Henny and Abram welcomed their first child (the late) Jacob Markiewicz in Germany in 1946.  On Thanksgiving 1949, the young family emigrated to the United States to be reunited with her father, who had arrived in the United States in 1948 from Shanghai, China.  Henny and her husband purchased a poultry/dairy farm in Colchester and shortly thereafter, in 1951, came the birth of their second child, Jenny.  Abram died suddenly in December of 1976. Neither he nor Henny had ever revealed many details of their experiences during the war.  In January of 1981, Henny had again found love and married (the late) Robert Simon.  The couple remained on the farm in Colchester.  Only with Bob’s encouragement, love and support, she recorded her story at the Yale University Archive for Holocaust Testimonies.  In 1986, Henny began speaking to young people in schools and at other venues relaying her story from before, during and after the Holocaust. In their free time, they enjoyed boating, fishing and travel.  Robert Simon died in May of 2001.  Over the course of countless talks, she had become very close friends with Benjamin Cooper, a WWII Medic who was with Eisenhower's troops and witnessed the liberation of Dachau. At the time they met, Ben also had been speaking to schoolchildren about his experiences during the war. They became fast friends and nearly inseparable.  Together, she and Ben continued their educational mission by speaking jointly at schools about their closely related war experiences; he as a soldier and she as a survivor.  Whenever Henny was faced with a difficult situation or was told she could not accomplish something, she embraced it as a challenge and took great satisfaction in proving otherwise.  In addition to sharing her story, Henny volunteered for Meals on Wheels, American Red Cross Bloodmobiles, was a Life Member of Hadassah, the Sisterhood of the Congregation Ahavath Achim, and the Board of the Strochlitz Holocaust Research Center in New London.  She leaves her daughter and son-in-law, Jenny and Stuart Rabinowitz of Glastonbury; her daughter-in-law, Paula Markiewicz of Lake Katrine, NY; granddaughter, Michelle Rabinowitz of Manchester (and her son), great grandson, Ethan; grandson, Aaron Rabinowitz of East Hampton and his fiancée, Kira Shin St. Denis; grandson, Lee Markiewicz and his wife, Amy of Cypress, TX; grandson, Abram Markiewicz and his wife, Alexa of Kingston, NY (and their children), great grandson, Asa and great granddaughter, Ani.  She also leaves a niece, a nephew and his family, as well as her very dear friend and companion, Ben Cooper and his family.  In addition to her parents, spouses and son, she was predeceased by her brother Hans Rosenbaum in 1940; and her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Leonard and Greta Markiewicz.  Funeral Services will be held 1 PM Friday (April 7th) in the Sanctuary of Congregation Ahavath Achim, 84 Lebanon Avenue, Colchester.  Burial will follow in Ahavath Achim Memorial Park, Taintor Hill Road, Colchester. 

Due to Passover, the Shiva mourning period is limited and will be observed at the Rabinowitz residence, (68 Trinity Ave, Glastonbury) on Sunday (April 9th) from 1 to 7:30 PM with a Minyan Service at 6:45 PM.

Although this website may include links to florists, it is NOT part of Jewish burial tradition to send floral tributes. 

Those who wish to offer an expression of sympathy are encouraged to consider a contribution in Henny's memory and honor to one of the following organizations:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Washington, DC 20024-2126   (www.ushmm.org)

Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 South Roxbury, Los Angeles, CA 90035  (www.wiesenthal.com)

Strochlitz Holocaust Resource Center, 28 Channing St., New London, CT 06320 (www.jfec.com)

Congregation Ahavath Achim, P.O. Box 5, Colchester, CT 06415

or to the charity of one's choice...

Care of arrangements has been entrusted to the Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home of Colchester. 

May her memory be for a blessing