Efroim Hersz, Stalag VIII B, German Prisoner of War, 1941-45

Efroim Hersz Niedzwiecki was born in Radzilow on March 11, 1920.

In 1933, Efroim, his parents, and his sisters, Sara, Tova, Shoshana, and Yaffa, all emigrated to Israel. At that time Palestine was under the British Mandate.

Efroim enlisted in the British Army in Sarafend, on December 2, 1939. During the war in Greece, his unit of the British Army was captured by the Germans and transferred to a camp in Germany named Stalag VIII B. They were prisoners of war.

Efroim spent four years in the Stalag. After the war was over, he went back to Palestine. He was released from the British Army after six years and 27 days of service, on January 14, 1946.

He married to Drora Pais, and lived most of his life in Moshav Magshimim. Efroim was a builder and specialized in plaster work, which brought him to work all over Israel.

Efroim had joined the Israeli Army in 1948 and served in the reserve until 1975.

[L]: Efroim Hersz, far right, British Army [R]: British Army Medals

In 1965, the British Ministry of War honored Efroim's service and decorated him with 3 medals: the 1939-45 Star Medal, the Africa Star. and a general service medal (most likely for service in Palestine).

Efroim died at the age 85 on May 5, 2005, and was buried at the cemetery in Moshav Magshimim, next to his wife Drora who had passed away in November, 2001. He enjoyed having five grandchildren.