Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Nancy Fordonski - July 29, 1982

Contents

An interview with Nancy Fordonski, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Charlene Green. Nancy Fordonski was born in Zlozew, Poland. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, Nancy, along with her mother, father and several siblings, fled to the nearby town of Zdunska Wola, where Nancy's two older sisters lived. Following a brief stay there, Nancy, along with one sister and brother, went to stay with their grandmother in Szadek, Poland. After some time, Nancy and her family returned to Zdunska Wola where they remained in the ghetto until 1942. When the Germans liquidated the Zdunska Wola ghetto in 1942, Nancy and two sisters were sent to the Łódź Ghetto and many of her other family members were deported and murdered. Following the liquidation of the Łódź Ghetto, Nancy and her sisters were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. After a brief time, they were shipped to Stutthof, where her older sister perished, and then to Dresden. Following the bombings of that city, Nancy and her sister were sent on a forced march to Theresienstadt. During the march, they escaped and hid on a farm near Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary) where they were liberated by the American army. After a brief return to Poland, Nancy immigrated to America. Of her nine siblings, only a sister and a brother survived.

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  1. Introduction
  2. Family
  3. Religious Life
  4. Jewish Community
  5. Education
  6. Education (Continued)
  7. Assimilation of Community
  8. Father
  9. Relations with Non-Jews
  10. Outbreak of War
  11. Zdunska Wola
  12. Szadek
  13. German Occupation
  14. German Occupation (Continued)
  15. Conditions in Ghetto
  16. Conditions in Ghetto (Continued)
  17. Liquidation of Ghetto
  18. Liquidation of Ghetto (Continued)
  19. Transport to Łódź Ghetto
  20. Conditions on Train
  21. Arrival in Łódź
  22. Łódź Ghetto
  23. Working in Łódź
  24. Liquidation of Łódź Ghetto
  25. Knowledge of Camps
  26. Hiding in Ghetto
  27. Hiding in Ghetto (Continued)
  28. Transport to Auschwitz
  29. Arrival at Auschwitz
  30. Head Shaved
  31. Stutthof
  32. Conditions in Stutthof
  33. Dresden
  34. Bombing of Dresden
  35. Execution of Prisoners
  36. Evacuation of Dresden
  37. Conditions on March
  38. Escape into Forest
  39. Hiding
  40. Hiding (continued)
  41. Liberation
  42. Return to Poland
  43. Reunited with Boyfriend
  44. Married
  45. Immigration to America
  46. Talking About Experiences
  47. Children
  48. Talking About Experiences (Continued)
  49. Thoughts on Survival
  50. Physical Reminders of Holocaust
  51. Mental Reminders of Holocaust

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