Holocaust History: June 2013

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Kazimierz Piechowski, an Escaped Prisoner from Auschwitz.

Kazimiers Piechowski is one of just 144 prisoners to have resisted and escaped Auschwitz and to survive his escape.

Piechowski was born in Poland in 1919. He was arrested in 1939 and survived imprisonment in Sanok, Nowy Wiśnicz, and Krakow. He was transfered to Auschwitz in 1940. After spending some time in the Ukraine after escape, Piechowski joined the partisan Polish Army and fought the Nazis.

Here is a link to an article for more research:
1. http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn45137
2. http://www.yadvashem.org
3. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org

Note: The first link is a oral history interview with Kazimierz Piechowski.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Georges Andre Kohn

Georges Andre Kohn was born on April 23rd, 1932 as the youngest of four children. During the final week of the German occupation of Paris, George's family was arrested. The family was then deported to Buchenwald. After arriving at Buchenwald, the family was split apart. Georges, along with his grandmother, were then sent to Auschwitz. After a selection at Auschwitz, Georges was selected for the special barracks. The Jewish children within those barracks were selected for medical experimentation.

November 1944, the remaining children were sent to Neuengamme (a concentration camp) near Hamburg, Germany. The children were injected with tuberculosis cultures which caused them to become ill. As the British were closing in, on April 20th, 1945, the group was injected with morphine.

Links for further research:

1. http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=tmL6KfNVLtH&b=9168051&ct=7873843

Monday, June 17, 2013

Jack and Ina Polak

On Rosh Hoshanah (September 30th, 1943), Ina Soep and her family were deported to Westerbork concentration camp. On arrival to their living quarters, block 64, Ina and her family were greeted by familiar faces. Jack Polak, although married to his first wife at the time, started a courtship with Ina. Much of their correspondence was composed of notes and letters..

On May 18th, 1944, Ina was deported to Bergen-Belsen. After relocation to the "Exchange Camp" in Bergen-Belsen, Jack and Ina continued writing and sending letters to one another. The couple was separated on April 7th, 1945, when Ina was put on a passenger train, filled with 2400 prisoners. Liberated by the Americans, on May 5th, Ina arrived back in Holland. By August of 1945, Jack divorced his wife. In October, the couple became engaged.

The couple married in January of 1946. After three children and 69 years of marriage, Ina Polak passed away on May 14th, 2014. Jack Polak who was a founder of the Anne Frank Center USA and who toured around the United States to share his experiences, followed his wife on January 9th, 2015. The Polaks were featured in a documentary about their experiences and love story. The documentary is called, "Steal a Pencil For Me".