Sundel Lipson was born on February 15, 1906 in Kovno, Lithuania to Mayer and Gitel Lipsches. He had five brothers and one sister. Sundel met and married Rachel Goodman Bendalin, from Shaudina, Lithuania, in 1931. Sundel and Rachel had two children, Moshe, born in 1934, and Mina, born in 1937. Sundel and his brother, Lazar, were successful in real estate and soap manufacturing.
When Nazi Germany started persecuting the Jews in Lithuania, Sundel and Rachel refused to believe that their property would be confiscated and that Jews would be murdered. They decided to stay in Kovno. When they realized that they were trapped, they sold their possessions at a fraction of their worth and bought two diamonds. In 1940, the remaining family was forced into the Kovno Ghetto. Sundel and Lazar sewed the diamonds into their clothing. Sundel and Rachel’s parents were murdered by the Nazis in 1941 and 1942. On July 9, 1944, their children were taken by the Nazis, never to be seen again. Sundel and Lazar were transported to Dachau, while Rachel and Lazar’s wife, Chana, and their two children were sent to Stutthof concentration camp. Sundel and Lazar swallowed their diamonds to hide them. Lazar recovered his diamond and re-sewed it into his camp uniform. Sundel never found his.
Sundel, Rachel, Lazar, and Chana were liberated in March 1945. Lazar sold his diamond and split the money with Sundel. After months of searching for each other, Sundel and Rachel were reunited in Feldafing, Germany. They started a new life and family. Their son, Myer, was born in 1946, and their daughter, Mima, was born in 1948. In 1949, the family moved to El Paso, Texas.
Sundel became a successful businessman, founding Sun Dry Goods, Co. Sundel passed away on April 8, 1960.
Connecting Stories: Rachel Lipson