You searched for: poland
<< Previous | Displaying results 1251-1275 of 1579 for "poland" | Next >>
-
Chaim Engel describes his role in the Sobibor uprising
Oral HistoryIn 1939, as Chaim's tour in the Polish army was nearing its scheduled end, Germany invaded Poland. The Germans captured Chaim and sent him to Germany for forced labor. As a Jewish prisoner of war, Chaim later was returned to Poland. Ultimately, he was deported to the Sobibor camp, where the rest of his family died. In the 1943 Sobibor uprising, Chaim killed a guard. He escaped with his girlfriend, Selma, whom he later married. A farmer hid them until liberation by Soviet forces in June 1944.
-
Sophie Turner-Zaretsky describes how her teddy bear came into her possession
Oral HistorySophie was born Selma Schwarzwald to parents Daniel and Laura in the industrial city of Lvov, two years before Germany invaded Poland. Daniel was a successful businessman who exported timber and Laura had studied economics. The Germans occupied Lvov in 1941. After her father's disappearance on her fifth birthday in 1941, Sophie and her mother procured false names and papers and moved to a small town called Busko-Zdroj. They became practicing Catholics to hide their identities. Sophie gradually forgot that…
-
Blanka Rothschild describes the role of sharing and friendship in surviving the Lodz ghetto
Oral HistoryBlanka was an only child in a close-knit family in Lodz, Poland. Her father died in 1937. After the German invasion of Poland, Blanka and her mother remained in Lodz with Blanka's grandmother, who was unable to travel. Along with other relatives, they were forced into the Lodz ghetto in 1940. There, Blanka worked in a bakery. She and her mother later worked in a hospital in the Lodz ghetto, where they remained until late 1944 when they were deported to the Ravensbrueck camp in Germany. From Ravensbrueck,…
-
Charlene Schiff describes a clandestine school for children in the Horochow ghetto
Oral HistoryBoth of Charlene's parents were local Jewish community leaders, and the family was active in community life. Charlene's father was a professor of philosophy at the State University of Lvov. World War II began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Charlene's town was in the part of eastern Poland occupied by the Soviet Union under the German-Soviet Pact of August 1939. Under the Soviet occupation, the family remained in its home and Charlene's father continued to teach. The Germans…
-
Siegfried Halbreich describes conditions and forced labor in the Gross-Rosen camp
Oral HistoryAfter Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Siegfried fled with a friend. They attempted to get papers allowing them to go to France, but were turned over to the Germans. Siegfried was jailed, taken to Berlin, and then transported to the Sachsenhausen camp near Berlin in October 1939. He was among the first Polish Jews imprisoned in Sachsenhausen. Inmates were mistreated and made to carry out forced labor. After two years, Siegfried was deported to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, where he was…
-
Blanka Rothschild describes forced labor in the Ravensbrück camp
Oral HistoryBlanka was an only child in a close-knit family in Lodz, Poland. Her father died in 1937. After the German invasion of Poland, Blanka and her mother remained in Lodz with Blanka's grandmother, who was unable to travel. Along with other relatives, they were forced into the Lodz ghetto in 1940. There, Blanka worked in a bakery. She and her mother later worked in a hospital in the Lodz ghetto, where they remained until late 1944 when they were deported to the Ravensbrueck camp in Germany. From Ravensbrueck,…
-
Wilek (William) Loew describes Budapest after he escaped from the Lvov ghetto and before the German occupation of Hungary
Oral HistoryWilek was the son of Jewish parents living in the southeastern Polish town of Lvov. His family owned and operated a winery that had been in family hands since 1870. Wilek's father died of a heart attack in 1929. Wilek entered secondary school in 1939. Soon after he began school, World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. Lvov was in the part of eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Although the Soviets took over Wilek's home and the family business, Wilek was able to continue his…
-
Wilek (William) Loew describes Jewish life in prewar Lvov, including restrictions on admission to schools
Oral HistoryWilek was the son of Jewish parents living in the southeastern Polish town of Lvov. His family owned and operated a winery that had been in family hands since 1870. Wilek's father died of a heart attack in 1929. Wilek entered secondary school in 1939. Soon after he began school, World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. Lvov was in the part of eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Although the Soviets took over Wilek's home and the family business, Wilek was able to continue his…
-
Lublin/Majdanek Concentration Camp: Conditions
ArticleIn 1940, the Nazis established Lublin (Majdanek) concentration camp in Lublin, Poland. Learn more about camp conditions.
-
1941: Key Dates
ArticleExplore a timeline of key events during 1941 in the history of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Holocaust.
-
1942: Key Dates
ArticleExplore a timeline of key events during 1942 in the history of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Holocaust.
-
The Riegner Telegram
ArticleThe Riegner telegram detailed the Nazi plan to systematically murder European Jews. It was sent to the British and American governments in August 1942.
-
Lidice: The Annihilation of a Czech Town
ArticleGerman forces razed the town of Lidice in June 1942 in retaliation for the death of Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich. Learn about the assassination and reprisal.
-
What Groups of People did the Nazis Target?
ArticleJews were the primary targets for mass murder by the Nazis and their collaborators. Nazi policies also led to the brutalization and persecution of millions of others.
-
Vita Rivkina
ID CardBecause both of her parents had died by the time Vita was 5 years old, she went to live with her cousins. At the age of 18, Vita married Iosif Rivkin, and the couple moved to Minsk where they raised three daughters--Hacia, Dora and Berta. 1933-39: By the early 1930s, the Rivkin family lived on Novomesnitskaya Street in central Minsk, near the Svisloch River. In the 1930s the girls attended Soviet state schools and were members of the Soviet youth organization, Young Pioneers. By the late 1930s Minsk was…
-
Edith Goldman Bielawski
ID CardEdith's parents owned a cotton factory in the town of Wegrow [in Poland]. The Goldmans were a religious family, and raised Edith, her brother and three sisters to strictly observe the Sabbath, Jewish holidays and the dietary laws. 1933-39: Edith attended public school, and also studied at the Beis Yakov religious school for girls where she learned Hebrew, the Bible and Jewish history. Her favorite hobby was knitting, and after finishing secondary school she learned the quilt-making trade. In the…
-
Joseph Gani
ID CardJoseph and his family lived in Preveza, a town with a Jewish population of 300 that was located on the Ionian seashore. Joseph's father had a small textile shop. The Ganis were of Romaniot descent, Jews whose ancestors had lived in Greece and the Balkans for more than a thousand years. 1933-39: Joseph attended Greek public school in Preveza. He also received a religious education; the local rabbi would come to the public school for several hours a week to give religious instruction to the Jewish students.…
-
Jacob Unger
ID CardJacob was living in Essen, Germany, when he met and married Erna Schumer, who, like him, came from a religious Jewish background. The couple had two children, Max, born in 1923 and Dora, born in 1925. Jacob worked as a salesman, and in the evenings he tutored students in Hebrew. 1933-39: In 1933 when Hitler came to power, Jacob went to Amsterdam to explore the possibility of the family moving there. However, Erna did not want to leave her three sisters who were living in Essen, and she also believed that…
-
Grietje Polak
ID CardGrietje was born to a large religious Jewish family in Amsterdam. When she was in her mid-20's, she married Frederik Polak, an accountant. The Polaks had a son, Jacob, and three daughters, Julia, Betty and Liesje. They lived in simple quarters on the second floor of a house. 1933-39: Creating an atmosphere of Jewish observance in the home was important to Grietje and her husband. They loved to celebrate the Sabbath and the Jewish holidays with their four children. Grietje taught shorthand and needlepoint…
-
Gregor Wohlfahrt
ID CardGregor was the second of six children born to Catholic parents in a village in the part of Austria known as Carinthia. His father was a farmer and quarryman. Disillusioned with Catholicism, his parents became Jehovah's Witnesses and raised their children according to that religion. As a boy, Gregor loved mountain climbing and skiing. 1933-39: Gregor attended school and worked as a waiter. The situation for Jehovah's Witnesses worsened after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938; Witnesses refused to swear…
-
Bella Judelowitz
ID CardBella, born Bella Hirschorn, was raised in a Jewish family in the Latvian town of Kuldiga. When she was a young woman, Bella moved to the small town of Aizpute, where she met and married Daniel Judelowitz. Together they opened a bakery-grocery in the town. In the 1920s they moved to Liepaja and opened a dry goods store. The couple had 10 children, one of whom died in infancy. 1933-39: The Judelowitzes' store sold fabric and various clothing items and accessories from buttons to shirts and stockings. After…
-
Daniel Judelowitz
ID CardDaniel was born to a Jewish family in the Latvian town of Aizpute. There, Daniel met and married Bella Hirschorn and together they opened a bakery-grocery in the town. In the 1920s they moved to Liepaja, on the Baltic coast, and opened a dry-goods store. The couple had 10 children, one of whom died in infancy. 1933-39: The Judelowitzes' store sold fabric, accessories and various clothing items from buttons to shirts and stockings. After Daniel and Bella retired, their daughters took over the business. In…
-
Alexander Bernstein
ID CardAlexander was one of six children born to a Jewish family in the Lithuanian village of Karchai. His father was a farmer. In nearby Janova, Alexander attended public school and also studied Hebrew and Jewish history in a religious school. In 1925 Alexander moved to Siauliai to attend secondary school. He lived there with his older sister. 1933-39: Alexander enrolled in university in Kovno, and entered the pharmacology department. After completing his degree, he returned to Siauliai and took a job in a…
-
Poster depicting the Statue of Liberty and flags of Allied Nations
ArtifactPoster titled “The United Nations Fight For Freedom.” It was one of many posters produced by the Office of War Information, the United States’s official propaganda agency during World War II. Canadian-American commercial artist Steve Broder (1902-1992) designed this work to bolster confidence in the Allied war effort against the Axis Powers (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan). It depicts the 30 flags of countries that signed the Declaration by the United Nations and declared war on the…
-
A page from the Fenyves family cookbook
ArtifactSteven Fenves (born Fenyves) and his family lived in Subotica, Yugoslavia. His father, Lajos, managed a publishing house and his mother, Klári (Klara), was a graphic artist. In April 1941, Subotica fell under Hungarian occupation. Until May 1944, the Fenyveses lived in one corner of their apartment while Hungarian officers took over the rest of the family’s home. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary. In April, Lajos was deported to the Auschwitz camp in German-occupied Poland. Steven, his sister…
