With the end of World War II and collapse of the Nazi regime, survivors of the Holocaust faced the daunting task of rebuilding their lives. With little in the way of financial resources and few, if any, surviving family members, most eventually emigrated from Europe to start their lives again.
Regina's journey brought her to the United States.
Laks family photo, Poland, ca. 1925. Sitting, left to right: Pola Laks (Regina's mother) with baby Hania, grandmother Sara Tennenblum, Aunt Andzia Tennenblum. Standing, left to right: Aunt Lodzia Laks, Aunt Regina Tennenblum, Izak Laks (Regina's father), Aunt Rozia Tennenblum, and Aunt Dora Laks.
Item ViewRegina and her mother at the Busko-Zdroj spa (note that her mother used a cane and little Regina has been given a child's cane). Poland, early 1930s.
Item ViewRegina's parents, Pola and Isak. Poland, ca. 1934.
Item ViewRegina (left) with sisters Krysia and Hania. Poland, ca. 1938.
Item ViewPhoto taken a few weeks before World War II began. Regina is at the right of the front row. Kunow, Poland, July 28, 1939.
Item ViewPhotograph of Regina (Renia) taken on June 2, 1945, in Lodz, Poland.
Item ViewRegina's sister Krysia, Lodz, Poland, 1945.
Item ViewMiles Lerman (who married Regina's sister Krysia), Lodz, Poland, 1945.
Item ViewRegina's sister Hania (later Anna Wilson). Berlin, Germany, 1946.
Item ViewRegina at the Dueppel displaced persons camp in Berlin-Schlachtensee. Germany, September 10, 1946.
Item ViewRegina (third from left) with friends while at the Dueppel displaced persons camp. Berlin, Germany, May 20, 1946.
Item ViewRegina (top, left) with friends at a dance in Berlin. Germany, December 26, 1946.
Item ViewRegina (left) with two friends at Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn, New York, 1948.
Item ViewDr. Horowitz's Hebrew class at Jefferson High School, Brooklyn, New York, 1947. (Regina is in top row, third from right, Professor Horowitz is in front row, third from right.)
Item ViewRegina upon graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, New York, February 3, 1949.
Item ViewRegina in her college dormitory room at Indiana University. Bloomington, Indiana, 1952.
Item ViewRegina with Victor Gelb in Vineland, New Jersey, 1952.
Item ViewRegina met Victor Gelb, a young Jewish American, in 1950 in Brooklyn. Victor had been drafted into the Korean War. This photograph shows Victor (left) in September 1952.
With the end of World War II and collapse of the Nazi regime, survivors of the Holocaust faced the daunting task of rebuilding their lives. With little in the way of financial resources and few, if any, surviving family members, most eventually emigrated from Europe to start their lives again. Between 1945 and 1952, more than 80,000 Holocaust survivors immigrated to the United States. Regina was one of them.
Item ViewWedding photo of Regina and Victor. New York City, March 8, 1953.
Item ViewRegina and Victor with their two sons, Harry (left) and Paul (right) at the World's Fair, New York, 1964.
Item ViewRegina with sons Harry and Paul in a swimming pool. August 1968.
Item ViewCelebration after one of Regina's sons, Harry, received the Eagle Scout Award. February 16, 1973.
Item ViewRegina at Zelazowa Wola (near Warsaw), the birthplace of Frederick Chopin, during a visit to Poland in August 1980.
Item ViewRegina and Victor celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. New York City, May 3, 2003.
Item ViewRegina Gelb displays an album of her prewar family photographs. 2004.
Item ViewBorn as Regina Laks in 1929, she was raised in Starachowice, an industrial city in central Poland. Her mother, Pola Tennenblum, was an active member of the Zionist movement. Her father, Isaac Laks, was an engineer in the lumber industry. She had two older sisters.
Item ViewRegina Gelb holds buttons from her high school days.
Item ViewStack of Regina Gelb's photographs and albums. 2004.
Item ViewWe would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of all donors.