Show all interviews |Limit to: online - not online - original format audio - original format video
Eva Ackermann was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1926. Although an only child, Eva was part of a large extended family, most of whom perished in the war. Eva's parents divorced when she was young and she was raised by her mother. Eva had a reasonably normal childhood, even after the war began. After the German annexation of Hungary in 1944, Eva was separated from her mother and sent to Zurndorf, Austria. From there she was transported to a labor camp in Landsberg, where she was liberated. Her father perished in an air raid shortly before the end of the war and her mother died in Bergen-Belsen.
Marton Adler was born in 1929 in Volové, a village in Sub Carpathian Ruthenia. He was the oldest child and had two brothers and a sister. His village was occupied by Hungarians in 1939 when he was ten years old. Marton's father was conscripted into a labor unit in Russia from 1941 until the end of 1942. Eventually the family lost their store due to the "Jewish" laws. The Germans occupied the area in March of 1944 and soon after the family was deported, first to a ghetto in Sokirnitsa and then to Auschwitz where his mother and siblings were gassed. Marton and his father were sent to Buchenwald and then to Dora where his father was killed. Marton was eventually liberated by the British from Bergen-Belsen.
View Video on YouTube
An interview with Olga Adler, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Jonathon Fishbane. Olga Adler was born in Beregszász Czechoslovakia. After the Hungarians invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938, Olga's parents sent her to Budapest where she worked as a clothing model until the Budapest Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Olga's life was spared after a failed escape attempt and she lived in several camps until she was sent back to the Budapest ghetto as a nurse to the elderly and insane who had been left there. Olga's immediate family, her father, mother, brother and sister, all perished in forced labor or death camps. Upon liberation, Olga returned to her hometown, got married, and soon left for the United States when the Russians took over their town.
An audio interview with Irving Altus, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Bernie Kent. Mr. Altus was born in 1920, in Czekanów, Poland. Mr. Altus was the middle child in a family consisting of five children, his mother and father, all of whom perished in the Holocaust. Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the Germans arrested Mr. Altus and shipped him to various labor camps throughout Europe, including one in Königsberg, Germany. In 1942, Mr. Altus was shipped to Auschwitz-Birkenau and assigned to an external Labor Kommando approximately 50 miles from the main camp. In 1945, Mr. Altus was forced to march westward towards Germany, eventually coming to Theresienstadt, where he was liberated by the Soviets after one day. After the war, Mr. Altus returned briefly to his hometown and then relocated to Munich, Germany. In 1949, he emigrated to America with his wife and son.
Eugene Arden was a corporal during World War II. Arden's military government unit was attached the United States 7th Army as it travelled into Germany. The unit was responsible for closing down Nazi Labor Camps and for establishing DP Camps. The unit eventually helped liberate Landsberg, a sub-camp of Dachau. After the war, Eugene and his unit spent the post-war period in Heidelberg, Germany.
An interview with Abraham Asner, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Sherry Weisberg. Abraham Asner was born in Nacha, Belarus in 1916. After the war broke out, Abraham and his brothers were sent to Radun ghetto as part of a labor force. They survived the liquidation of the ghetto in 1942 and became part of a partisan organization based in the nearby Natsher Pustshe forest. The brothers engaged in partisan activities and missions until they were liberated in 1945. A few years later, Abraham immigrated to Canada with his wife.
A joint project between Portraits of Honor: Our Michigan Holocaust Survivors, the Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families, and the Voice/Vision Archive.
Ella Baker was born in Vysni Apsa, Czechoslovakia on August 31, 1924 but grew up in Cop, Slovakia. After the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, Ella and her parents were taken to the Uzhorod ghetto where they were held until being transported Auschwitz-Birkenau. Once there, she was separated from her parents whom she never saw again. While in the camp, Ella worked as a slave laborer making airplane parts. In 1945, Ella was sent on a death march out of the camp, but was forced to return to help clean up after a Russian bombardment. It was there that she was liberated by the Russians and went back to Czechoslovakia and then to Israel in 1948. She left Israel and came to Detroit in 1956 and has been very active within her community in championing Jewish rights and the rights of the mentally ill. She is also a cancer survivor and despite the tragic events in her life she remains positive and optimistic. Her motto is: "Don't dwell on things that you cannot change and try to see what is possible without pretending. Be inquisitive and aware and challenge all unjust situations."
View Video on YouTube
Magda Beer was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1915. After the Germans invaded Hungary, Magda and her family were forced to live in the Budapest ghetto, where she worked in a brick factory. After Budapest was liberated by the Russians, Magda opened up her own factory and remarried before finally moving to the United States.
An interview with Peri Berki, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by an unidentified interviewer. Peri Berki was born in 1900 in Hungary. After her husband was deported to a labor camp and their farmland taken away, Peri and her son lived in a ghetto with her sister and at one point, with thirty-nine other people, in a one-bedroom apartment. With the help of her husband and a Gentile innkeeper, they obtained false papers, moved to the Hungarian countryside, and assumed Gentile identities. Throughout the war, they posed as Gentiles, avoiding detection and receiving help from several strangers. When the war ended, the family was reunited and they again obtained false papers to immigrate to the United States.
Miriam Biegun was born in White Russia. She and her family fled the ghetto for the Lipiczanska forest, joining the Lipiczanska Puszcza resistance when she was just four years old. In 1944, after living in the forest for three years, she and her siblings returned to Zhetl to find it in ruins. After a few months, they moved to Łódź, where her siblings went to a kibbutz and Miriam went on to Berlin by 1947. While in Germany, she was also with her aunts and uncles in Ziegenhain and Jäger-Kaserne before ultimately travelling to Israel with an aunt, uncle, and cousin and meeting her husband on the ship. The two were married in Israel before moving to Winnipeg and Windsor before finally settling down in Oak Park around 1970.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Samuel Biegun was born on December 25, 1932 in Pinsk, Poland. When the war began, Russian forces occupied Pinsk and put Samuel and his family under house arrest. The family was then taken to live in a village called Airtau for the duration of the war. After the war they returned to Poland for a short time before moving to DP camps in Germany and eventually to Israel. From there, Samuel and his wife moved to Canada and finally, the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Szymon Binke was born in 1931 in Łódź, Poland. Shortly after the Nazi invasion his family was moved to the city's Baluty district which became the Łódź ghetto. In 1944 the family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where his mother and sister were gassed. Szymon was placed in the Kinderblock but escaped from it to join his father and uncles in the main camp of Auschwitz. Later he was transferred to a series of forced labor camps until he was liberated in May 1945.
View Video on YouTube
Joseph Birnholtz was born in Częstochowa, Poland. When the war began, Joseph and his family were forced to live in the ghetto. When the ghetto was liquidated, he was separated from his family and forced to work at the HASAG factory near Częstochowa. After being liberated by the Russians in 1945, Joseph joined a kibbutz in Poland before eventually moving the United States and becoming a cantor.
An interview with Eva Boros, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Kay Roth. Eva was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1932. After the German annexation of the area, Eva's father began sending her siblings to Budapest, Hungary. Eva was smuggled there in 1944; however, the German invasion of that country prompted her to return to Bratislava. In September 1944, Eva was sent to the countryside surrounding Bratislava in order to go into hiding. Following the end of the war, Eva immigrated to Israel and then to the United States in 1969.
An interview with Larry Brenner, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Larry Brenner was born in Vásárosnamény, Hungary in 1924. With the outbreak of the war, his father was sent to a forced labor camp and Larry went to live in Budapest to help an aunt run her business. In 1944, Larry was deported to a forced labor camp in J&aactue;szber&eactue;ny, the first of several forced labor camps to which he was sent. Larry was liberated from Gunskirchen, a subcamp of Mauthausen, and after liberation, he spent the next several years finding surviving family members and dodging the Hungarian Army draft. In 1948, Larry immigrated to America.
Miriam Brysk was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1935. Following the German invasion of Poland, Miriam and her family moved to Lida, Belarus, which was her father's hometown. When Lida was turned into a ghetto, her father, a surgeon, was forced to treat Germans at the local hospital. On May 8th, 1942, Germans massacred most of the residents of the Lida ghetto, but Miriam and her family narrowly escaped death. After returning to the ghetto, the Jewish partisans contacted Miriam's father, requesting his assistance as a surgeon. The family joined the partisans in the Lipiczanska forest, where Miriam was passed off as boy for her safety.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
David Burdowski was born in Kłodawa, Poland on September 27, 1924. Following the invasion of Poland, he was taken to a forced labor camp called Buchwerder Forst. From there he was taken to work in a paper factory and was then sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. David was transported to many camps during the war before being liberated on a train outside of Dachau by American forces in Staltach. After the war he lived in the Feldafing Displaced Persons Camp and met his future wife. He moved to America in 1949 and started a family
Dr. Irene Hasenberg Butter was born in Berlin in 1930 but moved to Holland with her family in 1937. In June 1943 the family was deported, first to Westerbork, a transit camp, and then in Feb. 1944 to Bergen-Belsen. The family managed to be included in an exchange transport in early 1945, using falsified Equadorian passports. During the transport her father died. The rest of the family were released and went to North Africa and later moved to New York City after the war ended.
An interview with Bella Camhi, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Bella Camhi was born in Salonika, Greece, ca. 1925. Following the German occupation of Greece, Bella, along with her mother, father and three sisters, was placed in the Salonika Ghetto. In 1943, the family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where everyone, except Bella and another sister, was gassed on arrival. Bella was assigned to work in the "Kanada Kommando" and her younger sister was placed in the "Kinderblock," from where she was later sent to the gas chambers. Sometime in 1944, Bella was moved out of Auschwitz-Birkenau, loaded onto a wagon and later abandoned in an empty field. After being liberated, Bella walked to Munich, Germany. She later returned to Salonika and finally immigrated to the United States sometime in the early 1950s.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
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.
Franka Charlupski was born in 1920 and lived with her family in Łódź, Poland. The Weintraubs were in the Łódź ghetto from 1940 until August 1944 when they were transported to Auschwitz and separated. Her mother died in Auschwitz and her father died in a labor camp. Franka and her sister spent three days in Auschwitz before being moved to a labor camp outside of Bremen, Germany. On April 7, 1945 this camp was closed and the inmates were moved to Bergen-Belsen where they were liberated by the British Army on April 15.
Franka Charlupski was born in Łódź, Poland. After the Germans invaded Poland, Franka and her family were moved into the Łódź Ghetto where they did forced labor. In August1944 the family was deported to Auschwitz. From there Franka and her sister were sent to Bremen and then to Bergen-Belsen where they were liberated. After the war, Franka met and married her second husband and moved to the United States.
An interview with Eva Cigler, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Eva Lipton. Eva Cigler was born in Beregszász, Czechoslovakia in 1926. After the Hungarian annexation of the area, Eva's family, consisting of her mother, father, four sisters and one brother, experienced increasing anti-Semitism from the Hungarians. In 1944, the family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where her mother, father, brother, and one sister were gassed. After some time in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Eva was transported to an unspecified satellite camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. From there she was sent to Bergen-Belsen where she was liberated. After spending some time in a Displaced Persons Camp in Celle, Germany, Eva returned to Beregszász for a brief time. From there she went to Prague and immigrated to the United States.
An interview with Regina Cohen, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Regina Cohen was born in Chust, Czechoslovakia in 1929. She was the fifth child of nine in a middle class Orthodox family. She and her family were sent to the ghetto in Chust and then were deported to Auschwitz in spring 1944. After a few months, she was selected to work in a Siemens factory near Nuremberg. She was then moved to a factory in Nuremberg where the American Army liberated her. Regina went home to Chust to find her only surviving family, one sister and one brother. Regina and her sister moved out of Russian occupied Czechoslovakia into a DP camp in Heidenheim, Germany where they stayed for three years. Regina continued her education in the DP camp and learned English in order to move to Montreal to be a mother's helper for a Jewish family. She met her husband in Windsor and soon moved to Detroit to start her family.
An interview with Barbara Schechter Cohen, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Mrs. Schechter Cohen, born in 1941, is child survivor of the Holocaust. Following the outbreak of the war, Barbara and her mother were separated from her father. Traveling on forged papers, Barbara and her mother went to Austria, where he mother worked. Following the end of the war, the two were placed in a DP camp outside of Stuttgart Germany, where they were reunited with Barbara's father. The family emigrated to the United States in 1946.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Steve Collins was born on October 7, 1918 in Płońsk, Poland--a small town located near Warsaw. Steve recounts life in pre-war Poland and his experiences during the beginning of the Second World War. When the war broke out in 1939, Steve fled to Warsaw and joined the Polish Army to fight the invading German forces. One night during combat, Steve managed to escape back to Płońsk. In Płońsk, Steve was placed in the newly formed ghetto. Steve was then transported to Prussia and from there sent to Auschwitz.
Simon Cymerint grew up in a close-knit family in Starowicea [Starowice], Poland. When the Germans occupied Starowicea [Starowicea], the family was moved into a ghetto and Simon was first sent to work in a local factory and then to work in a forced labor camp. Simon escaped from the labor camp with the help of a Jewish contractor and returned home to Starowicea [Starowice] where he went back to work in the factory. Soon after, the family was sent to Treblinka where his parents and youngest brother perished; Simon and two other brothers were separated and sent to Auschwitz. Simon survived Auschwitz working as a painter on a Monowitz work detail. In April 1945, the camp was evacuated and the prisoners forced on a death march that ended with their liberation by the Americans. After liberation, Simon worked several years with the American army, reunited with his only surviving brother, and immigrated to the United States in 1950.
An interview with Bert Dan, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Kay Roth. Bert Dan was born in Cluj, Romania in 1916. He served as a soldier in the Romanian army at the outbreak of World War II. After the Hungarians occupied Romania, he was arrested and imprisoned for a year; upon his release Bert was drafted into various labor camps and work details throughout Eastern Europe. During a forced march back to Hungary, he escaped with a group of other prisoners and was found by the Russian army. He was freed and eventually returned to Cluj. Bert began to work with Jewish committees helping to locate and assist Hungarian and Romanian Jews returning to their homes from Poland. He eventually set up a committee office in Prague, Czechoslovakia where he was reunited with his fiancée. They married after the end of the war and immigrated to the United States in 1949.
An interview with Clara Dan, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Kay Roth. Clara Dan was born in Tîrgu-Mures, Romania (later Hungary) in 1921. Clara was the youngest of three siblings. In the spring of 1944, Clara, her sister and her parents were rounded up and placed in a makeshift ghetto in Koloszvar, Hungary. After several weeks there, they were shipped to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Clara and her sister survived the selection on the ramp and were reunited in the camp. After some time in Auschwitz, Clara and her sister were sent to work in a bullet factory in Hundsfeld. When the Russians came too close to the area, the sisters were marched to Gross Rosen and then sent to Bergen-Belsen where the British Army liberated them. After the war, Clara and her sister were placed in a DP camp in Celle, Germany where they were reunited with their brother.
Born in a small town in Hungary, Mrs. Denes moved to Budapest in 1940 with her husband. Her husband was taken to labor camps several times between 1940 and the end of the war. When the Germans occupied Budapest in 1944, Mrs. Denes had two small children, Judy and George. Using false papers, she assumed the identity of an unwed mother and was treated as such by the people around her. She was in Budapest when the Soviet army liberated it. Her husband returned soon after the liberation. Again using false papers, the family fled Hungary after the war and eventually settled in Detroit, Michigan in 1955.
Born in Glowaczow, Poland in 1922, Henry Dorfman was one of four children
in a large Orthodox family. Following the German invasion of Poland in September
1939, the Dorfman family continued to live in Glowaczow under an increasing
amount of persecution from the Nazi occupation forces. The family was relocated
to a large ghetto in Kozienice in 1941. While in the ghetto, Henry and his
father were separated from his mother and three siblings and used as laborers
on the estate of a Volksdeutsche (native German) aristocrat. Sometime in the
fall of 1942, the entire Dorfman family was rounded-up and put on a transport
to the Treblinka death camp. Once again, separated from his mother and siblings,
Henry and his father escaped from the train. His mother and siblings died
en route to, or immediately upon arrival at Treblinka. Following their escape,
Henry and his father hid in a barn and were given assistance by one of the
workers employed by the Volksdeutsche aristocrat. Later they served in a partisan
unit until the area was liberated by the Soviet Army in 1944. Henry remained
in Europe for several years following the end of the war, helping his father
establish two businesses in Łódź, Poland and establishing his own in Germany.
He later moved to the United States with his wife, Mala, whom he met in Poland after the war.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Mala Weintraub Dorfman was born in Łódź, Poland in 1923.
When the war broke out in 1939, Mala and three of her five siblings were sent to
live with their grandmother in the Kozienice ghetto. Mala worked as a nurse in
the ghetto until she was deported to Skarzysko where she worked in an
ammunitions factory for two years. She was then deported to Częstochowa where
she was liberated a year later by the Russians. After the war, Mala returned to
Łódź, married, and was soon reunited with her sisters at Bergen-Belsen. Mala
lived with her husband in Germany until their immigration to the United States
in 1949.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Noemi Engel Ebenstein, born in 1941, is a child survivor of the Holocaust. In her interview she retells stories told to her by her mother about how the family survived the Holocaust. Her father was sent to a forced labor camp when Noemi was a baby. In May 1944, Noemi, her brother and mother were deported from Subotica, Yugoslavia to the camps, first to Strasshof labor and then to Moosbierbaum where they were liberated by the Soviet army.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Alexander Ehrmann was born in Kralovsky Chlumec, Czechoslovakia, which became part of Hungary in 1938. His family consisted of himself, his parents, two brothers and three sisters. In 1944 the family was deported to a ghetto and then to Auschwitz where his parents, a sister and her son were killed. After the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto ended, Mr. Ehrmann was transferred from Auschwitz to Warsaw with a labor group to salvage materials from the ghetto. After spending five days in Dachau, he was transferred to Mühldorf, where the inmates were building an underground aircraft factory. When the camp was evacuated, Mr. Ehrmann and other inmates were put on a train and moved back and forth in the unoccupied area until they were liberated by American troops. After the war he was reunited with two sisters and his younger brother.
An interview with Anne Eisenberg a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Charlene Green. Anne Eisenberg was born in Slatinske Doly, in Czechoslovakia. As a child, she and her family moved to Sighet. Following the Hungarian annexation of Sighet, Anne's father and brothers were conscripted by Hungarian authorities and sent away for forced labor. In 1944, Annie, along with her sisters, mother and aunt were placed in the ghetto in Sighet and then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where only her and one sister survived. They were then shipped to the forced labor camp Gelsenkirchen and then to Sömmerda. They were liberated near Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1945. Anne was then placed in a DP camp near Linz, Austria. Following a return to Sighet, she immigrated to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Luba Elbaum, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Arthur Kirsch. Luba Elbaum was born on Jan. 10, 1923 in Lublin, Poland. When the war broke out, she worked with her family for the Germans. While her family was taken to the ghettos in Lublin and Belzyce, Luba worked on a farm for the Germans. In 1941 she was deported to Budzyn to be a housemaid for the Oberscharführer Felix. A year later, Luba was deported to Płaszów for work detail, then to Auschwitz. In 1944, she was transported to Bergen-Belsen where she was selected along with 300 other girls to be deported to Aschersleben to work. Luba was then forced on a six-week death march to Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia where she was liberated on May 8, 1945.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Zyta Eliahu was born in Nadwórna, Poland. Soon after the Germans took over the Sudetenland, Zyta and her parents moved to Podmokly, Czechoslovakia and later to Prague. While in Prague her parents registered Zyta with Nicholas Winton to have her transported to England before the war broke out. She was fostered with a family in Loose, Kent before reuniting with her parents in Israel in 1948.
An interview with Isaac Engel, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Issac Engel was born in Zwolén, Poland ca. 1921. Following the German invasion in 1939, Issac and his family hid from the Germans in the village of Zileonka. Shortly there after, the family was separated and Issac moved between local villages. In 1942, Isaac's family left hiding and went to the town of Ciepielów, where they were rounded-up by the Germans and either killed on the spot or deported to Treblinka. Issac was sent to Skarzysko-Kamienna as a forced laborer for the Hugo Schneider Aktiengesellschaft (HASAG). From Skarzysko-Kamienna, Issac was sent to Gross-Rosen, Nordhausen, Dora and Bergen-Belsen. After liberation, Mr. Engel was placed in the DP Camp at Celle, where he remained until 1949.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Ruth Federman was born Prostějov Czechoslovakia, spending her early years in Prague. Her mother attempted to send her to England on one of the last of Nicholas Winton's trains. Mrs. Federman's train was turned away and of the 250 children on the transport, only Mrs. Federman and one other passenger survived the Holocaust. Mrs. Federman's mother arranged passage to Palestine for her daughter. She arrived alone at the Port of Tel Aviv in December, 1939.
Albert Fein was born in Uzhorod, Czechoslovakia, now Ukraine. Albert and his family lived under Hungarian occupation until they were transported to the Kamenetz-Podolsk ghetto. The Fein family escaped the ghetto by passing as Christians and was sent to Kolomyia where they stayed for the duration of the war.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Sylvia Feld with Nancy Fordonski grew up in a large family of ten children in Zloczew, Poland. Following the Nazi invasion in 1939, Sylvia and Nancy, along with their mother, father and several siblings, fled to the nearby town of Zdunska Wola, where two of her older sisters lived. Following a brief stay there, Sylvia, Nancy and one of their brothers went to stay with their grandmother in Szadek, Poland. 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, Sylvia, Nancy and another sister were sent to the Lodz ghetto and many of her other family members were deported and murdered. Following the liquidation of the ghetto in 1944, they were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. After a brief time, they were shipped to Stutthof and then to Dresden. Following the bombings of that city, Sylvia and Nancy 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.
An interview with Eugene Feldman, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Eugene Feldman was born in the late 1920s in Glinka, Poland. Situated in the Soviet zone of occupation after 1939, Glinka was under Soviet rule until 1941. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Eugene and his family were sent to the nearby ghetto in Stolin. During an Aktion, Eugene, his father, stepmother, and cousin hid from the Germans, escaped from the ghetto and returned to Glinka. They left the village and hid in the countryside, following a band of partisans through White Russia (Belarus). After the war, Eugene went to Łódź, Poland and then on to a DP camp in Freimann, Germany. From there he immigrated to the United States.
Manya was born in Dombrovitsa, Poland in 1923. Her family was orthodox and considerably large, numbering close to 200. Following the outbreak of the war in 1939, the Soviet Union occupied Dombrovitsa. Russian occupation ended however in 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union and Manya's hometown fell into German hands. The Jews in Dombrovitsa immediately felt the effects of German anti-Semitic measures. In August 1942, the Germans liquidated the ghetto in Dombrovitsa and Manya, along with her father, brother and eldest sister escaped into the forest. Her mother and her two sisters remained and they were deported to the nearby town of Sarny where they were murdered. After fleeing the Germans, Manya and her remaining family joined the Kovpak partisan movement. Manya was separated from her father and siblings and spent the remainder of the war hiding in several small villages in the region and serving in different partisan units. Her father and siblings were killed in combat. Following the end of the war, Manya was placed in a DP camp in Berlin. She then emigrated to the United States.
View Video on Youtube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Lily Fenster, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney
Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Lily Fenster
was born in Warsaw Poland in 1926. After the German invasion of Poland, Lily,
along with her mother, father and five sisters, was placed in the Warsaw Ghetto.
After some time, Lily was able to escape from the ghetto, leaving her family behind.
In the ghetto, her four sisters died from hunger and her father disappeared. After
making her way to Łuków Podlaski, Lily was able to work on a farm
and raised enough money to have her mother smuggled from the ghetto. Within six
weeks of the reunion, Lily's mother was deported to Treblinka. Lily, having obtained
a Kennkarte, and hiding among the Gentile population was able to evade capture.
After her mother's deportation, Lily moved into the main city of Łuków
Podlaski, where she obtained work as a nurse, until the Russian liberation. While
in Łuków Podlaski she met her future husband. After the war, Lily,
along with several others, made her way to Łódź and then on to
Germany. She emigrated to the United States in 1951.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Fred Ferber was born in 1930 in Swietchlowice,
Poland in 1930. In 1933, the Ferber family re-located to Chorzow, Poland and
then on to Kraków, Poland ca. 1936. Following the German invasion, the Ferbers
were forced into the Kraków Ghetto located in Podgorze. In 1943, the family
was rounded-up and sent to the Płaszów forced labor camp on the outskirts
of Kraków. While in Płaszów, Fred's father was murdered by the camp's Kommandant,
Amon Goethe. Fred worked in the metal and fabric shops in the camp while his
mother worked in a labor detail. Fred's brother was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau
where he died. Fred was separated from his mother when he was transferred
with a number of other prisoners to the Mauthausen forced labor camp in Austria.
From there, he was transferred to Gusen II and then to Gunskirchen (both sub-camps
of Mauthausen). He was liberated by the American Army in May 1945. Following
liberation and a short stay in a Displaced Persons Camp where he recuperated
from typhus and dysentery, he returned to Poland to find his family. He was
reunited with his mother in Sopot, Poland. After finding his mother and learning
the fate of his brother, he moved around Europe until the late 1940s, when
he immigrated to America. While in America, Fred stayed in an orphanage in
San Francisco while attending school and college.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Miriam Monczyk-Laczkowska Ferber was born in 1942, in Sosnowiec, Poland. In 1942, Miriam and her family were moved to the Srodula ghetto on the outskirts of Sosnowiec. The Nazis murdered Miriam's father in the ghetto. Miriam's mother asked the Laczkowska family, prior neighbor and Polish family to take the infant Miriam in until her mother could retrun and reunite with her. The Laczkowska's smuggled Miriam out of the ghetto, however, Miriam's mother and brother were deported to a death camp and likely, were murdered upon arrival. Miriam spent the remainder of the war in the care of the Laczkowskas. She was portrayed by the family as the illegtimate daughter of the oldest Laczkowska child and raised as a Polish Catholic. Near the end of the war, Mr. Laczkowska was deported to Gusen, a sub-camp of Mauthausen, where he died of typhus. Following the end of the war, Miriam continued her life as a Polish Catholic. While still a teenager, Miriam found out about her Jewish background. As part of a program developed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to bring European Jews to America, Miriam was purposely seperated from her mother and brought to America.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Charlotte Firestone, born in Munkacs, Czechoslovakia, relates her experiences in Czechoslovakia and Poland before, during and after the war. Prior to the birth of her son in August 1942, her husband was taken to the Soviet Union where he was imprisoned and remained throughout the war. Mrs. Firestone and her son moved in with her parents. After the German occupation of Munkacs in 1944, they were rounded up and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where her mother and son were gassed upon arrival. After a short time in Birkenau, Mrs. Firestone and her sister were sent to Stutthof, another concentration camp in Poland, then they were relocated to Praust, a sub-camp. While in Stutthof, Mrs. Firestone was made a Stubälteste and in that capacity, served as a senior inmate in charge of the barrack. After spending six months in Praust, the sisters were evacuated. While on the march west, they managed to escape, evading capture by posing as Hungarian nurses. Later she was reunited with her husband and emigrated to the United States in 1955.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Zivia Fischler was born in Reichenberg, Czechoslovakia in 1933. Following the German annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, her family moved to Prague. Zivia's parents then arranged for her older brother, Baruch to be sent to England on a transport organized by Nicholas Winton. Zivia, unable to travel due to a broken leg, was sent on a later transport, also organized by Winton. Both siblings lived with their aunt and uncle in London before being split up. Baruch was boarded at Gwrych Castle and then moved to London to work. He joined the British Army after the war. Zivia was sent to stay at several different schools and family members for the duration of the war. After the war the siblings moved to Palestine to be with their parents who both had survived the war.
Joshua Fishman was born in 1921 in Dubrovytsia (Dombrowitza), Poland. Following the outbreak of war in September 1939, Dubrovytsia was turned into a ghetto and Joshua and his family were placed on a transport to the camps but escaped and hid in the forest. Most of his family was killed while in hiding but Joshua and his mother survived by following a group of partisans. Towards the end of the war Joshua was drafted into the Russian army, which he deserted twice. He was arrested for desertion and served time in a Russian prison. When the war ended, he and his mother moved to the United States.
Hannah Fisk was born on June 5, 1924 in Częstochowa, Poland where she lived with her father and stepmother. In July 1939, Hannah traveled to Oświęcim to attend her sisters wedding. Afterwards, she stayed the rest of the summer in nearby Chorzów with her other sister. In September, Hannah was supposed to leave for home but the German invasion forced her to stay in Chorzów. Chorzów was made Judenrein and Hannah and her sister were sent to the Sosnowiec ghetto. From there, she was sent to Gabersdorf, a female labor camp, where she stayed for the duration of the war. After the camp was liberated by the Russian Army, Hannah was moved to Waldenburg where she met her future husband. The pair settled in Stoffen, Germany and had their first son before moving to the United States to be with her two surviving brothers.
Benjamin Fisk was born in Sosnowiec, Poland. Following the German occupation, Fisk worked in a German factory as a carpenter until he was taken to the Srodula ghetto. When the ghetto was liquidated he was sent to work as a carpenter in several camps including Sachenhoym, Bismarckshütte, Blechhammer, and Buna-Monowitz. After being injured, Fisk was taken to Auschwitz, where he was liberated by the Russians. He returned to Sosnowiec where he met and married his wife before settling in Stoffen. A few years later, Fisk and his family moved to the United States.
tte, Blechhammer, and Buna-Monowitz. After being injured, Fisk was taken to Auschwitz, where he was liberated by the Russians. He returned to Sosnowiec where he met and married his wife before settling in Stoffen. A few years later, Fisk and his family moved to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
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.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Hilma Geffen was born in Berlin in 1925 and was an only child. Her father served in the German Army during World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross. In 1931 the family moved to Rangsdorf, a suburb of Berlin, where they were the only Jewish family in town. Her father, an accountant, continued to commute to Berlin for work. A couple of nights after Kristallnacht in 1938, SA men came to the house and smashed the furniture. In 1939 the family moved back to Berlin because Jews could no longer own property. As Hilma was returning home after work in October 1941, her mother told her to run away because people were there to pick them up. Using false papers, Hilma went underground, living with a German couple who knew only that she was Jewish. She remained "hidden" with them until the end of the war, then moved to Miami Beach where she had relatives. Her parents were deported to Auschwitz and did not survive the war.
View Video on YouTube
Tola Gilbert was born in Sosnowiec, Poland. After the Germans invaded the city, Tola and her family were put into the Sosnowiec ghetto. From there, she and her sisters were sent to Olber Alstadt and Parschnitz to do forced labor. When the Russians liberated the camp, Tola was moved to a displaced persons camp before finally moving to the United States where she met her future husband.
An interview with Vera Gissing, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Vera Gissing was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1928. She lived in Celakovice, outside of Prague, with her mother, father, and sister, Eva. After the Germans invaded their town, Vera's mother contacted Nicholas Winton about having the girls sent to England. Vera and her sister left Czechoslovakia in July 1939 and were put into foster care with two separate families. Vera stayed with the Rainfords, a poor Christian family, before enrolling in a Czech refugee school in England where she spent the duration of the war. After the war, Vera went back to Prague to study and became a literary translator but eventually moved back to England. While being interviewed by the Welsh BBC, Vera revealed her diaries that she kept of her experience during the war and decided to translate and publish the entries in the book Pearls of Childhood.
Simon Goldman was born in Łódź, Poland. He had three brothers and one sister. His father owned a moving business while his mother stayed at home. Shortly after the German occupation of Łódź, his mother passed away and his father moved the family to a small town near Czestochowa, Poland. There the family moved into a relative's house. Simon and his brother worked in a bakery. Simon passed himself off as a Polish orphan to obtain work at a farm where he stayed incognito for the duration of the war in 1942. After the war he went back to Łódź looking for his brother and other family in 1945. After getting into trouble by the police for being involved with the black market in Łódź, Simon decided to go to Linz, Austria to find his other cousin. After being detained for not having papers he made it to Linz on Yom Kippur day and found his cousin at the DP Camp. He eventually became arrested by the CIA for being involved in another black market in the DP Camp but was released after thirty days. After that he registered with the U.S. Committee to move to America. Simon was sent to New York in December 1946 and then the Jewish Health System eventually set him up with a family in Detroit.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Erna Blitzer Gorman relates her experiences as a child when she and her family were in Poland at the time of the Nazi invasion and were unable to return to their home in France. After living in various ghettos, they escaped and were hidden for more than two years in a barn by a Ukrainian farmer until the area was liberated by Russian soldiers.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An audio-taped interview with Erna Gorman, a Holocaust survivor, conducted in 1984. Erna was born in France in 1935. When the war broke out in 1939, her family was attending a wedding in Wisnice, Poland and since her father was a Polish citizen, they were unable to return to France. At some point, Erna's family (mother, father and sister), left Wisnice and moved to her maternal grandparents' home in Monastyriska, Ukraine. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Erna's family was placed in a ghetto but were able to escape to a nearby farm. For two years they hid in a Ukrainian farmer's barn and aided by the farmer, survived in hiding until they were liberated by the Red Army in 1944. Erna's mother however, was wounded during an air raid and died soon after. Erna, her sister, and her father passed through a series of DP camps and immigrated to the United States in 1953.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Rose Green was born in Ložín, Czechoslovakia. When the war began, Rose and her husband moved to a state farm to work. They were separated, however, when Rose was deported to Sered. Rose discovered she was pregnant after being sent to Auschwitz but managed to hide her pregnancy and was sent to two other labor camps before being liberated. She gave birth to a son soon after the war and was reunited with her husband before moving to the United States.
An interview with Anna Greenberger, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Kay Roth. Anna Greenberger was born in Koromla, Czechoslovakia in 1924, and moved to Sobrance, Czechoslovakia soon after. During the Hungarian occupation, her father was taken to a labor camp in Russia and her fiancé was forced to serve in the Hungarian Army. After the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, Anna, her mother and her four sisters were forced into the Uzhgorod ghetto. Two months later they were transferred to Auschwitz where they stayed until August. Then Anna and her family were transferred to Lübberstedt, a forced labor camp, where they manufactured ammunition. After liberation by the British while on a death march, Anna spent time in a typhoid hospital in Neustadt before returning to Sobrance with her family. In Sobrance she was reunited with her fiancé, married him and started a family before moving to Israel. From Israel, her family moved to Rome and to Paraguay before settling in the United States in 1955.
Lola Greenspan was born in Myszków, Poland, where she lived with her parents and siblings until the start of the war. In 1940, she was taken to the transit camp in Sosnowiec for two months before being transported to Gabersdorf, a work camp in Czechoslovakia. She remained there as a worker until the Russian Army liberated the camp in August 1945. After the war, Lola moved back to Poland with her remaining sister, where she met her future husband. Soon after, Lola and her husband moved to Israel before moving to the United States in 1961.
An interview with Emerich Grinbaum, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Mr. Grinbaum was born in Munkacs, Czechoslovakia in 1930. After the Hungarian annexation of Munkacs in 1938, Emerich, along with his father, mother and brother experienced increased anti-Semitism under the Hungarians. In 1944, Germany invaded Hungary and the Grinbaum family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Emerich's mother was gassed upon arrival and after less than a week in Birkenau, Emerich, his father and brother were shipped to a labor camp just outside of Warsaw, Poland. In August, 1944, the three were sent to Dachau. In Dachau, Emerich's father became ill and was sent to the camp hospital. During this period, Emerich and his brother were sent to one of Dachau's satellite camps, Allach. In Allach, Emerich worked on several labor Kommandos, including the BMW factory and as a potato peeler in the camp kitchen. While in Allach, Mr. Grinbaum's father was reunited with him and his brother and placed in a block for elderly people. In April 1945, the three were placed aboard and train and shipped to an unknown destination. While en route, the Germans abandoned the train and the three walked to a nearby village where they were liberated by the American Army. After liberation, they returned to Munkacs, now under Soviet rule as part of the Ukraine. Mr. Grinbaum studied medicine under the Soviets. He emigrated to the United States in the 1960s.
Joseph Gringlas was born in Ostrowiec, Poland. Following the German invasion, Mr. Gringlas was seperated from his family and transported to a forced-labor camp in Blizyn, Poland. After approximately one year, he was transferred first to Auschwitz-Birkenau and the to the sub-camp, Monowitz, where he was reunited with his brother. In 1945, the camp was liquidated and Mr. Gringlas was sent on a forced-march to Gleiwitz and then on to Dora-Nordhausen, where he and his brother were liberated. After the war, Mr. Gringlas spent several years in Landsberg, Germany, immigrating to the United States in 1951.
An audio-taped interview with Jack Gun. Jack Gun was born in Rozhishche, Poland, where he lived with his father, mother and older brother and sister. Rozhishche was later annexed into the Ukraine by the Soviets at the outbreak of the war in September 1939. With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Gun family was forced to move into a make-shift ghetto in the city where they were used as forced laborers. In August of 1942, the ghetto was liquidated by the Germans and Jack's father, mother and sister were killed. Jack and his brother managed to flee and received help from their father's non-Jewish friend. Upon this man's urging, Jack and his brother hid first in the woods and then in a bunker they dug in a field. After several near-misses with the occupation authorities, the two were hidden in a non-Jewish Ukrainian household where they remained until the Russians liberated the Ukraine in 1944.
Jack Gun was born in Rozhishche, Poland, where he lived with his father, mother and older brother and sister. Rozhishche was later annexed into the Ukraine by the Soviets at the outbreak of the war in September 1939. With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Gun family was forced to move into a make-shift ghetto in the city where they were used as forced laborers. In August of 1942, the ghetto was liquidated by the Germans and Jack's father, mother and sister were killed. Jack and his brother managed to flee and received help from their father's non-Jewish friend. Upon this man's urging, Jack and his brother hid first in the woods and then in a bunker they dug in a field. After several near-misses with the occupation authorities, the two were hidden in a non-Jewish Ukrainian household where they remained until the Russians liberated the Ukraine in 1944.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Mr. Hasenberg was born in Germany and relates his experiences growing up under the Nazi regime until his family moved to Amsterdam, Holland in 1937. In June of 1943 the family was deported to Westerbork, a transit camp, and then to Bergen-Belsen in Feb. 1944. The family managed to be included in an exchange transport in January 1945 using Ecuadorian papers made available by a family friend in Sweden. During the transport, Mr. Hasenberg's father died. After arriving in Switzerland, the rest of the family were released and briefly separated until they were reunited in New York in 1946.
An interview with Bernard Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by
Charlene Green.Bernard Hirsch was born in Petrovce, Slovakia in 1920 and lived there with his parents, two brothers and five sisters. At the beginning of World War II, Bernard was drafted into the Slovakian Army as a laborer. In 1942, just before the Jews in the Slovakian Army were going to be sent to Auschwitz, a Gentile officer warned Bernard and arranged for him to be discharged from the army and sent home. Arriving home in Petrovce, Bernard enlisted the help of a Gentile neighbor to keep him hidden. He stayed in the woods with other Jews and Partisans until the Russians liberated Slovakia in January 1945. After liberation, Bernard moved to Košice where he met his future wife. Together they moved to the United States in 1949.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Anne Hirschle was born in Breslau, Germany in 1926. After Hitler came to power, her father moved the family to London, where she grew up. She met and married her husband after the war. Anne moved to the United States in 1949.
An interview with Abraham Holcman, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Larry Berg. Abraham Holcman was born in 1925 in Łódź Poland. After the Nazi invasion, his family was moved into the Łódź ghetto where his father died of starvation. Abraham worked in a factory until 1944 when the family was deported to Auschwitz. Several weeks later, Abraham and his mother were sent to Görlitz where they were liberated in 1945. Abraham spent some time in a DP camp in Frankfurt and reunited with his sister in Sweden. In 1953, he immigrated to the United States.
Sally Horwitz was born in 1927 in Zwolen, Poland. During the Nazi invasion of Poland, Sally and her family fled to a nearby woods and village to escape the bombing of the town. The family then returned to Zwolen, where Sally and her siblings regularly hid from the German's occupying the city and the regular round-ups and executions they carried out. Sally and her sister were eventually picked by the Germans to work on a nearby farm and from there they were deported to the slave labor camp, Skarzyso-Kamienna. As the Red Army closed in on the camp, Sally was sent to Czenstochow, where she was liberated by the Russians in 1945.
An interview with Esther Feldman Icikson, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Mrs. Feldman Icikson was born in Chelm, Poland ca, 1935. After the German invasion in 1939, the family was sent to several different cities in the Ukraine and White Russia, including Opalin, Lebivne and Giesen. At this time, her father and uncle were arrested by the authorities and shipped to a prison in Asino in Siberia. Esther, along with her mother and two sisters, was sent farther east to Sibiryak. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 her father and uncle were released under a general amnesty. The family was reunited in Asino, after Esther's mother took the family back to Asino via a home-built raft. At the end of 1942, the family was resettled in Kyrgyzstan, where they remined until they end of the war in 1945. Following the end of the war, the family returned to Chelm and then moved on to a DP camp in Ulm, Germany. From there they made there way to Israel, where they lived in Lut. Esther emigrated to the United States in 1958.
An interview with Lanka Ilkow, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Lanka Ilkow was born in Novoseliza, Czechoslovakia (Ukraine) in 1920. Following the Hungarian annexation of parts of Slovakia, she and her family lived under Hungarian rule. In 1944, the family was shipped to a ghetto in Ungvar. From there they were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau where her father was gassed upon arrival. While in Auschwitz, Lanka's mother was later "selected" for extermination and Lanka and her sister were sent to the forced labor camp Hundsfeld, near Breslau. From there they were shipped to Gross Rosen, Mauthausen and finally, Bergen-Belsen, where the British army liberated them.
Helen Jutkevicz was born in Łódź, Poland to a family of eight. When the war broke out, she and her family were forced to move into the Łódź Ghetto. While living the in the ghetto, Helen's father and one of her brothers died. Helen worked at a straw factory until she and the rest of her family were transported to Auschwitz. Upon arrival at Auschwitz she and her sister were separated from their mother and sent to Bremen to work. After Bremen, the two sisters were transported to Bergen-Belsen where Helen contracted typhus. Upon liberation, the sisters traveled from Bergen-Belsen to Gauting to find their brother who had survived the war but had tuberculosis. Helen stayed in the Feldafing DP Camp where she met her husband and eventually moved to Detroit.
Born in 1928, in Gheorgheni, Romania, David Kahan was part of a large extended family, consisting of his mother, father, several siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. In April 1944, the Germans invaded Hungary and immediately began the full-scale persecution of Hungarian Jewry. The Kahan family was detained by Hungarian Gendarmerie and placed in a school room for several days. After their initial detainment, the family was shipped to an ad hoc ghetto in Szaszregen. The family remained incarcerated in a brick factory in Szaszregen for approximately four weeks and were then shipped to Auschwitz. Upon arrival in Auschwitz, David was separated from his family, who were gassed and David was shaved, deloused and held for future use on work details. Of the camp itself, David remembers very few details. After approximately four weeks, David was shipped to the Müldorf labor camp in Southern Germany. While there, David worked for Organization Todt, clearing trees for the construction of an underground airplane factory. David contacted typhus after he was liberated and was hospitalized in the DP Camp at Feldafing. Following his recovery, David showed no desire to return to Romania and made his way to the United States, arriving in New York in May 1949. From New York, David moved to Minneapolis and eventually made his way to Detroit in ca. 1950. He married in 1953 and had three sons. An earlier audio interview is also available: OCLC# 49392609.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Born in 1928, in Gheorgheni, Romania, David Kahan was part of a large extended family, consisting of his mother, father, several siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. In April 1944, the Germans invaded Hungary and immediately began the full-scale persecution of Hungarian Jewry. The Kahan family was detained by Hungarian Gendarmerie and placed in a school room for several days. After their initial detainment, the family was shipped to an ad hoc ghetto in Szaszregen. The family remained incarcerated in a brick factory in Szaszregen for approximately four weeks and were then shipped to Auschwitz. Upon arrival in Auschwitz, David was separated from his family, who were gassed and David was shaved, deloused and held for future use on work details. Of the camp itself, David remembers very few details. After approximately four weeks, David was shipped to the Müldorf labor camp in Southern Germany. While there, David worked for Organization Todt, clearing trees for the construction of an underground airplane factory. David contacted typhus after he was liberated and was hospitalized in the DP Camp at Feldafing. Following his recovery, David showed no desire to return to Romania and made his way to the United States, arriving in New York in May 1949. From New York, David moved to Minneapolis and eventually made his way to Detroit in ca. 1950. He married in 1953 and had three sons.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Lisa Kallai was born in Vienna, Austria. After the Germans invaded Vienna, she was sent to live with her grandparents in Habry, Czechoslovakia. Originally she had been registered to the Kindertransport out of Vienna but was transferred to the Winton transport out of Prague. While in England, Lisa attended a refugee school in Haslemere before attending university in London. She was reunited with her parents in 1946. From there, Lisa married and moved to Israel.
An interview with Simon Kalmas, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Arthur Kirsch. Simon Kalmas was born in Drobin, Poland in 1915. As a boy he learned the trade of tinsmithing. After the German invasion of Poland, Simon and the men of his town were taken and held in another city for five days before being returned home and told to move into the Drobin ghetto; later moving to the Neustadt Oberschlesien ghetto. Simon had the chance to escape to Russia but chose to stay with his family in Poland. The family remained together until 1942 when they were deported to Auschwitz. Simon was chosen for work in the coal mines of IG Farben Industry before being selected for his tinsmithing skills to repair the roofs of bombarded barracks from 1944 until 1945. After that, Simon was forced to march to Gleiwitz in a snowstorm to catch a transport train to Buchenwald where he was liberated. Simon moved to Nashville, Tennessee in April 1949 but moved permanently to Detroit in January 1950 because of the racism he saw happening against African Americans in the South.
Alexander Karp was born in Nyirmada, Hungary and grew up in Kisvarda, Hungary. When the Germans invaded Hungary, Alexander and his family were forced into the Kisvarda ghetto. After two months in the ghetto, he was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and then to a camp in France to do forced labor. From there he was moved to Kochendorf and then Dachau. Alexander was liberated in Mittenwald while on a death march from Dachau. After liberation Alexander returned to Hungary before moving to Canada and then to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Alexander Karp was born in Nyírmada, Hungary. The family then moved to Kisv&accute;rda. By 1944, Alexander and his family were living in Baktalórántháza. After the German occupation, they were forced into the Kisv&accute;rda ghetto. After two months in the ghetto, he was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and then to a camp in France to do forced labor. From there he was moved to Kochendorf and then Dachau. Alexander was liberated in Mittenwald while on a death march from Dachau. After liberation Alexander returned to Hungary before moving to Canada and then to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Salvatore Katan was born in Salonika, Greece and his wife, Lili, was born in Munkacs, Czechoslovakia but was raised near Budapest, Hungary. Both were taken from their respective homes to Auschwitz after the start of the war. After liberation, Salvatore and Lili met at a displaced persons camp. Salvatore then followed Lili back to Budapest where they were married before settling in Italy. They moved to the United States after the birth of their twin boys
An interview with Louis Kaye, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Arthur Kirsch. Louis Kaye was born in Wloszczowa, Poland in 1925. When the war broke out, Louis and his family were moved into a ghetto where they lived until his parents and most of siblings were sent to Treblinka while Louis and two of his brothers were sent to Skarzysko. Louis worked in an ammunitions factory for two years until he was sent to Czestochowa, Buchenwald, and finally Dora-Nordhausen where he was liberated April 11, 1945. Several years after liberation, Louis immigrated to the United States and in 1969, built a monument in the United States to memorialize his family and his birth city.
Fred Kendal was born on May 25, 1931 in Berezne, Ukraine. After the Germans invaded the area, he and his family were put in the ghetto and then sent to a work camp. While at the work camp they escaped into the forest to hide. The family hid in the woods for the duration of the war and eventually joined up with a group of Russian partisans. After liberation the family lived in several displaced persons camps in Austria and Italy. Fred and his family eventually moved to the United States.
Ruth Kent was born in Łódź, Poland in 1930. Following the German invasion of Poland, Ruth and her family (her mother, three brothers and two cousins) were forced to move into the Łódź' ghetto.Her family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944 where her motherand youngest brother perished. Ruth and her cousin were then sent to Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig, Poland. Ruth now lives in the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Ruth Kent was born in Łódź, Poland and lived with her family in the
Łódź ghetto until it was liquidated in 1944. The family was then sent
to Auschwitz where they were separated and some family members were immediately
put to death. Ruth and a sister were sent to Stutthof, a labor camp, where
they were later separated. Ruth survived a forced march as the Germans evacuated
the camps in the face of the advancing Russian army. She was liberated by
the Russians and was reunited with two brothers after the war.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Ilya Martha Kessler was born in Dobrony, Czechoslovakia in 1930. At the beginning of the war, Ilya was sent to Koŝice where she lived with her aunt until the German occupation of her town. When she returned home, Ilya and her family were first taken to a ghetto and then sent to Auschwitz. Ilya was immediately separated from her family who perished in the death camp. Soon after, she was sent to the work camp Freudenthal where she was liberated by the Russians. Ilya returned home and lived in an orphanage until she immigrated to Israel. In 1957, Ilya and her second husband immigrated to the United States.
Joseph Klaiman was born May 20, 1925 in Łódź, Poland. A month after the Germans invaded Poland, Joseph and his father escaped to Russia but returned to Łódź to bring his mother and two brothers back with them. Before they could escape, they were moved into the Łódź ghetto where both his parents died. In the ghetto, Joseph worked in a factory. In 1941, the Gestapo took away his two brothers and Joseph was transported to Auschwitz. From Auschwitz he was sent to several camps including Gleiwitz I, Buchenwald, Holzen and Blechammer. Just before the war ended, Joseph escaped from a train transport and hid alone in the forest for eight days he was liberated by British soldiers. Joseph stayed in the Buchenwald DP camp where he met his future wife and moved to Detroit in 1949.
The Klein brothers were born in Humenné, a town in eastern Slovakia.
The immediate family of the brothers included their parents and a younger
sister. The Germans occupied the area in 1939 and started to deport the Jews
in 1941. The Klein family was not deported until 1944 because Mr. Klein was
an important farming advisor. The family was sent to Auschwitz without Bernard,
who had become separated. Mrs. Klein and her daughter were immediately gassed
upon arrival at the camp. Bernard was reunited with his brother and father
at Auschwitz a month later. The three were sent to Gleiwitz where Emery and
his father worked in a factory while Bernard worked in the concentration camp
kitchen. In 1945, as the Russian army advanced into the area, the camp was
evacuated to Blechhammer, another camp in the vicinity. The German guards
fled the camp, leaving the prisoners. A few days later, the brothers, their
father and several others began walking back to Humenné. The Klein
family moved to Israel, Montreal and eventually to Detroit.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project-Bernard Klein
Link to Portraits of Honor Project-Emery Klein
Pauline Kleinberg was born in Pilica, Poland. As a child she went to school and helped her parents run their dry goods store. After the war began, Pauline and her sister were forced to go to the Żarki ghetto where she contracted dysentery. After recovering, she and her sister escaped but were captured and taken to the Sosnowiec ghetto and from there to several labor camps. Pauline's sister died during a death march and Pauline was rescued by the Red Cross. She moved to the Fohrenwald DP camp where she was reunited with a younger sister. Pauline's family moved to the United States in 1950.
An interview with Mr. Martin Koby, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Martin Koby was born in Rovno, Poland in 1930. During the 1930s, Mr. Koby along with his mother, father and brother moved to the neighboring village of Giuszwica. During the pre-war period, Martin and his family experienced several incidents of anti-Semitism, especially during Christian holidays. In 1939, the Soviet Union annexed Eastern Poland as part of a secret agreement contained in the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact and Giuszwica came under Soviet control. Under Soviet rule, Martin and his family lived a relatively normal life. In Summer 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union and Giuszwica came under German control. Under German rule, anti-Semitism increased among the local population and Martin's father was abducted and beaten by members of the Ukrainian Liberation Army (UPA). Martin's father was released and due to the influence of a wealthy Polish landowner, the family was sent to work on an estate, rather than sent to the newly established Jewish Ghetto in Rovno. In September 1942, Martin's family, hearing news of the liquidation of the Rovno Ghetto, went into hiding. Between 1942 and 1944, the family hid in six different locations in and around Giuszwica, usually with the knowledge and complicity of the local population. In February 1944, the Soviets liberated the area and the family moved to Rovno. In late 1945, they were allowed by the Soviet government to relocate to Poland and moved to Bytom, near Katowice. Sometime in 1946 or 1947, the family traveled to a Displaced Persons Camp (The Sedan Kaserne) in Ulm, Germany. From there they made their way to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Henry Konstam, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Born in Łódź, Poland, Henry Konstam and his five siblings were deported to the Łódź ghetto in 1940. In the ghetto, Henry volunteered to go to a labor camp in Gronow where he remained for two and a half years until he was sent to a labor camp in Posen. From Posen, Henry was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later to Jaworzno. In the last days of the war, Henry survived a march from Jaworzno to Dachau before escaping into the surrounding woods. After crawling to a nearby farm for food, he was captured and imprisoned in a German jail until the end of the war that occurred a few days later. Henry was reunited, after the war, with his only surviving family members, his brother and sister.
George Korper was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1925. After the Germans annexed the Sudetenland, George was sent on a Winton transport to live in England. There he stayed with a family for six weeks before going to live at a hostel for Jewish refugees. After the war, George remained in England to attend college and to get married. He then moved to Trieste, Italy to run a Stock distillery, like his father had before the war, before finally settling in Canada.
Maximilian Kowler was born in Vienna, Austria. After the Anschluß, Max and his father escaped to Venice. Once his mother joined them in Italy, the family snuck over the Italian border into France and settled in Lyon as refugees. Max was involved with the French Boy Scouts until he joined the French Army. After a bicycle accident that left him hospitalized, Max and his parents went to Switzerland where they were placed in a refugee camp. After the war, Max moved back to France where he met and married his wife before moving his family to the United States.
Edith Kozlowski was born in 1922 in Radom, Poland. Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Edith and her family were placed in the largest of the two ghettos in Radom. In the ghetto, Edith worked in the AVL factory, sewing German uniforms. In 1943, Edith and her sisters were sent to Blizyn, where Edith worked sorting clothes. In the summer of 1944, the sisters were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. In December 1944, Edith was sent to Bergen-Belsen where she was liberated in April, 1945.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Marvin Kozlowski, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Marvin Kozlowski was born in Radom, Poland in 1920. Following the German invasion of Poland, Mr. Kozlowski and his family were placed in the Radom Ghetto, where Mr. Kozlowski worked as a forced laborer for Daimler-Benz. While in the ghetto, Mr. Kozlowski's mother and three siblings were deported to the Treblinka death camp. Following the liquidation of the ghetto in 1944, Mr. Kozlowski, along with his father, were marched to Tomaszów where they were put on a train and shipped to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Upon arrival there, they were immediately sent to an unidentified labor camp in Western Germany. After a brief time, they were sent to Unterriexingen, a labor sub-kommando of Natzweiler Concentration Camp. After one month, the camp was liquidated and Marvin and his father were liberated near Osterburken, Germany, while en-route to an unknown destination.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Henry Krystal was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1925. Shortly after the Nazi invasion, Henry's brother and then father escaped to the Soviet occupied zone of Poland while Henry and his mother lived in Bodzentyn, Poland. In 1942 Henry was sent to a labor camp and his mother sent to Treblinka where she died. From 1942 until the end of the war, Henry was a member of a labor Kommando sent from place to place, including Starachowice, Bobrek, Birkenau, Siemensstadt and Sachsenhausen. He worked in a factory operated by the Siemens company. At the end of the war he was in the city of Schwerin, in the British occupied zone of Germany. In 1947 Henry immigrated to Detroit, Michigan where he lived with an aunt and uncle, went to school and became a psychiatrist.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Stefa Kupfer was ten years old and living in Sanok, Poland when the war started. Her father was killed in the early days of the occupation. Stefa, her mother and young sister went into hiding instead of registering with the occupational government. Mrs. Orlewska, a Polish woman, played a significant role in their survival by hiding them in her house. They were also aided by other Poles, some of whom knew they were Jews.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Helen Lang, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Helen Lang was born in Munkacs, Czechoslovakia. Following the Hungarian annexation of the area, Helen went to work in Budapest to help support her family. While visiting her family during Pesach in 1944, the Germans came into the city and shipped Helen and her family to Auschwitz-Birkenau. After a month in Birkenau, Helen and her sister were transferred to Stutthof, where Helen was made a Blockältester. Helen and her sister were then shipped to Praust, a brand new camp, where she was a maid for the SS guards, and secured her sister as a Blockältester as well. When the Russians neared Praust the camp was evacuated and Helen, her sister, and a friend escaped the march,posing as Hungarian Gentiles. They met a group of SS doctors who took them to Denmark to stay for the duration of the war. After the war, Helen stayed in the Lübeck DP camp in Germany and moved to Prague to reunite with her family.
Alfred Lessing recalls his experiences living with other families as a hidden child in the Netherlands during the war. He talks about the last year of the war when he was reunited and lived with his father and brothers.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Born in Paris, France in 1937, Rene is the only son of Polish immigrants who arrived in France in the 1930s. Rene's father joined the French Army shortly before the outbreak of World War Two. After the German invasion of the Benelux countries in May 1940, his father was killed in action just outside of Paris in Compiégne. After the fall of France, Rene's mother sent to him to stay with a family in the countryside and it was there that he was kept hidden from the Germans for the remainder of the war and his mother went into hiding in Paris in 1942. Although Rene and his mother survived the war, most of his maternal and paternal family members in Poland were murdered by the Germans. In 1950, Rene's mother married an American Orthodox Jew and the two moved from France to Williamsburg, New York. An audio interview from 1992 is also available: OCLC# 45257583.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Leo Liffman was born and raised in Wiesbaden, Germany. He relates his experiences with anti-Semitism as a child and young adult during the closing years of the Weimar Republic and the early Hitler years. He was arrested during Kristallnacht and imprisoned for several weeks at Buchenwald concentration camp. He left Germany in 1939, leaving his parents behind, and was the only member of his family to survive the war.
Watch Video on YouTube
Edward Linson was born in May, 1919 in Warsaw, Poland. He was the second youngest of eight children and was studying medicine before the war. At the start of the war, Edward worked in the Skoda Factory for the Germans before being taken to Poniatowa and later Majdanek. When he was transferred to Auschwitz, Edward worked in Chemical Kommando 98 at Buna-Monowitz. From Buna-Monowitz, he was taken to several concentration camps before being liberated by the Russians. Edward met and married his wife in Germany and immigrated to America.
Esfir Lupyan was born in Minsk, Belorussia in 1936. Prior to the war, her father was proclaimed a dissident and was sent northward while her mother was left to take care of Esfir and her brother Gresha. After the Germans occupied Minsk, the family was sent to the ghetto where they lived for two years. Gresha joined the partisans, was captured by the Germans, and sent to a death camp. Escaping the liquidation of the ghetto, Esfir and her mother allied themselves with a group of partisans living in a nearby forest until they were liberated in 1945. Shortly thereafter, they were reunited with her father. Esfir continued to live in Minsk until 1988 when she immigrated to the United States with her own children.
Freda Magnus was born in March 1917 in Łódź, Poland. When the war began, Freda, along with her family, was sent to Krakow, Poland. After a short time, they were able to return to Łódź, living in the ghetto, where her mother perished. Freda and the rest of her family were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and from there she was sent to work in Ravensbrück and Mülhausen. She was liberated in Bergen-Belsen and was sent to Sweden to recover from tuberculosis. Freda lived in Sweden for ten years with her family before moving to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Born in Poland, Helena was one of eight children, all of whom were adults at the beginning of the war. After the German invasion in 1939, the family separated and Helen, along with several siblings and their father went to Lwów, which was under Soviet control at the time. In June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union and occupied Lwów. Helena's father and brothers were sent to Belzec, where they died in the gas chambers. Helena and her husband were moved to Lesko and then on to Zamosc. Because Helena's husband was a doctor, the Germans sent them to a labor camp in Rokitna. They eventually escaped and made their way to Kraków, where they remained in hiding until the end of the war.
View Video on YouTube
An interview with John Mandel, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Charlene Green. John Mandel was born in 1927? in Munkacs, Czechoslovakia. After the Hungarian annexation of the area in 1938, John and his family suffered increasing persecution in the Hungarian regime. The family was deported to Birkenau in May 1944. John's mother, sister and two younger brothers were gassed upon arrival and John was separated from his father and another brother when he was transferred to Auschwitz I. After about seven months in Auschwitz I, John was transferred to Mauthausen then to Melk and finally to Ebensee (both sub-camps of Mauthausen), where he was liberated by the American Army in spring, 1945. After liberation, John went to the Displaced Persons Camp at Gabersee and in 1946, he emigrated to the United States.
Herman Marczak was born in Złoczew, Poland on January 25, 1920, but lived for most of his childhood in Zduńska Wola with his family. At the start of the war, Herman and his family were forced into the Zduńska Wola ghetto, where he worked at a shoe factory for a German to earn money. In 1942, Hermann's family was sent to Chelmno and he was transferred to the Łódż ghetto. From there he was sent to various labor camps including Skarżysko-Kammiena where he worked manufacturing ammunition for the Germans. After being liberated from a military base outside of Bergen-Belsen on April 25, 1945, Herman stayed in the Bergen-Belsen DP camp. He obtained a letter from a doctor in the DP camp allowing him to move to Sweden where he met his wife and had a daughter. They moved to the United States in 1957.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Simon Maroko, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Dr. Simon Maroko was born in Tarnów, Poland in 1923. Shortly after his birth, Dr. Maroko's family relocated to Bratislava, Czechoslovakia and then to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In 1943, Simon's parents were deported to Westerbork and most likely from there to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Following the deportation, Dr. Maroko went into hiding on a farm outside of Amsterdam. He was liberated in May 1945. He immigrated to Israel where he served in the Israeli Army. Following that, he immigrated to the United States.
Hugo Marom was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia to a family of five. When the war broke out, his parents contacted the Kindertransport and Nicholas Winton and arranged for Hugo and his brother to escape to England. Upon arriving in London, Hugo and his brother failed to be picked up by their foster family and instead found shelter in a refugee school. During the German bombings of London in 1940, the two brothers were sent to Bedford to live with the rest of the English evacuees. When the war was over, Hugo returned to Czechoslovakia and attended university in Brno. He then moved to Israel where he fought in the 1948 War of Independence.
An interview with Lucy Glaser Merritt, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Lucy Glaser Merritt was born in Vienna, Austria in 1920. Following the German annexation (Anschluss) of Austria in 1938, Lucy and her family experienced increased persecution by both Austrian and German National Socialists. After Lucy's father was arrested and released on Kristallnacht (1938), the family decided to leave Austria. Lucy left Austria to work as a nurse in England. Once there, she was able to secure the passage of her family from Austria to England. From England, they immigrated to the United States.
A joint project between Portraits of Honor: Our Michigan Holocaust Survivors, the Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families, and the Voice/Vision Archive.
Ben Moche was born in Yas (Iasi), Romania in 1940. Although young, Ben remembers facing several incidents of anti-Semitism like being forced to wear a yellow Jewish star. In 1944, Ben's family left Romania (and all of their possessions) traveling to Hungary. After the war they moved to Austria and then to Germany. In 1947 they settled in the town of Ramle near Tel Aviv. Ben immigrated to America in 1967, settling in Michigan where he married and started a family.
View Video on YouTube
An interview with Paul Molnar, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Paul Molnar was born in 1929 in Rákospalota, a suburb of Budapest, Hungary. Following the outbreak of the war, Paul and his family came under increasing persecution by the pro-German Hungarian government. In 1944, his father was sent to a labor camp and in July Paul, along with his mother, brother and grandmother, were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. After arrival, Paul's mother, brother and grandmother were gassed. After a brief time in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Paul was sent to Buchenwald and then to Magdeburg where he worked at a factory run by I.G. Farben. He then returned briefly to Buchenwald and then was sent to another camp, Berga. In April 1945, Paul was evacuated from Berga and while marching to an unknown destination, he escaped and was liberated. Paul later immigrated to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Abraham Mondry was born in Mlawa, Poland and with the outbreak of war, his family was deported to the Warsaw ghetto. Before, during, and after the war, Abraham actively worked as a smuggler on the black market. Abraham spent three years at Auschwitz where he served as a nurse aid to Dr. Mengele. With the liquidation of Auschwitz, he was marched to Ebensee where he was soon liberated by American forces. Recovering from health problems, Abraham lived in Italy where he continued his black market activities until 1949 when he immigrated to the United States.
Nathan Nothman was born on July 15, 1925 in Krakow, Poland. Following the German invasion of Poland, he, his parents, and his three brothers and sister were forced to move into the Krakow-Płaszów ghetto. Nathan and his father worked for the Nazis as plumbers and were allowed to leave the ghetto for work until his father was sent to Auschwitz and killed. In 1943 when the ghetto was liquidated, Nathan was then sent to the Płaszów concentration camp and then to Gross-Rosen in 1944 and was assigned to work detail on the Steinburg in both camps. He was then sent to Flossenburg to work on the railroads in 1945. Nathan and his friend escaped during a death march and walked to Laufen to be rescued by the American Army. He stayed in the Laufen DP camp and then transferred to the Ainring DP camp where he met and married his wife. Nathan was also reunited with his sister and mother after the war and together they moved to the United States in 1950.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Sonia Nothman was born in Chmielnik, Poland in 1922. When the war started, Sonia was visiting family in Łódź. She returned to Chmielnik, but due to her Polish language skills, was able to move between Chmielnik and Łódź. In 1941, a ghetto was established in Chmilenik and Sonia, along with her family, was placed in the ghetto. In 1942, Sonia, her brother and one sister were deported to the Skarzysko-Kamienna forced labor camp. In 1944, Sonia was sent to Czenstochow. From there she was sent west into Germany proper where she and her sister were marched to several labor camps (Bergen-Belsen, Berga, Dachau and Allach). They were liberated by the American Army in 1945.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
The Offen family was from Kraków, Poland. The brothers tell stories of their life in the Kraków ghetto, Płaszów labor camp and Mauthausen concentration camp. While at Płaszów, Bernard and other children were transported out of camp, most likely to be executed. However, Bernard managed to escape and was then smuggled into another sub-camp to be with an uncle. The family was later reunited at Płaszów until they were sent to Mauthausen. After arriving at Mauthausen, Bernard and his father were separated from Sam and Nathan and sent to Auschwitz. Shortly after arriving at Auschwitz, their father was "selected" by Dr. Mengele and sent to the gas chamber. After the war, Sam and Nathan went to Italy where Bernard later found them.
An interview with Nathan Offen, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Nathan Offen lived in Kraków, Poland. After the German invasion in 1939, Nathan, his brothers Sam and Bernie and their father were recruited by the Germans as forced laborers. Nathan was sent to a nearby rock quarry to work. Meanwhile, Nathan's mother and sister were rounded up and deported. The three brothers and their father were shipped to Płaszów and then to Gusen I, a sub-camp of Mauthausen. Nathan and Sam were separated from their father and Bernie there, it was the last time Nathan saw his father. In 1945, Nathan and Sam were liberated by the American Army. The brothers learned of a Polish unit in the British Army based in Italy and decided to join. While in a DP camp in Italy, they discovered that Bernie was in a different DP camp and the brothers were reunited. After the war, the three brothers settled in Britain until 1951 when they emigrated to the United States.
An interview with Sam Offen, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney
Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Sam
Offen lived in Kraków, Poland. After the German invasion of 1939, Sam
and his brothers, Nathan and Bernie, along with their father, were recruited
by the Germans as forced laborers. Nathan was sent to a nearby rock quarry
to work. In 1942, Sam's mother and sister were rounded-up and deported and
the three brothers and their father were shipped to Płaszów. After
a short time, the Offens were sent to Gusen I, a sub-camp of Mauthausen. There
Sam and Nathan were separated from their father and Bernie. It was the last
time Sam saw his father. In 1945, Sam and Nathan were liberated by the American
Army. The brother's learned of a Polish Unit of the British Army, based in
Italy and decided to join. While in a DP camp in Italy they discovered that
Bernie was in a different DP camp and the brothers were reunited. After joining
the army, Nathan and Sam were given the opportunity to move to Britain. Sam
moved to the United States in 1951.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Michael Opas, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Paul H. Draznan. Michael Opas was born in Łódź, Poland in 1910. In his youth, he learned the furrier trade but as an adult he operated his own shoe business. At the start of World War II, Michael, his wife and young son fled to Warsaw where they were imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto. Michael was sent to Majdanek then to Budzyn, a forced labor camp that repaired airplanes. From there he was sent to various camps like Ostrowiec and Auschwitz-Birkenau before finally being sent to Buchenwald, where he was liberated by the American Army. At liberation Michael was grossly underweight and had to recuperate for two months in a makeshift hospital in Buchenwald until he regained some weight and his health. After that he spent time in the Landsberg DP camp and then moved to the Stuttgart DP camp where he re-married and started a family. Michael, his new wife and one-year-old daughter moved to Detroit in 1949.
An interview with Herman Opatowski, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Paul Canchester. Herman Opatowski was born in Kielce, Poland. After German invasion of Poland in 1939, Herman, along with his mother, father and eight siblings, were placed in a make-shift ghetto in Kielce. While in the ghetto, Herman was used as a forced laborer by the German authorities. At some point, his family was sent "East," most likely to the Treblinka death camp. After being separated from his family, Herman was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he remained until the camp was liquidated in early 1945. He was then sent on a forced march westwards, but managed to escape from the column. Heading eastward, he eventually met the Soviet Army.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Born in Betlan, Romania, Abraham Pasternak relates his experiences in Romania during the Nazi occupation and his internment in several concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Theresienstadt, Schlieben (a satellite of Buchenwald) and Zeitz, a city in Germany.
Watch Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Abraham Pasternak was born in Betlan, Romania. Following the Hungarian occupation of Romania, Abraham and his family were sent to Dej to do forced labor. From there, the family was transported to Auschwitz, where his parents and youngest brother were sent to death. Abraham and his remaining brothers were then sent to several other camps including Buchenwald, Schlieben and Zeitz. Abraham was liberated in Theresienstadt. After the war he moved to the United States and was soon after drafted into the American armed forces where he served as a chaplain before being discharged.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Irene Petrinitz was born in Uzhgorod, Czechoslovakia in 1923. When she was 10, Uzhgorod was annexed by Hungary and Irene's father and brother placed in a Hungarian work detail, from which Irene's father never returned. Following the German invasion of Hungary in 1944, Irene and her mother were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where her mother perished. After eight months, Irene was transferred to a forced labor camp near Zittau where she was liberated. She came to the United States in 1948 after being reunited her brother and uncle.
Esther Posner was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands on May 11, 1937. After the German invasion, Esther and her family were forced to live in the Amsterdam Ghetto, but were able to contact the Dutch underground. They were hidden by several families in Enschede and Delden for the duration of the war until the Netherlands was liberated by the Allies.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Esther Praw was born in Opatów, Poland. After a period of time, she and friends fled Opatów for Starachowice, assuming it was their only hope for survival. She worked in an ammunition factory in Starachowice before being transported to Auschwitz, and later, Bergen-Belsen before finally being liberated by English troops. Praw married her first husband in Germany in 1946. The couple moved to the United States in 1947, living in New York before settling in the Detroit. Praw had two daughters before her husband died. At the time of the interview, she was remarried to another survivor.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Harry Praw was born in Łódź, Poland in 1929. He lived in a small apartment in the city with his parents, grandfather, five sisters and three brothers. Following the German occupation of the city in September 1939, Harry and his family were deported to the Jaslo ghetto. From Jaslo, Harry and his family were separated and he was sent to work in various labor camps including Skarżysko, Częstochowa, Buchenwald and Dora. The British Army liberated Harry in Bergen-Belsen in April 1945. He was the only one from his family to survive. Harry moved to the United States with his wife and son in 1949.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview with Alexander Raab a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Alexander Raab was born in 1933 in Jarosław, Poland. Following the German invasion in 1939, the German’s deported the Jews of the area over the San river, into territory newly annexed by the Soviet Union. Following a brief stay in Grudek, the family was deported to Siberia by the NKVD. After an arduous journey, the family spent time in the cities of Sinyuga and Bodaibo. During this period, Alexander’s father was sent to a labor commando, where he perished. In 1943 or ‘44, the family was sent west to the city of Saratov. After the end of the war, they went to Świdnica, Poland. Alexander attempted to illegally immigrate to Palestine via Italy. Interned by the British, he spent several years on the island of Cyprus and was finally successful in reaching Israel in 1948. He immigrated to America in 1962.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Saul Raimi was born and raised in Mława, Poland in a family of eight. He was 14 years old when the Germans occupied the town, which was turned into a ghetto. The family was deported to the Lubartów ghetto, but Saul returned to Mława and began smuggling between the Mława ghetto and the Warsaw ghetto. In the winter of 1942, Saul was deported to Auschwitz where he worked as a bricklayer. The advance of the Red Army in 1945 prompted the evacuation of Auschwitz and Saul was forced to march to Buchenwald. After several months in Buchenwald, Saul was transferred to Flossenburg where he was liberated April 23, 1945. He was initially sent to a DP camp and later immigrated to Israel, then Canada, and finally America. Saul and his brother are the only two surviving members of his family.
Hanna Ramras was born in Bratislava, Slovakia. When her father died, her mother returned to her home in Aussig, leaving Hanna in an orphanage in Bratislava. When the Germans took the Sudetenland, Hanna was moved to an orphanage near Prague where she was eventually transported to England via airplane. In England, she lived with a foster family and attended a boarding school before reconnecting with a cousin there. After the war, Hanna moved to Brazil where she got married and started a family. Eventually, she and her family moved to Israel where they still reside today.
Brenda Reiss was born in Kalisz, Poland in 1923. After the German occupation of Poland, Brenda and her family were sent to the ghetto in Koźminek. From there, Brenda and her sister were taken to the Łódź
ghetto and then to Auschwitz, where the sisters were separated. Brenda was sent to various forced labor camps before being liberated by the Russian Army. After the war she married and moved to the United States.
Selma Rich was born Shulamit Rudnik in Oshmyany, Poland on March 15, 1923. After the German invasion, she and her family were forced into the ghetto. Selma was separated from her family, who were taken to Vilno, while Selma was moved to Kovno. After the ghetto was liquidated, she was transported to Stutthof. Selma survived, but never saw her family again. She later married a fellow survivor and eventually immigrated to the United States.
An interview with Mrs. Roemerfeld, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Eva Lipton. Mrs. Roemerfeld was born in P?o?sk, Poland. Following the Nazi invasion in 1939, Mrs. Roemerfeld, along with her parents and older brother, were placed in a make-shift ghetto in the city. During that period, her father was shipped to Auschwitz-Birkenau and in December 1942, she, along with her remaining family, were shipped there as well. After arrival, Mrs. Roemerfeld was placed in the Kanada Kommando sorting clothes. She was then transferred to Budy, a sub-camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the liquidation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp system, Mrs. Roemerfeld was sent to Maehrisch-Weisswasser, a sub-camp of Gross-Rosen. Mrs. Roemerfeld was fifty-five years of age at the time of her undated interview.
Alice Lang Rosen was born in 1934 in Lambsheim, Germany. Alice and her parents later moved to Mannheim, Germany to open a textile store. During Krystallnacht, Alice's father was taken to Dachau for a short time before being returned home. In 1940, the Gestapo raided their home and took the family on trucks to Gurs, a concentration camp in France. After a year in Gurs, the family was taken to Rivesaltes. At Rivesaltes, Alice's father put her in the care of the a children's aid society to save her. She was eventually sent to stay in a convent in the South of France, before being put into two foster homes with French families. At the end of the war, Alice stayed in a Jewish children's home outside of Paris before her father found her again. She reunited with him in Heidelberg where he remarried. Alice and her new family moved to the United States in 1949.
Eric Rosenow was born in Berlin, Germany. Before the war, Eric was an actor in theater and cinema. After Hitler banned Jewish people from performing for Gentiles, he started an orchestra and performed for other Jews. In 1939, Eric and his brother decided to move to Shanghai. Their parents and other brother followed there shortly afterward. Eric and his family moved into the Jewish ghetto in Shanghai where Eric made a living performing in local night clubs. After the war, Eric was married and his family moved to Detroit.
Peppy Rosenthal was born in 1935, in Rozhishche, Ukraine. When Germany invaded, the family was forced into the ghetto. They escaped as the ghetto was about to be liquidated and remained in hiding for the duration of the war. While in hiding, Peppy's mother was separated from the rest of the family and was never seen again. Masquerading as Greeks, the family traveled through Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Austria, eventually settling in Italy, where they lived for several years. With the help of relatives already living in the U.S., the family immigrated in 1950, settling in Flint, Michigan. An eyewitness from Rozhishche later verified that Peppy's mother was seen dead in a forest after she was separated from the family.
Rita Rosenzweig was born in Sûre, Belgium, and was raised in Liège. She was an only child who went into hiding with the Maréchal family as a teenager after her mother and aunt were in arrested in July of 1943 and her father was sent to Buchenwald. When Madam Maréchal's son joined the Belgian underground, Rosenzweig moved to Wagram and joined as well. While serving as a partisan, she assisted in transporting ammunition by bike. Rosenzweig, her husband, and her son moved to the United States in 1952. She bore another son and eventually received a pension from the Belgian government for her service in the resistance movement.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Joseph Rotbaum Ribo was born in Głowaczów, Poland. At the start of the war, the family was moved to the Mariampol ghetto and then later the Kozienice ghetto. Joseph and his father would often sneak out of the ghetto to obtain food. One day while outside of the ghetto, his family was put on a transport to Treblinka. Left behind, Joseph lived in Polish villages before deciding to enter the Pionki camp. From Pionki he was taken to Sachsenhausen. Joseph was liberated on a death march from Sachsenhausen and eventually settled in England before moving to Israel.
Edith Roth was born in Uzghorod Czechoslovakia, which was annexed to Hungary in 1938. Following the German invasion of Hungary in 1944, Edith and her family were placed in the ghetto in Uzghorod and then shipped to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where her mother and two of her siblings were killed. Separated from their father, Edith and two of her sisters were eventually sent to a forced labor camp in Bruntál, Czechoslovakia, where they were liberated. After liberation, Edith spent time in a Displaced Persons Camp in Bamberg, Germany. She immigrated to the United States in 1950.
Nathan Roth was born in Veliky Bereznyy, Czechoslovakia. After the German annexation of the area in 1944, Nathan, along with his mother, father and eight siblings, was deported to the ghetto in Ungvár where the family was split up. From Ungvár, Nathan was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and then to Jaworzno, a sub-camp of Auschwitz. While he was at Jaworzno, Nathan worked for I.G. Farben, a German company operating an excavation project in the area. Nathan was liberated by the Russians while on the death march following the evacuation of the Jaworzno camp. He returned to Veliky Bereznyy after the war and emigrated to the United States in 1949.
An interview with Berek Rothenberg, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Levi Smith. Berek Rothenberg was born on Jan. 3, 1921 in Sandomierz, Poland. As a boy, he belonged to several Zionist organizations including the Betar, Macabbi, and Akiva. Following the German invasion of Poland, he was taken by the Germans for forced labor on the railroads, and when released, was sent out by the Judenrat to work on a road crew. In 1942, Berek was taken away to work at the ammunition factory in Skarzysko. In 1944 he was transferred to Buchenwald and assigned to work at Schlieben, a sub camp, where the Panzerfaust was being manufactured. Berek was then transferred to Theresienstadt, where he was liberated on May 8, 1945. After liberation, he traveled around Italy waiting for a chance to move to Palestine but in 1949, Berek moved to the United States to be with his extended family.
Agi Rubin was born in Monkacz, a town in the part of Czechoslovakia which was annexed to Hungary in 1938. In 1944 her family was deported to Auschwitz where her mother and younger brother were killed. She worked in a sorting shed in the camp until it was evacuated in January 1945. She survived a forced march of several months duration and was liberated in Germany when she was 15 years old. She was later reunited with her father.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Zoltan Rubin was born in Kapúsány, Czechoslovakia. He is the
youngest child in a large family of eight sons and three daughters. His family
was fairly well off since his father owned a large farm and several mills.
Zoltan and his parents were protected from deportation by an economic exemption
until 1942 when the exemption was eliminated and his parents were deported.
Zoltan was able to avoid deportation by using Gentile papers given to him
by friends. In 1944, he was captured with a group of partisans and sent to
a prisoner-of-war camp near Jena where he was part of a forced labor detail
digging tunnels for the Germans. Towards the end of the war, he escaped with
three others and lived off the land for about six weeks until the American
army arrived in the area. He was later reunited with an older brother who
was a doctor with the Czechoslovakian army.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Sigmund Rubin was born in Łódź, Poland. After the Germans invaded Poland, he fled to Warsaw with his family. Driven out of Warsaw by heavy bombing, the family returned to Łódź. Mr. Rubin and his brother were separated from the rest of their family during selection. He and his brother escaped the transport, but were separated. He never discovered the whereabouts of any of his family members. Mr. Rubin spent the remainder of the war in hiding in various locations throughout Poland. After the war, he and his wife lived for a time in Germany, immigrating to the United States in 1949.
Leon Salomon was born in Maków Mazowiecki, Poland and lived there with his family until Poland was occupied by the Germans in 1939. Leon and two of his sisters moved east to Kobylnik to live with their brother, a school teacher who was later killed when the Germans took over the area. In 1942, the Jewish residents of the town were executed by the Germans in a nearby forest. As Leon was being taken away to be shot, he escaped from the guards and hid in the forest. Leon was the only member of his immediate family to survive and eventually joined a partisan group fighting in the Vilna and White Russia area. He joined the Soviet Army near the end of the war and fought with them until he was wounded in east Prussia.
View Video on YouTube
Aaron Salzburg was born on April 2, 1919 in Opatów, Poland. Aaron recounts life in Pre-War Poland and his experiences in many different ghettos, labor and concentration camps throughout Poland and Germany during the Second World War. Opatów became a ghetto after the German occupation of Poland. In 1939, Aaron was sent to the Sandomierz ghetto, where he eventually escaped and ended up in a camp called Kocina. After falling ill with typhus, Aaron made a full recovery and was selected to go to Skarżysko and later onto Częstochowa, both forced labor camps. In Skarżysko and Częstochowa, Aaron worked for HASAG--a privately owned German industrial company. He was later moved to Buchenwald, where he stayed in Dora, a branch of Buchenwald which became its own camp in 1944. Aaron was eventually moved to the Bergen-Belsen detention camp, where on April 15, 1945, the camp was liberated by the British Army.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Adele Sandel was born in Medzilaborce, Czechoslovakia. After the war broke out, Adele avoided being sent to do forced labor by pretending to have tuberculosis and later going into hiding in her home. When the family was forced to leave Medzilaborce, they moved to Dobsina where they stayed until the Germans approached. Fearing the Germans, Adele and her family went into hiding in the forests, eventually settling in a bunker outside of Brdarka where they lived until liberation. After the war, Adele started a family in Czechoslovakia before moving to the United States.
An interview with Vera Schey, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Vera Schey was born in Budapest, Hungary. An only child whose father died before the war, Vera and her mother survived the German annexation of Hungary in 1944 by obtaining false identifications and papers. During the last months of the war, the two hid in several different locations in and around Budapest, separating and reuniting on several occasions. Vera left Hungary for the United States in 1946.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Alexander Schleifer was born in Kosice, Czechoslovakia and grew up in Sobrance, Hungary where his father owned a bus concession. In 1944, Schleifer and his family were forced to move to Uzhorod, where they stayed for a month until they were transported to Auschwitz- Birkenau. In Auschwitz, Schleifer and his father were separated from the rest of the family. After a month in Auschwitz, they were transported to a labor camp in Longre, France. As the Allies closed in, Schleifer was moved to Kochendorf and then to Dachau, where his father died. In early April of 1945, Schleifer was sent to a town near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he was liberated. Alexander Schleifer moved to the United States in 1950.
An interview with Sam Seltzer, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Anita Schwartz. Sam Seltzer was born in Modzurów, Poland. Sam's family consisted of his mother, father and five siblings. Following the outbreak of the war, his mother and siblings attempted to flee east to the Russian border. They were unable to complete their journey, instead staying with Sam's older sister in the small town of Zawiercie. After a brief time, Sam returned to Modzurów, until he was rounded-up by the Germans and placed in a number of forced- labor camps, including Sosnowiec, Klettendorf, Geppersdorf, Brande, Graeditz, Faulbrück and Annaberg. In 1944, Sam was sent to Auschwitz. After several weeks in Birkenau, Sam volunteered to work as a mechanic and was sent to a labor Kommando attached to Buchenwald. Sam was liberated in Buchenwald in April 1945. After liberation, Sam was hospitalized in Feldafing, Germany where he was reunited with his brother and the two emigrated to the United States.
Tamara Sessler was born on August 11, 1928 in Vienna, Austria. On her tenth birthday she and her family escaped German-occupied Vienna for Prague. While in Prague, Tamara's mother arranged for Tamara and one of her sisters to be taken to England on Nicolas Winton's Kindertransport. The two were put in two foster families in Birmingham. When Tamara's family moved to Nottingham, Tamara moved into an orphanage. After she completed school, she became a hairdresser and prepared to make aliyah. She moved to Israel with her husband in 1949 where she remains today.
Martin Shlanger was born in Vel'ke Kapusany, Czechoslovakia. He moved to Budapest in 1942 to work in a factory. In March 1944 the Germans occupied the city. Mr. Shlanger acquired false papers but was soon identified as a Jew and arrested. He was sent to Jaworzno, a sub-camp in the Auschwitz system. In 1945, he survived a death march to Blechhammer as the Russian army invaded the area. Because he hid when the Germans left Blechhammer, he was left behind at the camp and eventually encountered the Soviet army. He was reunited for a short time with his brother, who was serving with the Czechoslovak Brigade in the Soviet army. Martin returned to his hometown where he lived until 1949 when he immigrated to Detroit, Michigan.
View Video on YouTube
Felicia Shloss was born in Piotrkow, Poland. Felicia and her family moved to Łódź when she was a teenager. When the war started, she and her family were forced in the ghetto, where her parents and brother eventually died. After the ghetto's liquidation, Felicia and her remaining two siblings were taken to Auschwitz. From there, Felicia and her sister were taken to Bergen-Belsen and then Salzwedel, where they worked in an ammunition factory. After being liberated in Salzwedel, she married and moved to the United States.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Sara Silow was born in Łódź, Poland. After the war started, Sara and her family were forced into the Łódź ghetto. From there Sara and her mother were taken to Auschwitz, where her mother perished. Sara was then sent to the Poppebüttel camp where she was forced to clean up the rubble of bombed buildings. As the war drew to a close, she was sent to Bergen-Belsen where she was liberated by the British Army. After the war she was sent to Sweden to recuperate from typhus and then moved to Belgium to be with family. After meeting her future husband and starting a family, Sara moved to the United States.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Regina Silver was born in 1915 in Sarnaki, Poland. Following the German invasion in Poland in 1939, Regina and her husband were sent to a work camp in Diktarka, Russia. After moving from Diktarka to Turkestan, Regina lost her child after he contracted measles and pneumonia. She had another child while in Turkestan who survived. After the war, Regina and her family lived in Bielawa, Poland until she left with her husband and family for Canada in 1950.
Josef Slaim was born in Lipa, Poland but grew up in Czepiec, Poland. In 1935, he was drafted into the Polish army, where he served four years. At the start of the war, Josef deserted and went back to his family in Czepiec. Soon after, he was sent to a labor camp where he was made Judenälteste. Josef was sent to several other camps during the war, including Tarnowitz, Blechhammer, Gross-Rosen and Buchenwald. On a death march, he stole an SS officer's uniform and impersonated him until the war was over. After the war, Josef ran a factory in Germany before moving to Israel and finally the United States.
An interview with Irene Sobel (Miller), a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Irene was born in Warsaw, Poland and lived with her parents and sister in a Jewish neighborhood of the city. The family was not religious but embraced the Jewish culture. After the Germans invaded Poland, her family decided to escape to Russia fearing they would be prosecuted for being Communist. After being denied entrance into Russia, Mr. Miller escaped over the border and came back with falsified documents to get the family across. After residing in Ignatki for a short time, Soviet transport trains picked the family up and shipped them east to a Communist work camp in Siberia. After being released from the camp, the family was transported to Tashkent where Irene's parents were forced to work on a collective farm and the girls were put into an orphanage. Mr. Miller became ill and died during a dysentery epidemic even though Mrs. Miller walked all night to try and get him antibiotics. After the war Irene and her family returned to Poland where Irene was put into a Krakow orphanage because her mother couldn't support her. Eventually Irene and her mother moved to Haifa, Israel where Irene met her husband, Howard Sobel, an American living in Israel. Irene then moved to Cleveland with her husband and had three children, later moving to Detroit. Irene went to school, obtaining graduate degrees, and achieved a successful professional career. Irene and her husband later divorced.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Baruch Spergel was born in Poland but moved to Reichenberg, Czechoslovakia with his family where his sister, Zivia Fischler, was later born. Following the German annexation of the Sudenteland in 1938, the family moved to Prague. Their parents then arranged for Baruch to be sent to England on a transport organized by Nicholas Winton. Zivia was sent on a later transport, also organized by Winton. Both siblings lived with their aunt and uncle in London before being split up. Baruch was boarded at Gwrych Castle and then moved to London to work. He joined the British Army after the war. Zivia was sent to stay at several different schools and family members for the duration of the war. After the war the siblings moved to Palestine to be with their parents who both had survived the war.
Zwi Steiger was born on January 17, 1922 in Velký Berezný, Czechoslovakia. After finishing his education in Munkacs at the age of sixteen, Zwi joined the Czechoslovakian army. During the Hungarian occupation he was taken to work in several labor camps. In 1944 Zvi escaped from a labor camp in Romania and hid in a forest for three weeks before being picked up by two Wehrmacht soldiers. The soldiers let him go and he made his way through Transylvania back home to Velký Berezný to collect his remaining belongings. Zwi then stayed in Cluj and Prague while attending medical school before moving to Israel to be with his brother. While attending a medical training seminar in the United States, he met and married his wife Amelia.
Kurt Stern was born in Chodov, Czechoslovakia. After his father's death in 1935, Kurt and his mother moved in with his grandfather and aunt. When the German's entered the Sudetenland they moved to Beroun with his uncle. Kurt's mother signed him up for the Winton Kindertransport and Kurt left for England with his cousin Ruth. Kurt and Ruth were fostered with an English family in East Anglia. Following the end of the war, Kurt apprenticed to be a pastry chef under his uncle in London before volunteering for the Israeli army. Kurt and his family still live in Israel today.
Malka Sternberg was born in Liberec, Czechoslovakia. When the Sudetenland was given to Hitler, she and her family moved to Prague. After Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, Malka's father escaped to Russia while her mother arranged for Malka and her brother to escape to England on a transport organized by Nicholas Winton. After the war, she was reunited with her father in Israel.
Helen Stransky was born on May 16, 1934 in Prague Smíchov, Czechoslovakia. Following the German annexation of Prague, Helen and her younger brother were sent to England to be with their grandmother and uncle on the Kindertransport. After the war, Helen's grandmother and uncle moved the siblings to Canada. In Canada, Helen was taken care of by three foster families before moving to Los Angeles to live with an aunt. Eventually Helen moved to Israel where she resides today.
Zofia Szostak, a Gentile, was born in Tczew, Poland, and spent the war years in Bochnia, near Krakow Poland. After witnessing the deportation of Jews and the liquidation of the ghettos, she later joined the Polish Underground. After the war, in 1945, Zofia, future husband Emilian Marian Szostak (who was sent to a labor camp for almost 2 years in Germany after being arrested September 1939), and several others escaped out of Poland into Germany. Zofia married Emilian in Germany. Later they moved to England and finally settled in the Detroit area in the United States.
Although he was born in Vilna in 1928, Dr. Emanuel Tanay spent the pre-war years in Miechow, a small community south of Krakow, Poland. During the occupation, his family lived in the Miechow ghetto until Tanay, his mother and sister escaped just before it was liquidated. His father did not escape and was later executed by Amon Goeth. Tanay spent part of the war living in a monastery "hidden" as a novice and "converted Jew." He later used false Aryan papers as he moved around Poland and Hungary.
View Video on YouTube
Lola Taubman was born on July 15, 1925 in Svalava, Czechoslovakia. After the Germans invaded, Lola was sent to the Munkacs ghetto where she worked in a brick factory. From the ghetto she was sent to Auschwitz where she worked on the Trägerkommando. After a death march from Auschwitz, Lola spent time in several camps including Ravensbrück, Malchow and Leipzig-Schönefeld. After liberation, Lola reunited with her aunt and uncle and eventually moved to the United States.
Miriam Troostwyk was born in Leipzig, Germany in 1931. In 1933, the Troostwyk family emigrated to Amersfoort, Holland while her older sister remained in Germany. In 1939, Miriam's sister and her husband joined the family in Holland. Following the German invasion of the country in 1940, Miriam's father passed away of natural causes. With the help of friends and family, the Troostwyks evaded several German round-ups and later went into hiding first in Velp and then in Arnhem. In Arnhem the family stayed with several other families in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Vandenberg, where they remained until the liberation of the Netherlands in 1944. Following the liberation, Miriam remained in Holland for some time. She was married in 1953.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Sally Tuchklaper was born in Radom, Poland. After the war began, Sally and her family were moved in to the Radom ghetto and forced to work in factories for the Germans. From the ghetto, she was taken to Blizyn to sew uniforms. Next Sally was taken to Auschwitz, where she stayed for 8 months, and then to a camp in Czechoslovakia where she was liberated. After the war she stayed in the Munich Displaced Persons camp where she met and married her husband. Together they moved to Montreal before finally settling in Detroit.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
George Vine was born in Ciechanów, Poland in 1927. Following teh German invasion of Poland in 1939, he and his family were forced to relocate from their home into a nearby ghetto where they lived for almost three years before being transported to Auschwitz in 1942. George was taken to several different camps before he was liberated in April 1945. Immigrating to the United States in 1947 and initially living in New York, George eventually moved to Detroit.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
An interview
with Rose Wagner, a Holocaust survivor, conducted
by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn. At the outbreak
of the war in 1939, Rose and her family lived in
Łódź, Poland. After the German occupation, the family
found themselves in the Łódź ghetto. By 1942, her
parents had perished, leaving her and her sister
to fend for themselves in the ghetto. In 1944, she
and her sister were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Able to stay together in the camp, the sisters were
sent to the Halbstadt concentration camp in Fall,
1944, where they were liberated in May 1945.
Martin Water was born in Łódź, Poland. In September 1939, he and his family fled to Warsaw. Food was scarce in Warsaw and so Martin traveled alone back to Łódź to buy food and was trapped inside the ghetto. He worked at the ghetto's shoe factory until 1944 when he was taken to Auschwitz. While in Auschwitz, he volunteered to join a work detail at Gleiwitz IV and was later transferred to Blechhammer.
POHSurvPage.aspx?svid=366
Larry Wayne was born in Łódź, Poland in 1923. He had three blood siblings and two adopted siblings and is family owned a successful bakery. Larry attended private school at the Katzenelson Gymnasium, where he was trained to be a lieutenant in the Polish army. In 1940, Larry's family was forced to move into the Łódź ghetto, where they shared a small apartment with their extended family. Larry's father died in the ghetto and in 1944, Larry's family was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where his mother and brother were gassed. He and his brother Jack volunteered to work at the Janina coal mine and then were relocated to various camps. In 1945, Larry was liberated by the U.S. Army in Buchenwald. He was reunited with his brother and sister in Bad Nauheim and the three immigrated to Detroit, Michigan in 1946.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Ruth Webber was about 5 years old when the war started. Her family was first moved into the Ostrowiec ghetto and then lived in the following camps; Bodzechow, Sandomierz, Starachowice, Austrovietz, Annopol and finally Auschwitz. Her mother survived the war but her father died on the last transport out of Auschwitz. Ruth was in the children's block of Auschwitz when it was liberated by the Russians on Jan. 27, 1945.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Mark Webber was born in Pułtusk, Poland on March 29, 1928. In 1939, Mark and his family were forced by the Germans out of Pułtusk and marched to Białystok. From there, the Russians took the family to a town in Northern Russia where they performed forced labor. Eventually the Russians moved the family to Uzbekistan where they stayed for the remainder of the war. After the war the family moved back to Poland with the intent to move to Palestine. However, after losing his parents, Mark decided to move to the United States.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Jack Weinberger was born in 1929 in the town of Volové, Czechoslovakia, Jack and his family were taken from their home in 1944 by Hungarian troops. They were first sent to the Sokirnitsa ghetto in Hungary before being deported to Auschwitz. From Auschwitz, Jack was sent to the Wolfsburg labor camp in Germany and finally, to Ebensee, where he was liberated in 1945. He immigrated to the United States in 1948, residing in Cleveland, Ohio before settling in Michigan with his wife and their two children. Mr. Weinberger became a US citizen in 1953 and fought in the Korean War.
Nathan Weiselman was born in 1914 in Radom, Poland. During most of the war, Mr. Weiselman was confined to a Russian work camp. Following the war, he returned briefly to Radom. Finding that his entire family had perished, he left Poland and spent three years in a DP camp in Austria. After marrying in Austria, Mr. Weiselman and his wife stayed briefly in an Italian DP camp, eventually immigrating to New Mexico.
Michael Weiss was born in Kascony, Czechoslovakia in 1924. Michael recounts his experiences under the Czechoslovakians, Hungarians, and Germans, both before and during the Second World War. In 1944, Michael and his family were relocated from Kascony to the Hungarian ghetto of Beregszàsz (Berehovo). From Beregszàsz, Michael and his family were deported to Auschwitz, where his mother was killed by the Germans. From Auschwitz, Michael and his father were moved to Buchenwald and then on to Zeitz. Michael was eventually liberated by the American Army, but his father died in Buchenwald. After the war, Michael married in Vienna, Austria and moved to the United States with his wife to start a new life and a family.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Born in Kascony, Czechoslovakia, Michael Weiss chronicles his experiences under the Czechoslovakians, Hungarians, and Germans, both prior to and during, the Second World War. Mr. Weiss and his family were shipped to the Hungarian ghetto of Beregszasz (Berehovo) in 1944. From Beregszasz, the family was deported to Auschwitz, where his mother was gassed by the Germans. From Auschwitz, Weiss and his father were sent to Buchenwald and then on to Zeitz, located approximately fifteen miles south of Leipzig in Central Germany.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Shari Weiss was born in Harina, a small village in Romania. When she was eight or nine, Shari went to live with an aunt and uncle in Cluj where she stayed until 1944 when the Germans occupied Hungary. In May 1944 they were transported to Auschwitz after staying at a transit camp in a brick factory for three weeks. Shari describes her life at Auschwitz where she and her aunt stayed for about five months before they were taken to a labor camp in Altenburg, Germany. She worked in a factory until April 1945 when the inmates were marched out of the camp. Shari and her aunt were liberated by the American army two days later. Shari's uncle did not survive the war.
View Video on YouTube
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Sidy Weiss was born Radvaň nad Dunajom, Slovakia. When the war began, she and her family were deported to the camps. She spent time in Auschwitz as well as Krakow-Płaszów, where she worked in the quarry. Sidy was eventually sent to Augsburg where she worked in the Keller und Knappich Augsburg (KUKA) factory. After being liberated by the Americans, Sidy stayed in the Feldafing displaced persons camp. Sidy moved to America and was married in 1947.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Cyla Wiener was born in Kraków, Poland during World War I, one of nine children and the only girl. She recalls her experiences in the Kraków ghetto and the concentration camps of Płaszów, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen during World War II. At Płaszów she helped care for the children, including her two year old son, until they were taken to Auschwitz. She worked as a seamstress at Płaszów and later at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, sewing for the Germans. After the war, she returned to Kraków and was reunited with her husband, a few remaining brothers and nieces. Mrs. Wiener and her husband eventually immigrated to the United States.
Eva Wimmer was born in Lututów, Poland but was raised in Zdunska Wola. After 1939, she and her sisters were sent to the Łódź ghetto and then to Auschwitz. They were sent to work at the Krupp's factory near Berlin and from there, they were all sent to Ravensbrück, where they were liberated by the Swedish Red Cross. They were sent first to Denmark and then to Sweden where she met her husband, a fellow survivor. Eva, her husband, and children came to the United States in 1954, where she gave birth to one more daughter.
Link to Portraits of Honor Project
Natalie Zamczyk was born in Krakow, Poland in 1911. Natalie was married and the mother of one son when the war started. Though her entire family; brother, sister, parents and husband, perished, Natalie sent her son into hiding and survived the war by moving from job to job using forged documents. After the war, Natalie and her son immigrated to Canada, then to the United States, eventually settling in Farmington Hills.
© Board of Regents University of Michigan-Dearborn
