Oral History

Emanuel Tanay describes the establishment of the Miechow ghetto

Emanuel and his family lived in the small town of Miechow, north of Krakow. After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, persecution of Jews increased. The Germans established a ghetto in Miechow. Emanuel was forced to live in the ghetto. Emanuel, his mother, and his sister escaped from the ghetto before it was destroyed in 1942. He stayed in a monastery, under an assumed identity, along with members of the Polish underground. Emanuel left the monastery after about a year when a teacher began to suspect he was Jewish. Emanuel then became involved in the smuggling of goods to Krakow and Warsaw. He fled to Hungary in the fall of 1943. After the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, Emanuel again attempted to flee but was caught and imprisoned. He survived the war.

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