In keeping with Jewish tradition, the baby was placed on a beautiful silver platter. Out of curiosity, Yoske took the platter afterwards and noticed a moving Hebrew inscription: "In memory of Michoel, son of Moshe Aaron and Yocheved Hesheles, who was murdered in the Shoah."
Turning the tray over, Yoske noticed a further inscription on the back of the platter – which turned out to be a short account of Michoel's sad story. Michoel, it read, had been turned over to the Nazis by the non-Jewish family who had been given money, jewelry and silver possessions by Michoel's parents specifically so they would keep him safe. The parents survived, but never saw their beloved son again, and Michoel's mother donated the tray towards the end of her life in his memory. The inscription also detailed how Michoel was believed to be a descendant of the Vilna Gaon and the Noda Beyehudah – two famous rabbinical scholars from the 1700s – and how the platter had been used throughout the generations for Pidyon Haben ceremonies.
Still at the reception, Yoske called Sara Berkowitz, Head of the Names Recovery Project at Yad Vashem's Hall of Names, and asked her to make an immediate search to check if Michoel's name appeared in the Names Database. Sara told Yoske that the name was not in the Database, and asked Yoske to use the opportunity to gather as much information as he could about the story.
Yoske discovered that Yocheved and Moshe Aaron Hesheles had hidden this heirloom platter, together with a pair of Sabbath candlesticks, in the yard of their home during the war. Surviving Auschwitz, they returned to their home, where they were able to retrieve the buried silver. However, when they went to the village to redeem their son, they were faced with devastating news about his terrible fate: After learning of their deportation, the non-Jewish family had handed him over to the Germans.
The couple sadly never bore more children, and after her husband passed away, Yocheved felt truly totally alone in the world. The silver platter and the candlesticks were her only reminders of the past. One of the few people who visited her regularly was Chaya Gutein. Towards her last days, as she lay in hospital, Yocheved decided to donate the platter to Chaya's son and daughter-in law, Yosef and Ruth Gutein, who had opened a gemach (charitable loan organization) for accessories for Jewish circumcision ceremonies. Michoel's name and a short account of what happened was inscribed on the tray, and the tray continued to be used as it had for generations before. This is how Yoske's family had come into its possession for their own Pidyon Haben ceremony.
"It took the ongoing awareness of a dedicated Yad Vashem volunteer for Michoel's name to be commemorated for generations to come. I implore anyone who discovers similar information, in whatever form, to be in touch with the Names Recovery Project team, so that together, we can ensure that no Holocaust victim remains forgotten."
Sara Berkowitz
For more information on filling out Pages of Testimony or donating other sources containing names of Holocaust victims, please contact: names.proj@yadvashem.org.il
This article originally appeared in the "Yad Vashem Jerusalem Magazine," volume 87.
![The silver "gemach" platter bearing the tragic story of child Holocaust victim Michoel Hesheles](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/main_image_1block/public/87-Tray-4.jpg?itok=qVK3pxjv "The silver "gemach" platter bearing the tragic story of child Holocaust victim Michoel Hesheles")
![The silver "gemach" platter bearing the tragic story of child Holocaust victim Michoel Hesheles](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/87-Tray-4.jpg "The silver "gemach" platter bearing the tragic story of child Holocaust victim Michoel Hesheles")
