Wiesław Bieniek
I was born on September 14, 1935, in Warsaw, at 58 Chmielna Street. My father, Wacław, a Polish non-Jew, was a civil engineer who earned his degree in Berlin. My mother was Jewish. My maternal grandfather was a trader, Grandma Róża—his wife—ran the household. Julian, my mother’s younger brother, also lived with us. In August […]
Joanna Berens-Tomczyńska
My family lived in Warsaw. Grandfather, Edward Berensztajn, was the owner of the Majde and Co. soap and cosmetics factory. My mother was a lawyer and my father was a pulmonary doctor. Soon after the war began, the whole family—my grandfather, grandmother Maria, my mother Irena, and her three younger brothers: Aleksander, Julian, and Tadeusz—set […]
Josef Bainvoll
In this book, I talk about my childhood in pre-war Poland, my Jewish family, my education, friends, and about unforgettable childhood loves. I describe my life under the German occupation, leaving home, my separation from the family, the years in labor camps, everyday fight for survival; my escape into the forest, my fear of partisans, […]
Ela Waśniewska
Interviewed by Katarzyna Meloch ELA WAŚNIEWSKA: We lived in Warsaw. My parents had bought a plot in Henryków near Warsaw and started building a house. In 1938, the house was completed and we moved in. Before the war, we were affluent because, as one of very few families, we owned a car. My father and […]
Juliusz Jerzy (Piotr) Tober—Letters
Piotr Tober’s recollections are included also under the telling title “Koszmar trwa” [The Nightmare Continues]. Letters are edited by Halina Szostkiewicz, based on the letters and information passed on to the Association of “The Children of the Holocaust”, mainly by Ms. Janina Bruell. He spent most of his life as an anonymous orphan, a “foundling.” […]
Jerzy Ślęzak
I was born on November 9, 1933, in Częstochowa to a mixed marriage. My father was Polish. My mother, née Estera Landau, is still alive. The story of my parents from the early 1930s was famous in all of Częstochowa and, to my mind, it deserves to be told in more detail. Here it is: […]
Miriam Sharon
I was born on September 10, 1934, in Chorzów, in Upper Silesia. Around four thousand Jews, mostly assimilated ones, lived in Chorzów before the war. My parents came from devout families in Nowy Sącz. After getting married, they moved to Chorzów, to change their lifestyles from Orthodox to secular and progressive, which prevailed in Chorzów […]
Diana Russ
I was born in Łódź, in 1927. I had a good, loving family—my mama, my father and my elderly grandmother. I was an only child but I wasn’t lonely. I had close relations with all my aunts, uncles, and their children. When the war broke out, I had completed six years of elementary school. Although […]
Adam Daniel Rotfeld
Interviewed by Teresa Torańska ADAM DANIEL ROTFELD: I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I knew that my name was Adaś. I knew that when I was saying goodby to my parents, I was 3-and-a-half. TERESA TORAŃSKA: The other children didn’t know their age? No. In children’s homes, they just took one […]
Wiesław Ostern
Peril We were talking in the kitchen. A doorbell! We looked out of the window. By the gate there were two Germans in uniforms with a dog. My aunt said, “Go, hide quickly in the attic!” I did as I was told. But I wasn’t aware of the peril yet and the grave danger I […]