Lila was born Liselott Koch in Mainz, Germany in 1923. Her mother died when she was about 5 and her sister Ruth was 3. Before World War II, Lila had a comfortable and sheltered life. This period in Lila’s life ended with Kristallnacht—Nazis threw bricks into...
Leonard was born in Dresden, Germany in 1923. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a housewife and amateur pianist. He had one younger brother, Gert. Leonard spoke German at home and had a secular education until he was 15 when he was...
Ken Wetcher was born in 1941 in Bolshaya Rechka, a town in Siberia. At the time, the town was known for the Soviet forced labor camp there. Due to Nazi advancement into Poland and the Soviet Army’s retreat, Ken’s parents, Polish Jews, followed the Soviet Army...
Karel Van Dam lived in Amsterdam with his family. He worked as a sales representative for a printing factory. His son, Jacques, described his father as having “respect for all people.” He was also involved in the Dutch underground resistance that helped Jews during WWII. When...
Julian Goren was born in 1935 in Poland. His father was a talented musician and conductor. His mother was a communist organizer. The family lived in Warsaw and later their neighborhood became the Warsaw Ghetto. Julian recalls seeing a variety of atrocities within the ghetto. There...
Josef was born in 1918 in Krakow, Poland. He was born and raised in a traditional Jewish home. His mother was a housewife and helped his dad run his gift shop business. He had two brothers and one sister. Josef’s father died in 1938, one...
John Mann was born Jose Mankowski in Paris, France on November 9th, 1926. When the Germans invaded Paris, the family left in their truck along with many other Parisians. However, after hearing that things were well in Paris, the family returned. This was a fatal...
Jakob Fritz Holzberg was born in 1912 in Chorostkow, Poland. Today he goes by the name Fritz. Fritz grew up in a Jewish family, and his family moved to Vienna, Austria when he was twelve years old. In March of 1938, Germany invaded Austria. The...
Jacques grew up in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with his family. “I grew up like every normal Dutch kid grew up… I did not experience, as far as I remember, any anti-Semitism in the Netherlands.” German forces occupied the Netherlands in 1940, and by 1942, Jews were being...
Ilse Wischia (born Ilse Linz) and her family lived in Rotenburg, Germany. After Kristallnacht, they fled to Frankfurt. Ilse’s father was arrested and taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. He was released due to his World War I war record and ordered to leave Germany. Mr....