ANNY ROSENDORN FUND
Anny Rosenzweig Rosendorn was a woman of valor. She was a Holocaust survivor, a wonderful wife and mother, a successful businesswoman, a poet, a supporter of the arts, and an advocate for Jewish causes. Her courage, strength, selflessness, and optimism touched and inspired all those who knew her.Anny was born in Lodz, Poland, on Nov. 28, 1924, where she grew up with four sisters and three brothers in a loving and religious home, exposed to the values of education, curiosity and charity.At the tender age of 16, Anny and her family were forced out of their home and placed in the Lodz Ghetto, established for Polish Jews following the 1939 invasion of Poland. As the second-largest ghetto in all of German-occupied Europe, the Lodz Ghetto transformed into a major industrial center, manufacturing supplies for the German Army. There, Anny survived with her exceptional math skills, estimating textile yardage for Nazi uniforms. It was at the ghetto where she suffered family losses, endured hard work, and experienced extreme hunger. This sort of unbearable treatment only continued after the Nazis closed the Lodz Ghetto in 1944 and transported her to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and later, Stutthof. Conditions at these camps were brutal, but Anny kept her spirit alive by reading and writing poetry in English, German and Polish whenever she could. Anny was liberated by the Allies on May 9, 1945. Of her large family, only a sister and a cousin survived.Anny’s life took a turn after liberation, when she met Salek Rosendorn, a handsome and charismatic Holocaust survivor, while working as a secretary at the Jewish Committee of Liberated Jews at the Displaced Persons’ camp in the British zone of Germany. Anny’s language proficiency in English, German and Polish were instrumental in assisting in the relocation of displaced persons.Soon after marrying Salek, the couple moved to La Paz, Bolivia, where she began her life as a wife, young mother, and businesswoman. She became a partner in every business venture her husband initiated. She first joined in the successful management of a retail business of custom raincoats, and later became the vice president of one of the largest car dealerships in Bolivia. Her command of the Spanish language was impeccable, and Spanish soon became the fourth language in which she wrote poetry.Anny retired to the United States in 1987 to be close to her family. She became a major supporter of many charitable organizations. Close to her heart were Patrons of Exceptional Artists and the Miami International Piano Festival, to which she donated most generously.After a courageous battle with cancer, Anny passed on August 20, 2007. May her resilience and the principles she embraced during her lifetime continue to be a source of inspiration to others.Anny Rosendorn was the mother of Giselle Brodsky, artistic director and co-founder of the Miami International Piano Festival.
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