Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Maurice Chandler - October 3, 1993

Contents

Maurice Chandler was born in Nasielsk, Poland where his parents owned a textile store. After the Germans invaded the town, Maurice and his older brother escaped across the Bug River to Russia where they lived with a cousin until his brother became homesick. Maurice returned his brother to his parents, now in the Warsaw ghetto, and became trapped in the ghetto as well. The brothers escaped the ghetto and worked as farm hands. After his brother died of typhus, Maurice adopted a Polish identity and continued his work on Polish farms for the remainder of the war.

View video of Maurice Chandler in the Jewish Quarter of Nasielsk, Poland in 1938. Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the David Kurtz Collection.

  1. Introduction
  2. Religious Life
  3. Religious Life II
  4. Zionism
  5. Family
  6. Shabbos
  7. Shabbos II
  8. Shabbos III
  9. Jewish-Gentile Relations
  10. Cheder
  11. Cheder II
  12. Cheder III
  13. Religious Family Life
  14. Life Before the War
  15. Politics
  16. Education
  17. Death of Piłsudski
  18. German Refugees
  19. German Refugees II
  20. Start of War
  21. Preparing for German Invasion
  22. The Germans Invade Nasielsk
  23. The Germans Invade Nasielsk II
  24. Wehrmacht Soldiers Break into Homes
  25. Experiences with German Soldiers
  26. Witnessing Violence
  27. Incident in the Market
  28. Getting Registered by Germans
  29. Tricking a German
  30. Escaping to Russia
  31. Escaping to Russia II
  32. Escaping to Russia III
  33. Going to Białystok
  34. Living with Cousin
  35. Taking Brother Back to Poland
  36. Taking Brother Back to Poland II
  37. Feelings on Persecution
  38. Returning to Parents
  39. Mementos of Family
  40. Working Under False Name
  41. Working Under False Name II
  42. Getting False Papers
  43. Mementos of Family II
  44. Mementos of Family III
  45. Start of the Warsaw Ghetto
  46. Forced Labor Duties
  47. Smuggling in the Warsaw Ghetto
  48. Smuggling in the Warsaw Ghetto II
  49. Thoughts on Family's Survival
  50. Death of Grandfather
  51. Moving to Warsaw
  52. Returning to Parents II
  53. Life in the Warsaw Ghetto
  54. Life in the Warsaw Ghetto II
  55. Typhus
  56. Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw Ghetto
  57. Wearing an Armband
  58. Sanitary Conditions and Food in Ghetto
  59. Planning to Escape the Ghetto
  60. Planning to Escape the Ghetto II
  61. Escaping the Ghetto
  62. Reasons for Escape
  63. Being Blackmailed by Poles
  64. Leaving Warsaw
  65. Receiving Help After Escape
  66. Working as a Farmhand
  67. Being Separated from Brother
  68. Brother Gets Typhus
  69. Being Ill
  70. Escaping the Typhus Hospital
  71. Vengrov Ghetto Begins
  72. Assuming Polish Identity
  73. Hearing Rumors About Warsaw Ghetto
  74. Passing as Polish
  75. Passing as Polish II
  76. Visiting Warsaw Ghetto
  77. Befriending a Polish Smuggler
  78. Helping Escaped Jews
  79. Visiting the Czyżew Ghetto
  80. Visiting Czyżew Ghetto II
  81. Working in Pułazie Świerze
  82. Applying for Kennkarte
  83. Applying for Kennkarte II
  84. Visiting Old Neighbor
  85. Visiting Old Neighbor II
  86. Visiting Old Neighbors III
  87. Passing as Polish III
  88. Fear of Being Caught
  89. Attending Catholic Church
  90. Nearly Getting in Trouble with SS
  91. Nearly Being Exposed for a Jew
  92. Nearly Being Exposed as a Jew II
  93. Nearly Being Exposed as a Jew III
  94. Meeting with Russian Army
  95. Living with Russian Army
  96. Friendship with a Pole
  97. Life After the War
  98. Dropping Polish Identity
  99. Locating Old Friend
  100. Conclusion

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