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One Voice, Two Lives
From Auschwitz Prisoner to 101st Airborne Trooper

by Cantor David S. Wisnia ©2015, Paperback, ISBN: 978-1-941501-20-7, 208 pp
 

 

 

This powerful memoir takes the reader from a peaceful home in Sochaczew to terror in Auschwitz-Birkenau and lastly to the safety of the Screaming Eagles. David Wisnia, a child singing star, was the middle child in a family of five. His father was a prosperous furniture manufacturer; his mother a contented housewife. After the family moved to Warsaw, David’s family happily celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. He remembers the marmalade, a rare delicacy, served on this special day. Six months later Europe was at war, Warsaw was occupied, and tragedy struck his family. David became a fugitive on the run from the Nazis.

 

Eventually rounded up by the SS, David was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There, because he could sing, he was assigned a “good” job disinfecting clothing in the Sauna, a relatively warm and comfortable place. Despite this he lived through three years of fear, knowing each day could be his last. David survived Auschwitz as well as a death march with the help of fellow inmates. His liberation was the stuff of fairy tales when “Little Davey,” as he was called, at eighteen years, ended up being “adopted” by the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division who assisted him in immigrating to the U.S.

 

David’s story is unique: he is a Holocaust survivor and also one of a band of liberators. One Voice, Two Lives adds a new dimension to Holocaust narratives.

Forewords i

Introduction ix

Part I: Before the War 1

Part II: The War Begins 9

Part III: Auschwitz/Birkenau 38

Part IV: Death March and Escape 64

Part V: With the 101st Airborne Division 73

Epilogue: After the War 94

Afterword 97

Tribute 107

Timeline 109

Endnotes 113

Acknowledgments 141

Maps 143

Photographs 152

David Wisnia at his home in Pennsylvania.Credit...Danna Singer for The New York Times

 



The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation

https://www.preserveauschwitz.org/survivor/david-wisnia/

Cantor David S. Wisnia has a remarkable voice, and he uses it to tell his remarkable story. Before Germany occupied Poland in the 1930s, David was a young singing star and child prodigy in his native Poland, having studied with renown Cantors Sirota and Koussevitsky, performing in synagogues and in theaters and on Polish radio. When he was just a teenager, his entire family was murdered in the Warsaw ghetto. David was soon taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp, where he was held prisoner for nearly 3 years. After experiencing several horrors in Auschwitz, David discovered that his singing voice would ultimately save his life by entertaining the Nazi guards. A death march and a daring escape lead him into the path of U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne who adopted “Little Davey,” taking him with them on their campaign of liberation through Europe. With US army’s help, David Wisnia was able to immigrate to the United States after the war. He created a new life and a beautiful family, and continued singing, serving as Cantor of Temple Shalom in Levittown, PA for 28 years, and recently retiring after 23 years as Cantor of Har Sinai Congregation of Trenton, NJ. David Wisnia is a member of the American Conference of Cantors within the UAHC, and continues to be an active vocalist, educator, and congregational community leader. David’s recently published memoir “One Voice Two Lives” chronicles his journey as both a Holocaust Survivor and a WWII Liberator.

One Voice, Two Lives

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