Bernard & Emery Klein - May 23, 1984

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

Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Bernard & Emery Klein - May 23, 1984

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