A Deep Rooted Heritage

We all carry, inside us, people who came before us.- Liam Callanan. Ones family history is
very important as it impacts the type of person they become and the influences they receive.
Looking at ones self from a larger history and background helps to see a larger perspective on
life. History is not only the past, but everything that is still happening. One day, our lives today
will be looked back upon as history. All that happens in the past, builds up the characteristics of a
person: their religion, beliefs, and values. The visual image of a family tree and how it builds on
existing roots is the way our familial histories construct who we are as people. Two such people
are my grandfathers- paternal and maternal, Meir Argaman and Harry Schlacht. They both came
to the United States and built families here. Coming from Israel and Vilkomir, Lithuania, their
histories impact who my parents are, their beliefs, and values which will carry on through me.

For most of history, Jews have been living in Jerusalem. There have been many in control of that
land, but I will start from the early 1900s. Before World War I, the Ottoman Turks were in
control of the land we now call Israel. During the war, the Turks were defeated by British forces,
led by General Allenby, ending the Ottoman Empire. At that point, the League of Nations
decided to split the former Ottoman Empire between the French and the British. The British were
in control of Palestine from 1917 until 1948 when the State of Israel was reestablished. The land
was promised to the Jews through the Balfour Declaration of 1917 as well as to the Arabs, from
the British, McMahon Letter. This caused conflict between the two nationalities (Trueman).

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There was a rise in conflict in August 1929, when the Chevron Massacre
took place, killing 67 Jews. At this point, there was an increase in Jewish
immigration in Palestine due to the rise of Hitler and anti-Semitism in
Europe. In 1931 there were 4,075 new, Jewish immigrants, and by 1935,
there were 61,854 who had made Aliyah (Trueman). One of these
immigrants was my great grandmother, Evelyn Chava Bergman. She
made Aliyah in 1932 from Salgotarjan, Hungary, most likely due to the
anti-Semitism in Europe. The rest of her family was later killed by Nazis
in the Holocaust, and her immigration saved her life. That same year of
immigration, my grandfather Meir Bergman (later changed his name to
Argaman) was born. He grew up in Geula, Jerusalem as an ultra-Orthodox

Pictured above is my great

grandmother, Evelyn Chava
Bergman holding my grandfather,
Meir.

Jew. His father wasnt around much and he had a tough childhood.

In 1936, the Arab Riots started. The violence increased, leading the British to bring in the
military. The riots lasted for three years until 1939. By 1937, though, the violence got worst.
There were a couple proposals for a partition plan (Mandatory Palestine). The Arabs started
viewing the Jews as enemies, instead of just the British (Trueman).

In 1939, the British put a quota on the amount of Jews to be let in to Palestine in order to make
the Arabs calm down, which didnt happen. This document was the White Paper. The Jews were
frustrated at the British because of the White Paper, which limited immigration and added that
they were only permitted to buy a certain amount of land (Trueman). The Zionists responded

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with illegal immigration- the Aliyah Bet movement. They took boats illegally to Palestine. Some
of the boats were stopped by the Royal Navy (of the British). Some got through but others were
bombed by submarines (Mandatory Palestine).

The Jews were angered by the British and Jewish resistance increased. The Jews fought with the
Allies in World War II and developed military skills which they used against the British
(Mandatory Palestine). Two Jewish groups, Lechi and Irgun, started violent uprisings against the
British from 1939 and onward. In 1946, the King David Hotel bombing took place by the Irgun,
because it was the administrative headquarters of the British in Palestine. In this operation, 92
people were killed. At this point, the British government started interning illegal Jewish
immigrants who were attempting to entire Palestine, to Cyprus. This developed a negative
international response against the British, especially back in Great Britain. This lead the British
to want to end the mandate and they desired to withdraw by August 1948 (Mandatory Palestine).

The United Nations were proposing multiple resolutions as to who would get the area of
Palestine- the Arabs, the Jews, or both. In 1947, the UN agreed to split Palestine into an area for
the Arabs and the Jews (Trueman). The British agreed to let in 100,000 Jews. The United Nations
created the UNSCOP (United Nations Special Committee on Palestine) to decide the situation for
this fought-over piece of land on May 15, 1947. Around 6 months later, the UNSCOP came to a
resolution, and the partition plan was approved on the 29th of November. At the UN vote, 33
countries said yes, 13 said no, and 10 abstained from voting. The Jews knew that the plan wasnt

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perfect, but we took what we could get. The state was going to be established (November 29).
Soon after, civil war broke out (Mandatory Palestine).

At this point, the British were slowly withdrawing, and by May 15, 1948, they left the last two
areas, Chaifa and Jerusalem. That afternoon, Ben Gurion announced the reestablishment of the
State of Israel in Tel Aviv. The Haganah got rid of Palestinian-Arab communities and took
control over formerly British controlled areas (Mandatory Palestine). This was when the War of
Independence started. After the announcement, 5 Arab nations invaded Israel from all sides,
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. By the end of the war, the 5 nations agreed to
make truce lines. Israel gained territory from this, but Egypt still controlled the Gaza Strip and
Jordan, the West Bank (The Arab-Israeli).

Two years later, in 1950, it was passed that Jerusalem would be the capital of Israel, yet an
international zone. At the same time, the Gaza Strip became considered a neutral zone (1950 in
Israel).

As part of the War of Independence, the Israeli

Air Force (IAF) was established. It emerged
from the Sherut Avir of the Haganah. In 1950,
my grandfather, Meir Argaman enlisted in the
Israeli Air Force and served until 1958. The
IAF started off being well organized. They
Pictured above is my grandfather, Meir Argaman, in the
army. He is in the center, sitting down, with the beret.

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developed control systems and used aerial photography as a part of intelligence. In 1953, the IAF
entered the Jet Era because the British aircraft joined the force. In 1956, Operation Kadesh
took place. This was the Israeli operation in the Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli Air Force took a
large role in the operation. They dropped paratroopers, destroyed Egyptian communication lines,
performed rescue missions and aerial attacks, and supported the ground forces (About the IAF).

The same year as Operation Kadesh was the Suez Crisis. Israel went into Egypt through the Suez
Canal. The British and French were supposed to come at the same time, but were delayed 2 days.
The plan was to attempt to reclaim the canal that belonged to Britain before Egypt gained
independence. They were successful; the British and French took control of the canal, but the
United States urged and threatened them to stop. Finally, in 1957, British and France withdrew
(Suez Crisis).

In 1958, Meir Argaman finished serving in the army. He worked for the Misrad Hachinuch
(Ministry of Education) for one year. Then, he moved to the United States in 1959 or 60 in
search of information about his father, who had died a few years prior. Meir lived in Brooklyn,
and worked for the Israeli Consulate in New York City. He switched the bet in Bergman to an
alef, making his name Argaman instead of Bergman in order to sound more American and less
Jewish. He then married my grandmother Estelle Argaman (born Noren) in 1964 on the Lower
East Side. They moved to Washington Township, Paramus, New Jersey. My uncle, Avi Argaman
was born, and later my mother, Harriet, and her twin sister Leah, in 1968. My aunt, Ella, was
born a couple years later. My mother moved to Israel when she was 26 where she lived for 5

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years, and met my father, David. I was born in Jerusalem and we moved to the United States a
couple years later.

My paternal grandfather (Harry Schlacht)s family was from Vilkomir, Lithuania. It was called
Wilkomierz in Polish, Vilkomir in Russian, Vilkomerge in Lithuanina, and later became known
as Ukmerge. The name comes from the word villas- wolves, because there were many wolves
that roamed in the area where it was established. There was a river called the Sventoji that ran
through the town dividing it into two: the new town and the river crossing, which was a poorer
area. A bridge connected the two parts (Ackerfield). The city is 67 km northeast of Kaunas, a
major city. It was was one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania (Rosin and Levin). Vilkomir was
established in the early 13th century (Ackerfield) and Jews started to settle there in the 16th or
17th century. It was an important commercial center and many people passed through it (Rosin
and Levin) They built a Jewish cemetery and a soul called River Crossing. The area of River
Crossing was where the Jews were concentrated (Ackerfield).

Vilkomir had a large Jewish community. For hundreds of years, it was the center of Torah studies
in Lithuania and the Rabbis from Vilkomir were prominent. It was also one of the centers of the
Charedim. Around 1860, two rival groups developed, the Chasidim and the Mitnagdim. Before
World War I, there was a large Yeshiva, a Talmud Torah, and many Batei Midrash. A government
school opened in the late 1800s, where Russian was the official language. A Jewish school and a
municipal school opened as well. There was a high school which permitted Jews to attend
(Ackerfield). Children would attend Cheders or the poorer children would go to the Talmud

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Torah. As a vast Jewish community, Vilkomir had many shuls. There was The Great Shul which
was established in the 17th century, the River Crossing shul, and many more. By 1860, there
were more than 20 shuls. During attacks, the soul was a place of refuge (Rosin and Levin). The
community had a public pharmacy and gave the profits to tzedaka. They gave poor, Jewish
people medicine for free (Vilkomir).

The Jewish population of Vilkomir had been increasing rapidly. It started off with 716 Jews in
1776. By 1864, there were 4,561 Jews, 2 synagogues, and 12 minyanim. Jews became 53% of
the population in Vilkomir with 7287 Jews in 1897 (Ackerfield). After its establishment, in
1711, Ukmerge was destroyed during a war with Sweden. Many of its citizens died from hunger
and sickness. In 1844, Jewish men were ordered to dress like the non-Jews. Policemen attacked
those who rebelled, and cut off their clothes and peyos. Sometimes, their earlobes would be cut
off as well. At this point, the city grew significantly and became the center of the district. There
was a large fire that took place, destroying much of the city in 1887, but it was quickly rebuilt
(Rosin and Levin).

The popular Zionist movement, Chovevei Tzion, was established in Vilkomir in 1887. They
started off just collecting money for Israel. By 1912, most of the members of the Zionist
movement emigrated to the United States. Some of the Jews were Zionists, and the more
Chasidic Jews were anti-Zionist (Rosin and Levin).

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In 1915, Harry Schlacht, my paternal grandfather was born in Vilkomir. This was around the
same time as the start of World War I. During the Great War, the Jews temporarily left
(Ackerfield). Russians were burning Jewish houses, they blew up the bridge, and they raided and
burglarized Jews (Rosin and Levin). The Germans occupied Vilkomir during the period of World
War I. During this period, 1915-18, the Jews of the area of Vilnius moved to Vilkomir
(Ackerfield).

On November 2, 1917, the Balfour Declaration was signed. The Jews of Vilkomir celebrated, but
then riots broke out and the Lithuanians shot at Jews (Vilkomir). Hundreds were arrested and
locked up at the jail and police station. Life slowly returned to normal. The Lithuanians started
giving the Jews religious and national rights. They allowed the Jews to be a part of the public life
of the country.

After World War I, in 1918, the Germans evacuated the town because the Red Army was coming
(Ackerfield). A year later, the Bolshevik forces occupied Vilkomir briefly during the Lithuanian
Soviet War. The Jews organized self defense groups and sent some people to the army who were
occupying the town at the time. Once the Bolsheviks left, the Jews welcomed the Lithuanians
(Ukmerge). Life was unexpectedly still tough under control of the Lithuanians. The Polish would
shoot at the town, killing and injuring many (Ackerfield).

In 1920, my great grandfather, Nochum Schlacht left to America. He arrived on December 11th,
and worked to get money to send his family over. Three years later, in 1923, my grandfather,

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Harry Schlacht, arrived in America with his mother and sisters. They came looking for a better
life. Despite being legally citizens, there was still antiSemitism in Lithuania. Also, there were often fires in
the village. Upon arrival, they came to New York and
Harry Schlacht married my grandmother, Marcia
Schlacht (born Gottesman) in 1952. A little while
later, they moved to Far Rockaway/Nassau County,
New York. My father, David Schlacht, was born in

Pictured above: my father, David, riding a tricycle. The

photo was taken in August 1962, at age 5

1957 and my aunt, Susan Adani (born Schlacht) was

born in 1961. Their family made Aliyah in June 1972 out of love for the Land of Israel. He lived
there for 28 years. During that time, he married my mother, Harriet Schlacht (born Argaman) and
I was born in May 2000. That same year in August, we moved to Far Rockaway, New York for a
couple of months and later moving to Riverdale, New York where we lived for 8 years. My
brother Ari was born in September 2001, and my other brother Aaron was born in August 2004.
In August 2008, we moved to Los Angeles for my fathers work.

The stories of both of my grandfathers have impacted my life. Just to name a couple of
examples, Saba Harrys love for Israel led his family, including my father, to make Aliyah. I was
born in Jerusalem and have that special connection to Israel because of him. My grandmother
Estelle told me through an interview that she got, the value of kindness and love, the importance
of taking care of your children, and the unending greatness of our Judaism from her mother.
These values were instilled in to my mother and passed down to me. This is only a few examples

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of the way my family has impacted me. Knowing ones families history is important in order to
view ones place in the world and it has helped me do so as well.

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Works Cited
"About the IAF." iaf.org.il. Israeli Air Force, date N.A. Web. 10 April 2016.
Ackerfield, Lance. "The Holocaust in 21 Lithuanian Towns: Ukmerg (Vilkomir)." Jewishgen.com. Jewish
Gen, 30 June 2009. Web. 10 April 2016.
"The Arab-Israeli War of 1948." history.state.gov. U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian, date
N.A. Web. 10 April 2016.
"Mandatory Palestine." Wikipedia.com. Wikimedia foundation, 24 March 2016. Web. 10 April 2016.
"November 29, 1947 Israel Quiz." jcpa.org. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 24 September 2012. Web.
10 April 2016.
Rosin, Joseph and Levin, Dov. "Ukmerge - Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities in Lithuania."
Jewishgen.com. Yad Vashem, 1996. Web. 10 April 2016.
"Suez Crisis." History.com. A+E Networks, 2009. Web. 10 April 2016.
Trueman, C. N. "Palestine 1918 to 1948." historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 26 May
2015. Web. 10 April 2016.
"Ukmerg." Wikipedia.com. Wikimedia foundation, 17 March 2016. Web. 10 April 2016.
"Vilkomir (Lithuania)." jdap.co.za. Jewish Digital Archive Project, date N.A. Web. 10 April 2016.
"1950 in Israel." wikipedia.com. Wikimedia foundation, 12 January 2015. Web. 10 April 2016.

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