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Mieczyslaw Madejski describes underground work in the early 1940s
Oral HistoryMieczyslaw and his family were not Jewish. When Germany invaded Poland, Mieczyslaw was working for an organization formed for self-defense against German bombings. Later, he worked for the Polish underground group ZWZ (Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej; Union for Armed Struggle), which became the AK (Armia Krajowa; Home Army). In 1943, he was conscripted for forced labor at a BMW plant in Warsaw. He escaped, and participated in the Warsaw Polish uprising in August 1944. After the uprising, he left Warsaw and went…
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Ghettos
ArticleGhettos separating Jews from the rest of the population were part of the Nazi plan to destroy Europe's Jews. Read about ghettoization during the Holocaust.
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World War II in Europe
ArticleWorld War II lasted from 1939 to 1945, when the Allies defeated the Axis powers. Learn about key invasions and events during WWII, also known as the Second World War.
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Invasion of Poland, Fall 1939
ArticleThe German invasion of Poland in the fall of 1939 triggered WWII. Learn more about key dates and events, causes, and related Holocaust history.
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World War II Dates and Timeline
ArticleWorld War II was the largest and most destructive conflict in history. Learn about key WWII dates in this timeline of events, including when WW2 started and ended.
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Israel Yitzak Kisielnicki
ID CardThe youngest of three children, Israel Yitzak was born to Jewish parents living 35 miles east of Warsaw in the small, predominantly Jewish town of Kaluszyn. Israel's mother was a housewife, and his father was a merchant who often traveled on business, by horse and wagon, to Warsaw. Israel attended public school and also received religious instruction. 1933-39: When Germany invaded Poland several days ago, many kids Israel's age, afraid of what would happen if the Germans occupied Poland, fled to the USSR,…
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Lodz
ArticleNazi authorities established the Lodz ghetto in 1940. Learn about living conditions and forced labor in the ghetto, as well as deportations to and from there.
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Sara Rachela Plagier
ArticleChildren's diaries bear witness to some of the most heartbreaking events of the Holocaust. Learn about the diary and experiences of Sara Rachela Plagier.
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Life in the Ghettos
ArticleDuring the Holocaust, Jews were forced into ghettos with terrible living conditions, overcrowding, and starvation. Learn more about life in the Lodz ghetto.
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German Invasion of Poland
Timeline EventSeptember 1, 1939. On this date, Germany invaded Poland and initiated World War II in Europe.
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Three participants in the Treblinka uprising
PhotoThree participants in the Treblinka uprising who escaped and survived the war. Photograph taken in Warsaw, Poland, 1945. Pictured from left to right are: Abraham Kolski, Lachman and Brenner. After participating in the Treblinka uprising, they escaped from the camp and found temporary refuge in the nearby forest. Afterwards they hid with a Christian family until liberation.
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The Margules children wearing Jewish badges
PhotoThe Margules children wearing Jewish badges. Originally from Warsaw, the Margules family settled in Paris in the 1930s. Three of the children were deported and killed in 1942. Only one daughter (pictured at the bottom right) survived the war. Paris, France, 1941.
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Operation "Harvest Festival"
ArticleLearn about Operation “Harvest Festival” (Aktion “Erntefest”), the Nazi attack against the remaining Jews of the Lublin District of the General Government.
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Ona Simaite, Joop Westerweel, Irena Sendler
ArticleLearn about the rescue activities and the fates of Ona Simaite in Lithuania, Joop Westerweel in the Netherlands, and Irena Sendler in Poland.
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Der ewige Jude
ArticleThe Nazi Ministry of Propaganda exploited motion pictures as a medium to spread antisemitic messages. Learn about one such film, Der ewige Jude.
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Trucks used to transport Polish prisoners to the Palmiry forest for execution
PhotoGerman police and SS personnel wait with a convoy of trucks during a shooting action in the Palmiry forest near Warsaw. These trucks were used to transport prisoners held in the Pawiak and Mokotow prisons. October–December 1939.
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Refugee camp in Zbaszyn
PhotoView of Zbaszyn, the site of a refugee camp for Jews of Polish nationality who were expelled from Germany. The Jewish refugees, hungry and cold, were stranded on the border, denied admission into Poland after their expulsion from Germany. Photograph taken between October 28, 1938, and August 1939. Warsaw-based historian, political activist, and social welfare worker Emanuel Ringelblum spent five weeks in Zbaszyn, organizing assistance for the refugees trapped on the border.
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View of the refugee camp in Zbaszyn
PhotoView of the flour mill in Zbaszyn, which served as a refugee camp for Jews expelled from Germany. The Jewish refugees, hungry and cold, were stranded on the border, denied admission into Poland after their explusion from Germany. Photograph taken between October 28, 1938, and August 1939. Warsaw-based historian, political activist, and social welfare worker Emanuel Ringelblum spent five weeks in Zbaszyn, organizing assistance for the refugees trapped on the border.
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Prewar portrait of Pinchas and Roza Zygielbojm
PhotoPrewar portrait of Pinchas and Roza Zygielbojm taken in 1936 in Warsaw, Poland. In 1942, they were taken into the Ponary forest outside of Vilna and killed by the SS and Lithuanian collaborators. Born in 1906, Pinchas Zygielbojm was an actor and brother of Szmul Artur Zygielbojm, a leader of the Jewish socialist Bund in interwar Poland and later a member of the National Council of the Polish Government-in-Exile in London.
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Rescue and Resistance
SeriesBrowse a series of articles describing how some Jews survived the Holocaust; rescue efforts; anti-Nazi resistance groups; and revolts against Nazi oppression in the Warsaw ghetto and in killing centers.
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Julien Bryan: Photographs and Film
Media EssayExplore images and film by US filmmaker and photographer Julien Bryan, including documentation of Warsaw following the German invasion of Poland.
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Soviet military advance in Vitebsk
FilmThe Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 (Operation "Barbarossa"). German forces occupied Vitebsk in the northeastern region of Belorussia on July 11. Soviet forces seized the initiative from the Germans after the battle of Stalingrad in late 1942 and early 1943. The Soviet army liberated Vitebsk on June 26, 1944, during their summer 1944 offensive. This footage shows military units involved in the fighting and German soldiers captured during the campaign. By the end of the summer, the Soviet…
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Jeff Gradow
ArticleRead the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation's short biography of Jeff Gradow.
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Deportations from Lodz to Chelmno
Timeline EventJanuary 16, 1942. On this date, German authorities began the deportations of Jews and Roma from the Lodz ghetto to the Chelmno killing center.
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SS personnel lead Polish women into a forest for execution
PhotoPolish women from the Pawiak and Mokotow prisons in nearby Warsaw are led into the Palmiry forest for execution by SS personnel.The original caption reads: "Their Nazi executioners leading a group of Polish women, according to the information attached to this picture which was just received through Polish sources. Hundreds of cvilians, men, women and even young children are said to be systematically 'eliminated' under the Nazi scheme of things in war-torn Poland". Palmiry Forest, Poland,…
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Leah Hammerstein Silverstein describes working under a false non-Jewish identity in a German hospital in Krakow
Oral HistoryLeah grew up in Praga, a suburb of Warsaw, Poland. She was active in the Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa'ir Zionist youth movement. Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. Jews were forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto, which the Germans sealed off in November 1940. In the ghetto, Leah lived with a group of Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa'ir members. In September 1941, she and other members of the youth group escaped from the ghetto to a Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa'ir farm in Zarki, near Czestochowa, Poland. In May 1942, Leah became a courier…
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Leah Hammerstein Silverstein describes the aftermath of the Holocaust and the search for survivors
Oral HistoryLeah grew up in Praga, a suburb of Warsaw, Poland. She was active in the Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa'ir Zionist youth movement. Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. Jews were forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto, which the Germans sealed off in November 1940. In the ghetto, Leah lived with a group of Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa'ir members. In September 1941, she and other members of the youth group escaped from the ghetto to a Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa'ir farm in Zarki, near Czestochowa, Poland. In May 1942, Leah became a courier…
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Deportations to Killing Centers
ArticleWith help from allies and collaborators, German authorities deported Jews from across Europe to killing centers. The vast majority were gassed almost immediately after their arrival in the killing centers.
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Ruth Berkowicz Segal describes finding her father in Vilna after he fled Soviet-occupied eastern Poland
Oral HistoryWhen German forces invaded Poland in September 1939, Ruth's father fled to eastern Poland. Upon the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland, he fled to Lithuania. Ruth left Warsaw with two friends to find her father and later joined him in Vilna. After Soviet forces occupied Lithuania, Ruth and her father obtained transit visas for Japan, but only Ruth obtained a Soviet exit visa. Her father insisted she leave and not wait for him. Ruth traveled by the Trans-Siberian Railroad across the Soviet Union to…
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Felix Horn describes postwar emigration with the Brihah movement and adjustment to life after the war
Oral HistoryFelix was born to an assimilated Jewish family in Lublin, Poland. His father was a locksmith and his mother was a singer. Following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Felix fled east to Rovno and then to Soviet-occupied Lvov, where he was accepted at a medical school. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Felix was taken to a labor camp. He escaped and returned to Lublin, and found that his family had been forced into the ghetto established there. After the…
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Felix Horn describes attempt to flee from the Majdan Tatarski ghetto
Oral HistoryFelix was born to an assimilated Jewish family in Lublin, Poland. His father was a locksmith and his mother was a singer. Following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Felix fled east to Rovno and then to Soviet-occupied Lvov, where he was accepted at a medical school. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Felix was taken to a labor camp. He escaped and returned to Lublin, and found that his family had been forced into the ghetto established there. After the…
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Felix Horn describes antisemitism in Lvov and conditions in the Janowska camp
Oral HistoryFelix was born to an assimilated Jewish family in Lublin, Poland. His father was a locksmith and his mother was a singer. Following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Felix fled east to Rovno and then to Soviet-occupied Lvov, where he was accepted at a medical school. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Felix was taken to a labor camp. He escaped and returned to Lublin, and found that his family had been forced into the ghetto established there. After the…
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Mieczyslaw Madejski describes underground organization and activities
Oral HistoryMieczyslaw and his family were not Jewish. When Germany invaded Poland, Mieczyslaw was working for an organization formed for self-defense against German bombings. Later, he worked for the Polish underground group ZWZ (Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej; Union for Armed Struggle), which became the AK (Armia Krajowa; Home Army). In 1943, he was conscripted for forced labor at a BMW plant in Warsaw. He escaped, and participated in the Warsaw Polish uprising in August 1944. After the uprising, he left Warsaw and went…
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Maria Justyna
ID CardMaria was born to Roman Catholic parents in the industrial town of Piotrkow Trybunalski in central Poland. Her father and mother were school teachers. Maria attended grade school and secondary school in Piotrkow. She and her older sister, Danuta, became friends with two Jewish girls, Sabina and Helena Szwarc. Although their houses were more than a mile apart, the girls often played together. 1933-39: The Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and occupied Piotrkow four days later. Most schooling for…
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Elzbieta Lusthaus
ID CardElzbieta grew up in Iwonicz, a resort town in southwestern Poland noted for its mineral water. Her father, Edmund, was a respected physician and Helena, her mother, had studied pharmacology. At home, they spoke Polish and were among the few Jewish families who lived in Iwonicz. 1933–39: When German troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Elzbieta's father was drafted into the Polish army. Seventeen days later, the Soviet army drove in from the east and Edmund was captured. He was transported to a…
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Welwel Kisielnicki
ID CardWelwel lived with his wife, Feiga, and their three children in the small, predominantly Jewish town of Kaluszyn, which was 35 miles east of Warsaw. The Kisielnickis were religious and spoke Yiddish in their home. Welwel was a merchant and often traveled, by horse and wagon, to Warsaw on business. 1933-39: The Kisielnicki family's hopes that the war wouldn't reach Kaluszyn have been shattered. Last week, a German plane flew over their town and dropped a bomb on people waiting in line outside a bakery.…
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Rojske Kisielnicki Sadowsky
ID CardThe second of three children, Rojske was born to Jewish parents living 35 miles east of Warsaw in the small predominantly Jewish town of Kaluszyn. Rojske's mother was a housewife and her father was a merchant who often traveled, by horse and wagon, to Warsaw on business. When Rojske was in her twenties, she married Welwel Sadowsky, a fruit dealer. 1933-39: After war broke out last week, German forces fought Polish troops in a battle right here in Kaluszyn. Half the town has been flattened by shelling, and…
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Gitla Zoberman
ID CardGitla was the second-youngest of four girls born to observant Jewish parents. They made their home in Sandomierz, a predominantly Catholic town on the Vistula River. Her father owned a small bookstore across from the town hall, selling school texts and novels. Gitla attended public school before enrolling in a Catholic girls' high school. In the winter, Gitla enjoyed skating on the Vistula. 1933-39: In 1937 Gitla moved to Katowice, a large town on the Polish-German border. There, she enrolled in a…
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Lonia Goldman Fishman
ID CardLonia had three sisters and one brother. Her parents owned a cotton factory in the town of Wegrow. The Goldmans were a religious family, strictly observing the Sabbath, the Jewish holidays and the dietary laws. 1933-39: After studying all day at public school, Lonia attended a religious school for girls called Beis Yakov where she studied Hebrew, the Bible and Jewish history. Later, when she was in high school, a private tutor came to the house to teach her Hebrew. Lonia's favorite hobby was knitting.…
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Feiga Kisielnicki
ID CardFeiga lived with her husband, Welwel, and their three children in the small, predominantly Jewish town of Kaluszyn, which was 35 miles east of Warsaw. The Kisielnickis were religious and spoke Yiddish in their home. Feiga was a housewife and her husband was a merchant who often traveled, by horse and wagon, to Warsaw on business. 1933-39: Germany recently invaded Poland, and several days ago, German forces fought Polish troops in a battle right here in Kaluszyn. Half the town, including Feiga's house, has…
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Herman Klein
ID CardHerman was the fourth of eight children born to a religious Jewish family in the small town of Sirma, located near the city of Sevlus. The Kleins had a small plot of land, which they farmed, and they also ran a shoe shop. At age four Herman began attending religious school. When he started public elementary school, he continued his religious lessons in the afternoons. 1933-39: In March 1939, the region of Czechoslovakia in which Herman lived was annexed to Hungary. His teacher at school was replaced by a…
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Klara Mintzberg
ID CardKlara grew up in Rzeszow, a Polish city with a population of approximately 30,000. The Mintzbergs were observant Jews. Klara's mother supported the family by running their fabric store. Her father was an ardent Zionist. He dreamed of immigrating to Palestine and encouraged Klara to join a Zionist youth group. 1933-39: After finishing secondary school, Klara was elected to serve on the board of directors of Poland's Ha-No'ar Ha-Ziyoni youth movement; she was the only woman on the board. She studied…
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Raizel Kisielnicki
ID CardRaizel lived with her husband, Mojsze, and their three children in the small, predominantly Jewish town of Kaluszyn, which was 35 miles east of Warsaw. By the 1930s, Mojsze owned a grocery store, a restaurant, and a gas station, all of which were located together on the heavily traveled main road. The family lived in rooms in the same building as their business. 1933-39: Every day Raizel prepares the roast goose served in the family's restaurant. They have a bustling business, as many truck drivers stop…
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Abram Kisielnicki
ID CardThe oldest of three children, Abram was born to Jewish parents in the small, predominantly Jewish town of Kaluszyn, 35 miles east of Warsaw. Abram's father owned a wholesale grocery store, a restaurant and a gas station, all of which were located on the heavily traveled main road. Abram went to public elementary school and also received religious instruction. 1933-39: Abram was 21 when the Germans invaded Poland. Abram, his father, and his brother Majlech fled eastward towards the Soviet Union because…
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Frederick Fleszar
ID CardFrederick was the oldest of two sons born to Polish immigrants in Syracuse, New York. In 1922 Frederick's father, who was a musician, moved the family back to Poland where they settled in Poznan. There Frederick started public school and was accepted to the boys section of the prestigious Poznan Cathedral Choir. 1933-39: In 1933, at age 17, Frederick graduated from secondary school and enrolled in medical school at the university at Poznan. He sang with the choir for the last time the day he graduated…
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Jocheved Kuzda Kasher
ID CardJocheved, or Jadza as she was called at home, was born in the industrial city of Lodz, Poland's second-largest city. Before the war, one-third of Lodz's inhabitants were Jewish. The Kuzdas kept a traditional Jewish home and placed importance on their children's education. Jocheved had two older sisters, Sarah and Regina. 1933-39: Jocheved was 9 when the war broke out in September 1939. Instead of starting school, she stayed at home listening to the bombs exploding. Her father and sister tried to get to…
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The "We Will Never Die" Pageant
Article"We Will Never Die" was a 1943 musical stage performance that raised awareness among Americans about the murder of European Jews. Learn more.
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Vladka (Fagele) Peltel Meed describes participating in activities of the Bundist underground
Oral HistoryVladka belonged to the Zukunft youth movement of the Bund (the Jewish Socialist party). She was active in the Warsaw ghetto underground as a member of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ZOB). In December 1942, she was smuggled out to the Aryan, Polish side of Warsaw to try to obtain arms and to find hiding places for children and adults. She became an active courier for the Jewish underground and for Jews in camps, forests, and other ghettos.
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Boleslaw Brodecki describes hangings in a labor camp and their impact on the prisoners
Oral HistoryBoleslaw and his older sister were raised in a Jewish section of Warsaw. The Germans attacked Warsaw in September 1939. Boleslaw's father did not want to leave his ill relatives behind, so Boleslaw and his sister escaped on a train heading for the Soviet border. The Germans invaded Soviet territories in 1941, and in 1942 Boleslaw was imprisoned in a forced-labor camp. He was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where he was liberated by Soviet forces in 1945.
