Heber Marancenbaum
Heber Marancenbaum's story begins with his father, Arie Marancenbaum, an electrician from Loschitz near Warsaw, Poland. Warned by a well-connected friend that war was coming, Arie left Poland in February 1939, choosing Bolivia largely by chance after Brazil and Argentina were closed to Jewish immigrants. He arrived through Buenos Aires and settled in Santa Cruz, building a livelihood by trading goods despite not knowing Spanish. Nearly all of his family in Poland perished in the Holocaust; only his sister Haya, married to Sol Prangler, survived, having hidden for years in an underground shelter beneath a pig farm belonging to the Catholic Mokinski family. Heber was born in Santa Cruz in November 1948.
Heber trained as a chemical engineer, studying in Mexico from 1966, where a family friend, the Pinsky family, welcomed him for Shabbat and strengthened his connection to Judaism. Returning to Bolivia in 1971, he married Nancy in 1972, and the couple had three children: Ariel, a doctor; Milka, a dentist; and Federico Isaac, who studied political science. Although his father, scarred by the Holocaust, had turned away from Jewish practice while still telling his children stories every night, Heber and his wife chose to build an observant Jewish family, traveling to Buenos Aires around 1978 to formalize their status. He worked as a chemical engineer in Santa Cruz, Cochabamba with the Bata company, and later in La Paz.
With others of his generation, Heber helped form the Jewish community in Santa Cruz, which had no synagogue or cemetery when he was young. The community used a house provided by the Schwarz family for services, brought a rabbi or cantor from Buenos Aires for the High Holidays, and purchased its first cemetery. Heber performed burial services for years and served as the local contact for fundraising campaigns supporting Israel. In 2000 he and Nancy moved to Dallas, drawn by the presence of their children and the beloved Prangler relatives who had long welcomed him during his student years. He remains grateful to the United States, treasures his family ties, and finally fulfilled his wish to visit Israel.
Full Transcript
May Siebel My name is May Siebel. It is March 8, 2020, and I'm interviewing Hebert Marinsenbaum for the One Story at a Time Project, Viva Shalom, Celebrating Latin American Jews in Dallas. Good afternoon, Hebert. Hey, good afternoon. Will you please tell us where you were from originally? Well, originally I was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and I was born in November 1948, and I was born over there because my dad went out from Poland. My dad, his name was Arie Marantzenbaum. And he went out from Poland in February 1939. And it's interesting why he chose Bolivia. Because going to Bolivia, a country unknown, we're talking about those days, 1939.
And also he didn't know the language. Mainly we speak Spanish. That's my main language. But at that time, well, he was an electrician over there in Poland. And he was all the time, he was living in Loschitz, a small town, maybe 20, 40 miles from Warsaw. And he used to go to Warsaw all the time. And when he was over there, he was some friend from the army because he was involved all the time because he was an electrician. And he was asking, what about the war is coming, not coming, what do you think? And he has very good friends like a coronel or something, a high range.
And they thought, yes, the war is coming. So at that time, he began to talk with his parents. My grandfather's name was Moshe Marantzeban, and the mother, her name was Feige Lichtenstein. and he has three sisters, Shane, Tobe and Shaina, that were living in Loschitz. And then finally, he was telling little by little, hey, the war is coming. But he said, no, and some of the people, they said no Poland is very strong We are going to support no problem But anyway he was more decided to leave because their friend convinced him that he coming So finally he went to some embassies and at that time you didn't have many choices because it was 1939 February.
So he went to check. Brazil was close to Jewish people and Argentina was close to Jewish people. So he has two choices, Paraguay and Bolivia. He said, Paraguay and Bolivia, I don't know any of those countries. For me, they're the same. So he said, well, which? Well, Bolivia. So that's the way he went to Bolivia. He got a passport to Bolivia. And like everybody, he didn't take any money because they didn't take out any money. And he arrived to the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He arrived with a ship over there. And then we're going to Bolivia and the first city that he touched from Buenos Aires to go to Bolivia, the big city is Santa Cruz.
But we are talking this big city maybe at that time maybe was 40,000 inhabitants. But when he arrived it was a holiday in February. So he said, oh, this is a big city because we have people everywhere. and he was there, really said, okay, well, it's going to be, but then after the two holidays or three holidays of the carnival, everybody was gone. So he was alone, and little by little he found some other Jewish people that went out from Poland, because in Santa Cruz, most of the people, the Jewish people that were living was from Poland. I would say maybe 80, 85%. and some he met in the same ship that he came and so that the way he began to do something how to live like Jewish he began to buy something and sell something even that he didn't know the language and then finally he found a way how to be because he came through Buenos Aires he began to go to Buenos Aires to buy something and get something to Bolivia during this time May 1939 the war started But between February and May he still writing a letter with his parents and he was receiving because they knew where he went and at that time they still receiving and sending letters everything was almost normal after may that everything was over at that time one of his sister that i didn't mention halia she was already married with Sol Prenkler.
So she stayed over there with Sol Prenkler and my grandparents, but everybody were, the parents passed away. The only family from my dad's side that survived was Haya, Haya Prenkler. And she was married with Sol Prenkler. And my dad usually used to tell during the night how was Paul on and telling about the Judahines and how to wash his life over there and how he was working and helping to help all the three sisters to get married. And well, after that, Haya and Sol Perenger, they were in a ghetto. But in some way, they escaped from the ghetto. And they have a very good friend, family.
It was a Catholic family. the Mokinski family, but they live far away in the farm. And these people, they were raising the pork. So they were really good, good friends. And they say, well, come with us. We will help you. And the amazing thing is how these Catholic people can raise their life to say some Jewish people. So, what I know because my dad was telling me and also after Saul Prangler, I tell you something, he came to Dallas, but at that time when they went to the farm they had the pork on the top, but under they had like an underground construction under the pork and the entrance was like a little far away so they can't be entering and they were living during the day they will be living under the park.
And at night they will go out to eat something. They will live for years and years and years like this. And that was the way that they survived. So really we need to be very grateful to this family Mokinski And after the war finished 1945 my uncle Saul Pranglin and Haya and also one of the his daughter Helen Helen, they went to Germany and they stayed over there until 1955 because during the war you couldn't go out because you couldn't get any passport or anything. So at that time, they decided in 1955, they got the passport and permission to come to the United States. And they chose Dallas because they had some friends and somebody that was coming here and and they came in 1955 to Dallas.
So that's the way that we have here, and maybe you heard something about the Prangler family that came in 1955. Some have been members here, and on the side of my dad is only Haya, I was married with Saul Prangler, but on the side of Saul Prangler, survived Herschel Prangler, and survived Aaron Prangler, It was Mendel Prangler and the only one of all the Mendel that survived right now is Mendel Prangler. So there is an interesting story in the way when they survived because I have my first cousin because Sol Prangler and Haya at that time they have five kids, three boys and two girls.
And one of them that I mentioned, Helen, it was the one that was with him and all the kids. So, but they survived with all the kids. So there is an interesting story because Herschel at that time, let me see, he was 1948. He was very little because he was born in 1938, he was like, let me think about that. He was born, he's 10 years younger than me. So he was, maybe he was like five or five years old. So the family at one time decided, if we take Herschel, he's going to be crying. So they will kill everybody. So they decided, well, we are going to leave him with the letter.
And then we put in the letter that if somebody takes care of him, we are going to pay or something, he survives. So we will, let's say, keep alive the other three brothers and the sister. But they leave him in the field with a big letter or something. But finally, after a few miles, they say, no, let's come back. If we die, we die. So they took him. And this letter is in the Holocaust, Michelle. So in 1955, when they came here, they settled here with all the four boys and the girl. And Helen Prangler, that is the oldest one, she's still alive. She's like 94 right now.
And one of the brothers, Herschel, the one I'm talking of the letter, he's still alive. He's 83 right now. So we have that part of the family. Then after the second war ended, because everybody knew that my dad went to Bolivia, So when they came here, they get in touch with Bolivia, with the embassy at that time. Well, everything was much better with the communication. And they found my dad over there. So he came here the first time in 1955 to Dallas to meet with the family. And also my uncle Saul and the Pringle family was really very, very grateful with the Mokinski family. So they decided to bring his grandson to Dallas and help the family that was living in Poland.
So they helped him with the residency, with the citizenship, and they helped him to buy something over there and buy something here. So really they helped the Mokinski family because they did everything. And we have Sam Mokinski, he is still living here in Dallas. We see some time. What a wonderful family. Yeah. And then on the side in Bolivia, well, we grew in Bolivia because he was over there. We are five brothers I am not the oldest one The oldest one is passing away I have two brothers that pass away I have my two brothers They were the doctors They passed away And then we have the other three others.
We study engineers. But then he got married the second time. We have a sister. And then he married the third time. So he wasn't very lucky because, you don't know, life is different. Life is difficult. But we are, in total, we are nine brothers. In Bolivia, the community family was very, very small at that time. Maybe we have, in Santa Cruz mainly, our city. We didn't have a synagogue at that time. My dad didn't want to know anything about Judaism because of the Holocaust. house. When we were over there, in our time, maybe when we were 20, 21, we decided to form the Jewish community at that time.
But even at that time, we didn't have a rabbi or a son because it was so small that we couldn't afford to pay. So one of the Jewish members, have a small house and he said and he wasn't using that one so he said okay you can use that one like a synagogue that family was the schwarz family each and mendel and all the services we were doing over there and who was doing the services we have one of the jewish person maybe at my age that he knew more Hebrew than everybody over there. So he was doing all the services, whatever we can do.
And we were celebrating all the holidays. We didn't miss any holiday. And the big holiday for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And we were bringing somebody from Buenos Aires, a rabbi or a hasan. And so everybody, we put together some money. We we bring for two weeks, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And that was the way that we do for the main holiday for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. But the other holiday we were doing ourselves over there, but we were not missing any holidays And then part of my family in 1972 I got married with Nancy Teodovic and we got married and we have the three kids.
One is Ariel, he became a doctor. Then we have Milka, she's a dentist. Federico Isaac, he did political science and UT Dallas. So this is my family on my side. So tell me about, you said that your father was really not a practicing Jew. No. After the Holocaust. So how did you come about to be, you know, to become such a committed Jew? Tell me about your mother. Where was she from? Well, my mother, what we knew, because you have a lot of people in Bolivia, after the Inquisition in Spain, you have a lot, a lot of people that, when we were growing, that people, they didn't know why they were, for example, lighting the candle on Shabbat, or doing Shabbat and that.
So I know that my mother was telling me that the father was from Spain and she was Jewish, so that my father got married with her because she was Jewish. But really we don't have anything that paper from her. But our Judaism is because my dad every day was telling us about Judaism. Even that he didn't want to follow. It's contradictory because on one side he was telling stories about Poland and about the family. But on the other side he said it's better to live not with the Judaism because look what happened they killed us I think it something that you feel So when we got married we decided to form a Jewish family But in order to have everything, let's say, legal, we know that on the side of my wife, They were also from Spain, the mother, but we didn't have paper.
My dad, my new one, Jewish. So we went to raise Jewish kids, so we decided to go to Buenos Aires. We have some, at that time, we are talking on maybe 1978, after we got married, we went to Buenos Aires to convert. to do everything. We have some letters from the Hebrew Embassy. We have letters from the Jewish community from La Paz at that time. So we went to Buenos Aires. We stayed maybe 30 or 40 days over there with their recommendation. And we went to a new community, what's called the temple that did our conversion. So they convert everybody. So we got all the papers and said, okay, we are going to start in a, we can say in a legal way, like Jewish.
But we knew that this, at that time we knew the different level of Jewish that you have the Orthodox, the Chabad, and you have the, In Bolivia we were like conservatives, we were considered conservatives. Because in all the days that we were living over there, and since I remember, none of the community, they have women, rabbi women. All they bring men. So that's why at that time they were called conservatives. So, in that synagogue that we went to, Buenos Aires was considered conservative and we did everything and well, we were lucky we can do everything and that helped to continue. At that time we formed the Jewish community in Santa Cruz.
Because we are thinking in 1939 when my dad came, all the Jewish people they were having kids. So at that time when we were married in 1972 we have a friend that were maybe 19, 20 years old, 22. So we have our own thinking and we decided to do the Jewish community for all the kids. And so then our kids, we have Jewish raising. So, and also something that helped me with my Judahims, besides that my dad was talking every night. In 1966, I went to study to Mexico. And at the university, I have a very good friend. I finished a chemical engineer. And I have a family with Pinsky.
So that family invited me for Shabbat. And I used to go to Hisinaro. So that helped me during five years, five or six years that I was over there to keep me in the Judahese and then when I came back to Bolivia in 1971, then I followed with that. So I think that time that I was in Mexico, it helped me a lot to feel like a Jewish. What kind of work did you do in Santa Cruz? In Santa Cruz, when I arrived in Santa Cruz, it was a very small town, so they didn't have very big factories. And as a chemical engineer, I needed to go to work to another city.
So I went to work to Cochabamba, which is a big city also at that time, because we have only three big cities Santa Cruz Cochabamba and La Paz that a big city So they hired me over there like a chemical engineer and I was working in a laboratory And I was working with the biggest company that is an international company, Vata, that they make shoes. So I worked with them like for maybe four or five years. And then in La Paz, the capital, And then was a Jewish company that were doing the soap, detergent, and everything related with chemistry. So they came in touch with me, and they hired me, and then I moved to La Paz.
At that time, I was married. I have my oldest son, Ari, so he was almost in La Paz for five, six years also. So I was working with that family, so I knew a lot of families. Then in La Paz, the Jewish community was bigger. They have a synagogue, they have a rabbi. So it was much better for us because we were integrated in the Jewish community. And also when I was working in Cochabamba, they have a synagogue also and they have a rabbi. So for us, it was much better to move to Cochabamba and La Paz. So that's the way that we keep the Jewish tradition until now.
And what prompted you to move to Dallas? Well, in Dallas, mainly, well, my wife always wanted to have more Jewish knowledge, and she was very interested in learning more. And why we moved to Dallas? Because we have something very important that was the family. So we knew we came here because I was hired my dad's sister. So we knew that we came here, they will help us to restart. We moved here in 2000. Right now we are 20 years. But at that time I have my older son, he was studying at the SMU. And then my daughter was studying the dental career in Mexico. And at that time also my youngest son was in UT Dallas.
So everybody was here So we said okay this is the time to move because everybody is here And so when they finish he stay here and he working here since he graduated And my youngest son he also working here And my daughter, she got married with a Sephardic Jewish in Guadalajara. And she's living over there. And so really it's very close because you have only two hours flying. So we get in touch all the time. But really this is a short story of many, many years. We were very lucky that we have this family that saved the Franklin family. That's the way that they are here and I am here.
Did you find it a big adjustment to come to the United States from Bolivia? You mean? I mean, how was the transition for you? Well, the transition, it wasn't very difficult because when I was studying in Mexico, in Monterrey, it's a two-hour plane from here. And I used to come, the three months of vacation from the university, I used to come to Dallas. And I was living with my uncle Saul, and Haya, in his home for three months. And he was very orthodox. No mixing milk and meat. And so I was learning everything from him. So for me, when I decided to move, it was very difficult because I knew how I was living here in the United States, how I was the Jewish living also.
After that, also, he was talking all the time with us. and then when my oldest son had the bar mitzvah in Bolivia and my uncle and some relative also my first cousin they went to Bolivia so they were very related then when my youngest son had the bar mitzvah they went again then when my dad passed away he went to do all the funeral services in Bolivia everything So we have a very, very good relation with the Pranklin. So they really when we came here we feel at home In Bolivia in Santa Cruz the Jewish community was accepted as part of the general community I will tell you at that time, it was amazing how Jewish and Arab and whatever you can call it, they were together.
They were sitting on the same table, they were playing cards every night. If you have a bar mitzvah, you invite other people. If they have something, they invite you. If you have any birthday, everybody was together. And they knew everybody. They used to do business with them. So at that time, it wasn't really a difference between Jewish and Arab or Muslim or something. or something, you didn't have any difference. So that was a big, big difference. That had to be a wonderful community to be in. Yeah. Just in the last year that everything became worse, yeah, that time, yeah. Do you go back to visit?
Well, I haven't been over there since I came here because what happened, I'm working, I have my vacation two, three weeks. So what do we do? We get together with the family and go here in some place, sometimes we go to visit our daughter or mainly they want to come here with their granddaughters. So we keep here with the family. But talking about the community in Bolivia that was so small and we have, when we formed the Jewish community with the young generation, we have a borough director and everything and at that time we bought the cemetery. We bought a part of a lot in the main cemetery, like the cemetery is here and we bought, let's say, 5,000 square feet.
And we, at that time, everybody was having some money, so we gave more money and we buy the lot so in case that we have people that was getting older. And so we use the cemetery. It was a very good idea to buy that cemetery because we have people over there. And at that time... So that was the first Jewish cemetery? Well, no, they have in Cochabamba and La Paz, because community La Paz and Cochabamba, they were bigger than us because... No, no, no. We didn't have a cemetery and we didn't have a synagogue. So this was the first cemetery. And the young generation, we were thinking, hey, we have many old people that is going to happen.
So we were helping when somebody passed away. I was doing the Hebrick addition for the cemetery for many years. and we were helping also maybe for many years I was helping Israel that they used to send somebody to collect money in Bolivia so I was the contact in Santa Cruz so I used to go with that person from Israel to take, we call them Magbit I don't know, we were trying to they were explaining Magbit in in Hebrew, but the way to collect money. So that money was collected to send to Israel. So I used to walk with him to different Jewish people and say, okay, this is okay.
He can give you more. He can give you less. I'm walking for maybe two, three days. And that must help him also. That good Is there anything else you like to add Well I feel very glad that we have this big country the United States that helped us to be here. Something that we always wanted that our kids go to Israel, so we sent them to Israel for One year, they have an exchange student. The other one also, my daughter, she went also. We had the youngest one that he didn't go yet. Also, we had very, very good wishes to go, but we couldn't go for one reason, another reason.
And we said every Jewish need to go to Israel. Finally, last year, we went to Israel. So we were very happy to see Israel, and it's a big country. Thank you very much. And thank you very much for the interview and the big job that you are doing for the Latin Jewish. That might be a lot of them. All right? Thank you.