Remembering the Victims
Originally published in the Forverts, March 27, 1911
She Had Picked Out Everything For Her Engagement Photo With Her Fiancé
Parents of the 21 year old Violet Shekhter thought that shortly they would lead their daughter to the khupe [wedding canopy], but instead they lead her corpse home. In a few weeks hence she was to get engaged to Mr. Harris; this frightful death destroyed those plans and robbed her of her groom.
Mr. Harris identified his bride’s body in the morgue, among the burned bodies and delivered it to her parents. An indescribable apocalyptic scene unfolded at their home. The keening and wailing was great and the entire street was full of people accompanying the parents’ keening and that of the fiancé of the victim who died prematurely.
She left behind helpless parents and five siblings for whom she was the sole breadwinner. And deepening the tragedy and more distressing is that this earner, having died before her time, left no trace of herself. She left no photograph behind. The affianced couple chose the day of tragedy to be photographed together. With the immense tragedy that occurred, death saved the groom this task.
“Take My Sister Down Instead,” He Requested
And he remained to die, burned beyond recognition
18 year old Benny Kurs of 106 East 10th Street, worked there with his younger sister, who was all of 14 years old. When the tumult erupted, he grabbed his sister and ran with her to the elevator. But the elevator was packed and he cried out wildly begging them to make room at least for his sister and then pushed her inside. She was thus able to be saved, while he was not and was burned to ashes. In his last minutes of life, facing a frightening death, he was pleased that he had been able to save his beloved younger sister.
Benny was the main breadwinner of his entire family.
Originally published in the Forverts, March 28, 1911
Yetta Rosenboym
22 year old Yetta Rosenboym lived with her brother Sam at 308 East Houston Street. She began working at the ‘Triangle’ Co. last Friday and was burned to cinder. Her brother was able to identify her yesterday at the morgue by a scar the ill-fated young woman had on her left leg. That foot managed to remain whole, as it lay in water. The scar remained on her foot since an operation she had there when she was 8 years old.
After examining the foot, which was all that remained of the beautiful Yetta, the coroner determined it was her, and produced the permit for her brother to bury her. The young woman was in this country for three years. She comes from Rovno, in the Volyn region.
Gussie Spunt
Gussie Spunt, a 19 year old victim of the ‘Triangle’ fire, who was here on her own, and boarded at 323 East 8th Street, was identified and buried yesterday. Mr. Yistkhok Shlonsky, a friend, fellow townsman and Secretary of the ‘Borisov Friends Society’ identified her yesterday. She was buried in the Montefiore Cemetery in the ‘Borisov Friends Society’ section. [Borisov was a town in the Minsk region]
His Friends Think He Was Rescued
Max Florin’s friends think he was able to save himself, but due to incredible fear and anxiety he’s lost his mind and is wandering the streets. Max is 23 years old and of average height. He was wearing a black suit. His closest friend is Max Hershenson of 14 Avenue A. If any rescued workers of that accursed shop know of his whereabouts, please let us know.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
