Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

David Burdowski - May 13, 1982

Introduction

Thursday, May 13th, 1982. David Burdowski.

My name is David Burdowski. I was born in Kłodawa, Poland uh, on September 27, 1924. Uh, when uh, the Germans come into Poland, I was fourteen years old. Right after that they uh, took us to work and as small as I was--everybody had to go to work. The next day my--one of my brothers got beat up by the Germans and he went away to Russia which I never heard from him again. We were uh, four brothers and two sisters. I am the only survivor; I was the youngest.

Could you tell us about your brothers and sisters? What, what did they do?

Two of my brothers uh, disappeared in Auschwitz and one sister was freed from Auschwitz. The parents were taken away in 1942 to a place called Chelmno and they were gassed and killed over there. Including was my oldest brother's wife and two kids and my sister. In uh, 1941, I was taken to the first camp, which it was called the uh, Buchwerder Forst which we were building the uh, uh, Autobahn and uh, from there we were taken into Germany and I spent a year and a half in Germany in a factory--in a paper factory. From there we went to Auschwitz in 1943 which I got the number on my arm, which is 141935, which everybody in Auschwitz had their number. And from Auschwitz I was sent to, about a month later, I was sent to, uh...

[interruption in interview]


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