Yaacov (Jacki) Handeli was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and was 17 years old when the British army liberated Bergen-Belsen on 15 April 1945.
Two days later, Jacki went out with several friends to search for food. On their way, they stole a chicken from a German peasant's house who ran after them. During the chase the boys reached the American Zone. Joe Raspanti, an American soldier, sent the German farmer away and started talking to the boys. He took them to his unit's doctor, Dr. Goldberg, who told his sergeant to look after them.
"He took us to the field showers, removed our clothes and threw them into the fire. We were given towels and for the first time I had soap - scented soap - and hot water. We took our towels into a tent where there were several soldiers. They laid a blanket on the ground and began throwing all sorts of things onto it: If they had two pairs of shoes, they threw in one pair, as well as chocolate, cigarettes, clothes and underwear, everything that you could imagine. We got dressed in American uniforms and we received special food…" Jacki later recalled.
The next day, Joe Raspanti sought out Jacki and gave him a shaving brush, shaving cream and a razor. Jacki wrote the date on the brush: 17.4.1945
"I remained with the American Army and I became human again. They made a human being out of me."
Jacki Handeli was the sole survivor of his entire family. He and his family had been deported to Auschwitz from Thessaloniki in April 1943. He was separated from his parents and his three sisters on arrival. Jackie and his two older brothers were sent to a labor camp, but neither of his brothers survived. Jackie remained with the American Army until 1947. One year later he came to Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine) and joined the army.
Jacki used the shaving brush for many years until he decided to donate it to Yad Vashem as a testament to the period of his liberation, during which time he regained the sense of being a human being after such a long period of suffering.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Courtesy of Yaacov (Jacki) Handeli, Jerusalem, Israel
