Ghettos

This theme focuses on how the Nazis forced large numbers of Jews into restricted housing areas, often enforced with walls, fences, and/or guard towers. Movement in and out of the ghettos was strictly controlled and violation was punishable by death.

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  Henry Greenblatt

  Language: English

  Jewish Survivor

  Henry talks about living in the Warsaw ghetto. He tells of his efforts to acquire food for his family and describes how he snuck in and out of the ghetto through rain gutters.

  Gender: Male
  DOB: Nov 1, 1930
  City of birth: Warsaw
  Country of birth: Poland
  Ghettos: Warsaw (Poland), Siedlce (Poland)
  Went into hiding: Yes
  Other experiences: escapes from the ghettos, escapes during deportations, concealment of Jewish identity, orphanages and children's homes

   
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  Nathan Peters

  Language: English

  Jewish Survivor

  Nathan recalls sharing a living space with his family in the ghetto and how they didn't get to shower everyday. He also recalls that children were not as concerned as the adults but wondered when everything was going to end.

  Gender: Male
  DOB: Dec 29, 1930
  City of birth: Ostrozec
  Country of birth: Poland
  Ghettos: Ostrozec (Poland)
  Went into hiding: Yes
  Other experiences: displaced persons camps, escapes from the ghettos

   
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  Helen Fagin

  Language: English

  Jewish Survivor

  Helen Fagin decribes the 'cultural resistance' through education in the Radomsko ghetto in Poland. She explains how reading a Polish translation of Gone With the Wind allowed her and her students to at least temporarily dream of a different world outside the reality of the ghetto.

  Gender: Female
  
  DOB: February 1, 1922
  
  City of Birth: Radomsko (Poland)
  
  Country of Birth: Poland
  
  Ghettos: Lódz (Poland : Ghetto); Warsaw (Poland:Ghetto); Radomsko (Poland: Ghetto)
  
  Went into hiding: Yes
  
  Other experiences: deportation escapes; identity concealment; displaced persons camps