POLISH CITIZENS IN KL AUSCHWITZ POLISH CITIZENS IN KL AUSCHWITZ

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "POLISH CITIZENS IN KL AUSCHWITZ POLISH CITIZENS IN KL AUSCHWITZ"

Theresa Cox
5 years ago
Views:

POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN HALINA BIRENBAUM BATSZEWA DAGAN Was born in 1929 in Warsaw, survived the Warsaw ghetto. Her father was taken to Treblinka and murdered there.

Then, Halina Birenbaum was taken to Auschwitz- -Birkenau, subsequently to Ravensbrück and Neustadt-Glewe, were she was liberated. After the war, she emigrated to Israel. She is a writer and a poet.

1 POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN HALINA BIRENBAUM BATSZEWA DAGAN Was born in 1929 in Warsaw, survived the Warsaw ghetto. Her father was taken to Treblinka and murdered there. She, together with her mother and sister-in-law, was transferred to the camp in Majdanek in Lublin, where her mother died. Then, Halina Birenbaum was taken to Auschwitz- -Birkenau, subsequently to Ravensbrück and Neustadt-Glewe, were she was liberated. After the war, she emigrated to Israel. She is a writer and a poet. She is the author of the following books: Hope is the Last to Die, Return to the forefathers land, Each regained day, Call for remembrance, Remote and close echoes meeting the youth and a collection of poems. Halina Birenbaum meets the youth in Israel, Poland, Germany, Italy, as well as in other countries. Born in 1925 in Łódź as Izabella Rubinstein. She fled from her hometown with her parents and siblings to Radom when Germans entered Łódź. She got involved in a secret youth organisation Hashomer Hacair whilst at the ghetto in Radom. Part of her responsibility there was to travel to the Warsaw ghetto from where she smuggled the Pod Prąd magazine to Radom. In 1942, she escaped from Radom ghetto and used false documents to travel to Germany. After several months, she was arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where she stayed until the beginning of 1945, when together with other female prisoners she was evacuated to Ravensbrück and to Malchow. On 2 May, 1945, she was freed by the British Army. After liberation, she moved to Palestine, where together with her husband Paul she changed her name to Dagan. She is the author of publications for children and youth used in teaching about the Holocaust: What happened during the Holocaust: Rhymed tale for children who want to know, Czika, the Dog in the Ghetto, If stars could talk. A collection of poems Imagination: Blessed Be, Cursed be: Reminiscences from There. The evil of Auschwitz, unconscious and unexplored that smoulders undisturbed, returns in increasing terrorism, anti-semitism and racism that evolve into scenes of public, unpunished decapitation of humans in the eyes of the entire world, only because these people are different. I am terrified when I look at the surrounding world. I say to myself that if Auschwitz could have thrived legally and unpunished for so many years, then everything, even the worst thing, is possible. You cannot be astonished but you must recognise in time, counteract and prevent further tragedies, anarchy and crime. Halina Birenbaum Auschwitz Survivor Life is a one-time gift! Sorrows come uninvited, but you can create joys by yourself and try anew every day. In the era in which we live, interpersonal communication has weakened due to inventions of new media. Just remember! Smartphones cannot replace friendship and love between people! Enjoy what can be enjoyed, and do not give in to bad thoughts. The sun comes out after each thunderstorm. Batszewa Dagan Auschwitz Survivor

2 Recommended literature: Recommended literature:

POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN JÓZEF GARLIŃSKI WITOLD PILECKI Was born on 14 October, 1913 in Kiev. In 1926, he became a student of the Corps of Cadets in Rawicz.

After coming back to Warsaw from German captivity, he joined the conspiracy. He dealt with prison intelligence, i.e. contacts with people detained by Gestapo.

3 POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN JÓZEF GARLIŃSKI WITOLD PILECKI Was born on 14 October, 1913 in Kiev. In 1926, he became a student of the Corps of Cadets in Rawicz. He passed his Matura exam in 1934 in Kalisz and went to law school at the University of Warsaw. He participated in the defense of Poland in September After coming back to Warsaw from German captivity, he joined the conspiracy. He dealt with prison intelligence, i.e. contacts with people detained by Gestapo. He was arrested on 20 April, 1943, imprisoned in Pawiak, and then transferred to Auschwitz. Subsequently, he was imprisoned in Neuengamme and its subsidiaries, where finally on 4 May, 1945, in the subcamp Ludwigslust, he was liberated. After the war he decided not to go back to his country occupied then by the Soviets. Together with his wife he lived in London where he was a history writer. He was awarded a PhD at London School of Economics and Political Science. He published nearly twenty books. The most popular ones include: Fighting Auschwitz: The Resistance Movement in the Concentration Camp, Hitler's Last Weapons: The Underground War Against the V1 and V2, The Enigma War: The Inside Story of the German Enigma Codes and How the Allies Broke Them. He was invited to lecture in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland and Scandinavia. In Poland, he could share his knowledge only after He protected the good reputation of Poland on every possible occasion and everywhere he went; he corrected distorted information, popularised truth and accomplishments. He died in London on 25 November, Was born in As a scout he participated in the defence of Vilnius. He was also a volunteer in the Polish-Bolshevik war. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he fought for his Homeland. He was the co-organiser of the Secret Polish Army which later became a part of ZWZ/AK. In the summer of 1940, he took a voluntary decision to penetrate Auschwitz in order to establish a conspiracy network there, collect credible data on SS crimes, and then prepare the camp for fighting when an appropriate moment arrives. The Military Organisation Union (ZOW), established upon his initiative, entered into collaboration with the camp resistance movement. By means of this organisation, reports were sent to the Headquarters of the Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ) in Warsaw, and were passed on to London so that the world stayed informed about crimes committed by the Nazists in Auschwitz. After escaping from the camp (at night 26/27 April, 1943), he took part in the Warsaw Uprising, being subsequently detained in POW camps. After the war, he served in the Second Corps of General Władysław Anders. In the last months of 1945, the Rittmeister created an informative network in a non-sovereign country governed by communists and sent the collected data to Italy. While fulfilling his tasks, in spring 1947, he was arrested in Warsaw and one year later, after a long-term investigation and trial, he was sentenced to death. The death penalty was carried out on 25 May, 1948 despite his family s petition for amnesty. Years later, on 1 October 1990, Witold Pilecki was posthumously acquitted and Stalin s sentence was cancelled. We must never forget what happened in Auschwitz. However, if we are not ready to forgive, then hatred will forever dwell in our hearts and in the hearts of those whom we hate. And this will never end. Hatred is a negative and destructive feeling, and if we fail to overcome it, then our reality will end with yet another insanity. Józef Garliński Auschwitz Prisoner What I have written so far on these dozens of pages is not important, especially for those who will read them as sensational information. I would like to write using such huge letters, which unfortunately do not exist in typewriters, so that all these heads bearing mush under a beautiful hair partition, that can only thank their mothers that this mush does not leak from their heads as they have well sealed skulls let them think a bit deeper about their own lives, let them look at people around them and start a fight from themselves, with their falsehood, hypocrisy, interest cunningly underlying ideas, truth and even a great cause. Rittmeister Witold Pilecki Auschwitz Prisoner

4 Recommended literature: Recommended literature:

POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN ISRAEL GUTMAN JANINA IWAŃSKA Was born in 1923 in Warsaw.

He was a prisoner in German concentration camps in Majdanek, in Auschwitz-Birkenau and in Mauthausen-Gusen. After the war, he emigrated to Israel where he was a witness in the trial of Adolf Eichmann.

Israel Gutman is an author of numerous publications concerning Jewish history and extermination. In the years 2000 2012, he was a vicepresident of the International Auschwitz Council.

5 POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN ISRAEL GUTMAN JANINA IWAŃSKA Was born in 1923 in Warsaw. As a member of the Jewish Combat Organisation (ŻOB), on 19 April, 1943, when the uprising broke out in the Warsaw ghetto, he joined the fighting. He was a prisoner in German concentration camps in Majdanek, in Auschwitz-Birkenau and in Mauthausen-Gusen. After the war, he emigrated to Israel where he was a witness in the trial of Adolf Eichmann. He was a popular Jewish historian cooperating with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and with Yad Vashem the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre. Israel Gutman is an author of numerous publications concerning Jewish history and extermination. In the years , he was a vicepresident of the International Auschwitz Council. He died on 1 October, 2013 in Jerusalem. Was born on 12 June, 1930 in Warsaw. She spent her childhood in Wola where she started her education. Her father was arrested during the Second World War. On 1 August, 1944, when The Warsaw Uprising broke out, she was at home alone. For the first eight days of the fighting, she coped on her own, with the help of older tenants in the building where her entire family lived before the war. Together with others, Janina was led to the transit camp in Pruszków and then transferred to Auschwitz. She survived the death march and was liberated in Ravensbrück camp. After the war, she graduated from University and was awarded a PhD in Pharmacy. Currently, she lives in Warsaw, she meets the youth whom she talks to about her war experiences. Our mission is not only to provide a warning, but to teach people that a cordial attitude towards another person, the understanding of a person suffering and helping him, as well as striving for unity and peace, is our ultimate goal. Israel Gutman Auschwitz Survivor I will not say much because I do not know how to speak gracefully. I think that youth must remember our history, what was bad in it and the reason why it happened. Youth must understand that the future belongs to them and now it will be their turn to write history. Will they be remembered as those we recall negatively? Will they do something positive what will be remembered well by future generations? Dr Janina Iwańska Auschwitz Prisoner

6 Recommended literature: Recommended literature:

After being interrogated in Pawiak prison in Warsaw, he was sent to Auschwitz, and then after two years in the camp he was sent to Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen, where he was liberated.

7 POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN CZESŁAW KEMPISTY MARIAN TURSKI Was born in 1925 in Ostrów Mazowiecka. As a 16-years-old boy he was arrested together with his father, Józef and elder brother, Zygmunt for belonging to a secret organisation. After being interrogated in Pawiak prison in Warsaw, he was sent to Auschwitz, and then after two years in the camp he was sent to Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen, where he was liberated. After the war he became a medical doctor, he conducted research on the war pathology of children and minor prisoners of Nazi concentration camps. He is the author of the memoirs Survive a day and The continuation of Nuremberg cases. Was born in 1926 in Druskininkai (presently in Lithuania). He lived in Łódź. In April 1940, he and his family were sent to the Łódź ghetto; later, in August 1944, he was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. He worked in one of Auschwitz sub-camps in Czechowice. In January 1945, after the death march, he reached Buchenwald and then Theresienstadt. After many weeks of convalescence, he came back to his country. He lived and studied in Wałbrzych and Wrocław, and then in Warsaw. Marian Turski is a historian and journalist, author, co-author and editor of a few books. Since 1958 he has been involved with Polityka weekly. He is also the vice-president of the Jewish Historical Institute Association in Poland, a member of the International Auschwitz Council and the president of the Council of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. In 1997 he was awarded a Commander s Cross with Star Order of Polonia Restituta. It is not easy to constantly bring back history from the past and cast it on a rebuilt world where young generations now live. All that needs to have been said, has been told: crimes, exterminations, individual and collective murders. All that remains are the last wills of those who died and the obligation to remember them, their pain, their courage, and their fight. A remembrance which is hope for future generations that what happened on this soil will never repeat itself. Czesław Kempisty Auschwitz Prisoner The worst was HUMILIATION! You were not treated as a human being especially when you were a Jew and just because you were a Jew you were not treated even as an animal but like an insect, louse, nit, cockroach, bedbug. And what do you do with a nit or a cockroach? You must crush it, smother and destroy it. Therefore, when today people, especially young ones, ask me: What do you remember from those experiences? What could you say to contemporary people? From all the words and sciences, if I could use one word, I would say EMPATHY! If the statement: NO MORE AUSCHWITZ is not to be a cliché, a triviality, we must learn to understand another person: DIFFERENT THAN ME, DIFFERENT THAN US! We must try to understand his way of thinking, his motives for action and point of view. If we want to live in a world with less hatred, we must try to demonstrate compassion, understanding and empathy. Marian Turski Auschwitz Survivor

8 Recommended literature: Recommended literature:

POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN ROMAN KENT EDWARD PACZKOWSKI Born in Łódź in 1925. His father was the owner of a textile factory. He had two elder sisters and one younger brother.

One brother, Leon stayed with him and went through other camps: Gross-Rosen, Flossenbürg and Dachau. Roman s father died in the Łódź ghetto and his mother was murdered in Auschwitz.

In 1964, together with Leon, he was accepted as part of so called children s quota to the USA, where they both lived in difficult conditions.

9 POLISH CITIZENS IN POLISH CITIZENS IN ROMAN KENT EDWARD PACZKOWSKI Born in Łódź in His father was the owner of a textile factory. He had two elder sisters and one younger brother. In 1940, his whole family went to the Łódź ghetto, and later in 1944 they were transferred to Auschwitz. During the selection at the camp, Roman Kent was separated from his family. One brother, Leon stayed with him and went through other camps: Gross-Rosen, Flossenbürg and Dachau. Roman s father died in the Łódź ghetto and his mother was murdered in Auschwitz. Fortunately, with his brother they managed to find their sisters in Sweden, but one of them died during her convalescence period. In 1964, together with Leon, he was accepted as part of so called children s quota to the USA, where they both lived in difficult conditions. It was difficult to explain who they were and where they came from. Roman Kent took up economic studies and got married. He has two children and lives in New York. He described his war experiences in memorials and a book My dog Lala. He is a member of the International Auschwitz Council and an activist for education about the Holocaust. Is a Polish Roma. He was born in He lived with his parents and a large family in a wandering group. In September 1942, together with friends and his brother, he was arrested for conspiracy and detained in a prison in Radom, and then transported to Auschwitz. He was registered as a political prisoner. In 1944 he was transferred to Buchenwald and then to Bergen-Belsen. He came back to Poland in Unfortunately, all the members of his family had been murdered. Edward returned to a traditional wandering type of life. In the 60 s he lived in Opole and then in Zawiercie. He has a family and he is retired. What is Auschwitz today? Auschwitz is no longer just a word. It is an expression of evil. The worst evil that humanity could experience then, and I hope that it will never happen again. I dread that Auschwitz in the near future may become only a minor footnote in history. And that would be a tragedy for humanity if we forgot about Auschwitz. Roman Kent Auschwitz Survivor Every time I come to Auschwitz, all my nightmares become alive again. I feel this acute fear and anxiety, I see all these faces, I feel the scent. Despite all this, I want to come back here and I want to talk about my past because I feel this is my duty. When I tell the youth about everything what happened here, I know that I will feel ill. For me, it is like digging in an unhealed wound. But I want to talk. I want to warn them so that this nightmare never happens again, so that the past is a lesson for tomorrow. Our only fault was that we were Roma people, that was the reason we were killed. I always repeat not to throw everyone into the same bag because that is what caused the evil of Auschwitz to win. In that time a human was not important but his race and nationality. Keep your eyes wide open and do not allow race nor religion to become the basis for assessing a human. This always brings consequences. React to each sign of hatred, draw conclusions from the past, and do not let the past come back. Edward Paczkowski Auschwitz Prisoner

10 Recommended literature: Recommended literature:

Contact for further information about this collection

Contact for further information about this collection Baruch, Aliza Israel Documentation Project Hebrew RG-50.120*0007 1.00 From Saloniki Greece. Her father worked at the harbor, and their family was religious, but not extremely so. She attended a private