Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Herman Marczak - May 12, 1982

Contents

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.

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  1. Introduction
  2. Family
  3. Religious Life
  4. Jewish Population
  5. Industry in Zduńska Wola
  6. Jewish Culture
  7. Education
  8. Zionism
  9. Higher Education
  10. The Polish Government
  11. Anti-Semitism
  12. Life in Zduńska Wola Before the War
  13. Start of War
  14. Life Under German Occupation
  15. Moving into the Ghetto
  16. Life in the Ghetto
  17. Working in the Ghetto
  18. Fate of Family
  19. Hearing of Killings in Ghetto
  20. Tolerance of Treatment
  21. Purim Executions
  22. German Policy
  23. Conditions in the Ghetto
  24. Family Life Before the War
  25. Hearing of a Gentile Woman Living in the Ghetto
  26. Liquidation of the Ghetto
  27. Moving into Łódż Ghetto
  28. Conditions in Łódż Ghetto
  29. A Day in the Ghetto
  30. Rumors of Labor Camps
  31. Being Transferred to Skarżysko-Kamienna
  32. Conditions in Skarżysko-Kamienna
  33. Transfer to Warta
  34. Russians Move Closer
  35. Treatment in Labor Camp
  36. Life in Labor Camps
  37. Medical Treatment and Sanitation in Camp
  38. Transport
  39. Arrival at Dora
  40. Life in Dora
  41. Treatment in Dora
  42. Buchenwald
  43. British Forces Near Camp
  44. SS Cruelty
  45. Getting Help from an SS Guard
  46. Meeting Josef Rosensaft in Camp
  47. Bergen-Belsen Military Base
  48. Liberation
  49. Life Under British Army
  50. Life After Liberation
  51. Traveling to Bergen-Belsen DP Camp
  52. Getting Permission to go to Sweden
  53. Arrival in Sweden
  54. Kindness of the Swedes
  55. Life in Sweden
  56. Meeting Wife
  57. Moving to the United States
  58. Reasons for Survival
  59. Receiving German Pension
  60. Thoughts on Experience
  61. Conclusion

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