During World War II, Jewish children became the subject of genocide. Historians estimate that of the nearly 6 million victims of the Holocaust, more than 1.5 million were children under the age of 15. Expelled from their homes, suffering from hunger, cold and disease, they died with their parents, who could not save them, or they died alone because their relatives had been murdered earlier.


We will never know what they thought and felt in these last moments of their lives. They have no graves. They don’t even have names. They have not had time to grow up, have children and grandchildren who will remember them.

On their behalf, after several decades of silence, those who managed to survive the Holocaust spoke — the Children of the Holocaust.


Memories, previously recorded in five volumes  series “Children of the Holocaust Speak…”, have been placed in the digital archive Record of Remembrance, which was named after

Professor Jakub Gutenbaum 

— the first chairman of the Association of “Children of the Holocaust” in Poland.


Memories

Memories are available under the “search memory” tab. You can select them from the drop-down list or enter first or last name of a person you search in the empty field. All reports are in the form of text, some additionally contain photos and videos, which is indicated by the numbers and cross-references above the person’s name. Clicking on a number or link takes you to alternative text, video, photo gallery or an external website. Videos are additionally available under the “video recordings” tab. You can also listen to dozens of memories – the texts are read by actors. Memories will be added successively.

Maria Kowalska – “In June 1941 we found ourselves in the Vilnius ghetto. My mother, certain of death, driven to work outside the ghetto, took me and handed me over to the nanny at the agreed place. The German convoying the Jews turned away his head. It was in October 1941. “

Teresa Lisiewska – “I remember that on my way from Warsaw I got bread with butter, I did not know the taste of butter. I nibbled on my bread and wanted to eat the butter for dessert, but it melted in my little hands. It was the second tragedy for me after the loss of my Jewish parents in the ghetto.”

Joanna Sobolewska-Pyz – “I was playing sitting on the floor when they came in. “This is your mummy and your daddy” – said Mrs. Wanda, and I was very happy – my new mother was beautiful, made-up, colorful, I liked my father too, although a little less. “

Jakub Gutenbaum – “On my way, I passed a dozen or so bodies every day, terribly thin, naked, with newspapers covered with newspapers, and swollen and ulcerated legs sticking out from under them. There were especially many children among the dead. “

+ 192 inne relacje na zapispamieci.pl

E-books

For logged in readers, we have a proprietary study of the memories of the Children of the Holocaust entitled “We couldn’t understand why …”. The e-book in two language versions, Polish and English, contains extensive quotes from memories, grouped thematically and with footnotes, which makes it easier for the modern reader to look at the Holocaust through the eyes of a Jewish child. Downloading the e-book is free, you only need to log in or register on our website.

Nie mogliśmy pojąć, dlaczego...

Anna Kołacińska-Gałązka,
Warszawa 2020

Autorskie opracowanie, opowiadające historię Zagłady za pomocą cytatów ze wspomnień Dzieci Holocaustu. Uporządkowane tematycznie relacje dopełniono ponad 180 przypisami historycznymi.

pobierz e-book:

MOBI (na czytnik Kindle)

EPUB (na pozostałe czytniki)

Nie mogliśmy pojąć, dlaczego...

We Couldn't Understand Why...

Anna Kołacińska-Gałązka,
Warszawa 2020

A publication based on the memories of the Children of the Holocaust. The book tells the story of the Holocaust in the words of Jewish children. Thematically arranged relations are complemented by over 180 historical footnotes.

Download the e-book:

MOBI (for Kindle)

EPUB (for other e-readers)

Open project

The Record of Remembrance is based on memoirs published in the form of books by the Association of “Children of the Holocaust” in Poland, but it is not limited to them and is still growing. It is open to everyone who has not yet decided to share their accounts, as well as to their relatives who would like to record the life stories of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
We are waiting for you at:
kontakt@zapispamieci.pl

Exhibition

The exhibition “My Jewish Parents, My Polish Parents” presents fifteen stories out of nearly two hundred memories of the Children of the Holocaust contained in the Record of Remembrance. It was shown for the first time in 2015 at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, and three months later the exhibition began its journey throughout Poland and the world.

50 thousand viewers

Ten sets of boards in four languages were created and since 2015  the presentation have been in constant motion. The exhibitions in Poland, Germany, Austria, Spain and Israel were accompanied by meetings with the Children of the Holocaust, scientific conferences and presentations of publications about experiences of the children during the Holocaust. The number of viewers of the exhibition in 2020 reached 50,000.

Maria Kowalska

Exhibition locations: WARSZAWA, KIELCE, ŁÓDŹ, BERLIN, CHMIELNIK, TYKOCIN, SZAMOTUŁY, BARCELONA, WROCŁAW, MARKOWA, OLSZTYN, POCZDAM, WIEDEŃ, TREBLINKA, LINZ, OŚWIĘCIM, KRAKÓW, ZAMOŚĆ, SALZBURG, BARCZEWO, MAGDEBURG, NORYMBERGA, AUGSBURG, HALLE, BAD FREIENWALDE, WIELUŃ, CHEŁMNO, OSTRÓDA, LIDZBARK WARMIŃSKI, KIRYAT MOTZKIN, HALBERSTADT, SENFTENBERG…

The exhibition
on the web

A month after the opening of the exhibition “My Jewish Parents, My Polish Parents”, its digital version was created to go online: moirodzice.org.pl. On this website you can read in three languages the stories of Jewish children saved in Polish homes and watch an animation containing an original voices of the reminiscents. This publication initiated the digital publication of the memories collected so far in the volumes “Children of the Holocaust Speak”.

Books

The Association of “Children of the Holocaust” in Poland continues to publish books in traditional printed form. They can be obtained at the association’s Warsaw headquarters at ul. Twarda 6. The content of printed books is systematically transferred to the archives at zapispamieci.pl and published in the form of e-books.

Children of  the Holocaust Speak, Volumes 1-5

Edited by Wiktorii Śliwowskiej, Jakuba Gutenbauma, Agnieszki Latały, Katarzyny Meloch, Haliny Szostkiewicz, Anny Kołacińskiej-Gałązka, Warsaw 1993-2014

The new edition of all 5 volumes of memoirs of the members of the Association of “Children of the Holocaust” in Poland, were published in between 1993 and 2014 in the form of traditional books, and are available at the association’s headquarters in Warsaw.

We Couldn’t Understand why …

Anna Kołacińska-Gałązka,
Warsaw 2020

Author’s study of the memoirs of the Children of the Holocaust. This publication, in Polish and English, contains extensive citations from the accounts in our archive, arranged thematically and supplemented with historical footnotes. The book is also available as an e-book for registered users at zapispamieci.pl.

Children of the Holocaust Speak, vol. 1, 3

Editors: Wiktoria Śliwowska, Katarzyna Meloch, Halina Szostkiewicz i Sarah Lawson. Translated by Julian i Fay Bussgang, Katarzyna Szuster
Warsaw 2019

The “Children of the Holocaust” Association in Poland offers English translations of three out of five volumes of the memoirs “Children of the Holocaust Speak”. Translations of the next two volumes is in progress and will be coming out soon.

up

Website „Zapis pamięci”
Associations
„Dzieci Holocaustu”
in Poland.

Made with the support of the Polish Representation of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation

street Twarda 6
00-105 Warsaw
tel./fax +48 22 620 82 45
dzieciholocaustu.org.pl
chsurv@jewish.org.pl

Concept and graphic
solutions – Jacek Gałązka ©
ex-press.com.pl

Implementation
Joanna Sobolewska-Pyz,
Anna Kołacińska-Gałązka,
Jacek Gałązka

Web developer
Marcin Bober
RELATED PROJECTS

The exhibition is on its way
„Moi żydowscy rodzice,
moi polscy rodzice” moirodzice.org.pl

Permanent exhibition
„Moi żydowscy rodzice,
moi polscy rodzice”
in The Museum of Armed Struggle
and Martyrology in Treblinka
muzeumtreblinka.eu
Website „Zapis pamięci”
Associations
„Dzieci Holocaustu”
in Poland.

Was carried out
thanks to the support of the Foundation
im. Róży Luksemburg
Representation
in Poland
Concept and graphic
solutions – Jacek Gałązka ©
ex-press.com.pl

Implementation
Joanna Sobolewska-Pyz,
Anna Kołacińska-Gałązka,
Jacek Gałązka

Web developer
Marcin Bober
RELATED PROJECTS

The exhibition is on its way
„Moi żydowscy rodzice,
moi polscy rodzice” moirodzice.org.pl

Permanent exhibition
„Moi żydowscy rodzice,
moi polscy rodzice”
in The Museum of Armed Struggle
and Martyrology in Treblinka
treblinka-muzeum.eu