Morris Kornberg

Morris was the youngest of six children born to a religious Jewish family in Przedborz, a south central Polish town with a large Jewish population. Morris' family owned a business that supplied nearby factories with raw metal materials.

1933-39: When Germany invaded Poland in early September 1939 Morris and his family fled to the woods. They returned a few days later; most of the town had been burned down. The Nazis set up a ghetto and ordered everyone age 13 to 50 to report for work details. His family was better off than most. The more metal their business supplied to the war effort, the more privileges they received. Morris got a special armband so he could exit the ghetto and work across town.

1940-41: There were no SS men in town. Once a month they came from Radom and took care of any cases that required their attention. In mid-1941 they came for Morris. During questioning about his family's business, an SS officer mercilessly beat him. He passed out several times but they revived him by putting his head under a water pump, and beat him again. His body was black from the blows. Afterwards, they put him in a small prison. One of the Polish guards knew Morris and asked if he wanted to write to his family. "Just forget about me," I wrote.

Morris was deported to Auschwitz in 1941 and then to several other camps. He was eventually liberated in Theresienstadt when it was turned over to the Red Cross on May 3, 1945.