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[Page 210]
Toman the Jewish Benefactor
The Goldbergers sent letters and money to Aranka in jail. They tried to make her life more pleasant, which was not easy in this period of Stalinist terror in Czechoslovakia. Toman feels especially guilty since he left his sister by herself in a Czech prison. True but there was little he could do. He writes long letters and tries to cheer her up. Occasionally, she gets a letter from her husband who left England and arrived penniless in Canada, where he started doing odd jobs to keep going, and then started to deal in real estate. He was naturalized in Canada in 1954, and later joined the academic world. He wrote less and less to Aranka since he had met Truda Osterman a psychologist. They started dating. Rosenberg decided to divorce Aranka and sent divorce papers to her in prison. We can imagine the severe psychological blow to Aranka, but she survived. Rosenberg married Truda. At first they lived in Israel and then returned to Canada where he worked with the Canadian government on many projects. He died in 1986.
Aranka continued trying to locate her nephew but all attempts failed. She wrote to the Czech Red Cross, but received no reply. Similar appeals were made by Lenka and Toman without results. Toman entered the business world and became very successful. All attempts to communicate with the state shelter where Ivan Toman was supposedly residing were answered with a laconic reply that he no longer lived there. The boy seemed to be beyond reach.
Toman left his brother's residence and rented a place of his own in town. The landlady was Maria Monardi, who was of Italian extraction. Slowly, the tenant–owner relationship turned more intimate. Mrs. Monardi was a divorced woman with three daughters from a previous marriage. They all lived in the Monardi apartment. Monardi soon joined Toman on his business trips.
The Goldberger brothers expanded the business. Toman attended fairs and bought and sold machinery. The “Gexim” company expanded and hired more people. They even began to do business with the USA, according to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) that had to approve Toman's entry requests to visit the USA on business. Toman even had a representative in New York named Joseph Barrocas who resided in Brooklyn, New York.
The latter party handled all the negotiations in the USA for the Goldberger brothers. On occasion Toman visited the USA to finalize purchases of machinery that was then shipped to Venezuela. The FBI had an extensive record of Toman's past, and whenever he was in the USA, he was always followed by FBI agents.
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| Excerpt from FBI file regarding Toman's visit to the USA |
Toman began to travel to Europe and approached many organizations: the International Red Cross, the Czech Red Cross and many humanitarian associations to help locate his son. He even contacted many Czech officials and private lawyers to help locate the boy but all efforts failed. Of course, Toman did not venture to cross the border to Czechoslovakia where his sentence was still in effect, so he did the next best thing – he went to Vienna, from where he directed his fruitless efforts. Even his sister, Aranka Goldberger, who was released from jail in 1961, failed to locate the boy. She searched and searched, but in vain. With the end of her probation period, Aranka left Czechoslovakia and joined her brothers and sister in Venezuela. Toman continued to visit Europe; he also visited the West Coast, notably California. He liked the state, especially the Santa Barbara area. He applied for a visa to stay in the USA for a longer period, but was turned down.[1] Below is the document that shows his rejection. Toman appealed the decision and used his contacts. He was finally permitted to stay for some time in the USA as the document indicates.
Toman continued his search for his son by all means. The Czech secret police frequently released disinformation leaks about the boy but never told the exact story as to what happened to the child. A fake Ivan Toman was once presented to Aranka and her sister Lenka but they did not recognize him as Ivan Toman. Czech ministers came and went and still no trace of Ivan Toman. Then there was a rumor that Ivan Toman was given for adoption to a family, when a convenient accident occurred and the boy was injured and then died. Of course, the family was never notified of his adoption or of his death. The Czech secret police played a cruel game with
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| The FBI document authorizing Toman's stay in the USA for a period of time |
the poor child, even his burial place was not revealed to the family. Letters and requests were formulated and answered. Interdepartmental memos were sent and answered. Entire files were established but no trace was found of Ivan Toman. The secret services kept the entire story under wraps for years. Eventually, most of the parties involved in the story retired or left their place of work. New people came that did not know the story and did not care to look for problems. The Ivan Toman enigma remained unsolved.
Toman continued to travel to Europe and bought a great deal of art works in Italy that he shipped back home to Venezuela. His sister Aranka met and married a man named Resnick. They opened a business similar to that of Toman but on a much smaller scale. Then Toman decided to make a lengthy visit to the USA. He requested permission for a visa and was denied
He appealed the decision and was granted the visa. The FBI of course followed him everywhere and reported every move that he made as the report indicates.
Aranka visited Czechoslovakia in 1973 and decided to ask the court for her rehabilitation of all the charges and restoration of her rights as a citizen. Her request was granted. She also petitioned the High Court for the rehabilitation of her brother Zdenek Toman originally Zdenek Goldberger who was condemned to death on June 23, 1949. The court rejected the appeal on behalf of Toman on the grounds that he left Czechoslovakia without legal permission. Toman would eventually receive a partial pardon but he never trusted the Czech authorities and never again set foot on Czechoslovakian soil. The Czech judicial officials continued to work until they retired.
Toman began to spend more time on the West Coast, Israel, and Europe. He limited himself to Vienna where he continued to contact people to locate his son's whereabouts.[2] He became active in the Jewish community of California, namely in the Bnei Brith Organization. He also contributed financially to the American political parties. He began to socialize. He married Maria and they visited Europe and Israel where, in 1977 he presented three classical paintings to the Tel Aviv Museum. The first painting is attributed to Bernardo Bellotto of the 17th century, pupil and nephew of the great Italian painter Canaletto. Bellotto painted urban landscapes namely the city of Dresden, Germany. Toman presented the “View of Dresden” to the Museum. He also donated two paintings depicting Venice by Luca Calavaris, who lived and died in Venice in the 18th century[3]. He was mostly known for his paintings of Venetian scenes. The presentation of the paintings was followed by a large luncheon in honor of the Sobrance Jewish survivors in Israel. According to Anna, a native of Sobrance, she and others received invitations to attend the banquet, fully paid by Toman.
Toman became very active in the Bnei Brith organization on the West Coast. He contributed financially to the organization and supported it. He also donated contributions to various philanthropic organizations.
The Bnei Brith organization in California decided to recognize his activities by organizing a luncheon in his honor. The guest speaker at the luncheon was
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| Toman is presented with the award of the Bnei Brith organization in the USA for his contribution to the American Jewish community. Copy graciously donated by Anna Neufeld née Keller | ||||
Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Shoah survivor to be elected to the United States Congress. Many Shoah survivors from Czechoslovakia were invited to the luncheon. Toman continued with his philanthropic activities in the USA and especially in Israel where he concentrated on cultural and educational projects. He loved the State of Israel where he saw all the people that he helped to cross Czechoslovakia on their way to Palestine. He saw them as they were then and he saw them now. What a change from humble people to proud citizens of their own country. He traveled extensively throughout the country and was amazed at the development of Israel. In Israel he met his old friend Jacobson who introduced him to leading political figures in the country. He also met the Mossad and Brichah people that he had heard so much about. Indeed these were happy moments for Toman, seeing what these people achieved and the great help that he extended to make this possible.
Toman devoted himself to the educational needs of Israel, especially in the South that was populated to a great extent by immigrants. A great favorite institution of his was the Ben–Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, in the desert. He visited the place and donated large sums of money to help the university provide an education to as many youngsters as possible. When he spoke at the university, he stressed the need for education in order to survive in the modern world. He frequently visited, and devoted himself to the expansion of the learning facility.
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| The Pesla Toman Gutman building donated in 1987 was in honor of Toman's first wife who died under suspicious circumstances that as yet, have never been revealed |
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| Dedication of the Maria and Zoltan Toman endowment fund for academic excellence. Seated on the left is Zoltan Toman, then the master of ceremonies. Standing and welcoming the guest is Avishay Braverman President of Ben–Gurion University and later Minister of Minorities in the Israeli government. |
Here is a list of gifts from the Toman family to the Ben–Gurion University in Beersheba:
Toman Family Department of Life Sciences Building
Zoltan Toman Equipment Endowment Fund
Zoltan Toman Library Endowment Fund
Maria and Zoltan Toman Endowment Fund for Academic Excellence
Zoltan Toman Medical Research Fund
Zoltan Toman General Research Endowment Fund
The Pesla Toman Gutman building donated in 1987
The University in turn bestowed the greatest honors on Zoltan Toman for his devotion, contribution and work on behalf of the university. In 1982, he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the University at a formal ceremony.
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| Dr. Zoltan Toman accepts honorary degree from Ben Gurion University |
The Ben Gurion University presented the Tomans with their highest award namely the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for their extensive services on behalf of the university. Toman and his wife Maria named Ben–Gurion University as a benefactor in their will.
The Tomans slowly gave up hope of ever finding Ivan Toman. They invested a great deal of energy, money and time without results. All the appeals to the various international and local Czech humanitarian organizations proved fruitless. The personal intervention of Aranka and Lenka Goldberger were to no avail. Zoltan Toman never returned to Czechoslovakia. We do not know whether fear or old age prevented him from stepping on to Czech soil. The Toman case did not die, it kept reappearing from time to time and embarrassed the Czech government and the judicial system. Eventually, in the early 1990s the Czech government decided to investigate the Toman case and many other similar cases.
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| Dr. Zoltan and Maria Toman being presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Ben Gurion University |
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