Stories of Courage and Survival: A Holocaust Memoir

Rose Rechnic is the sole survivor of her family who perished in the Holocaust. This book fulfills Rose’s promise to her mother, whose final words, before she went to the gas chamber were, “…Try to survive and tell the world…”

“This book continues in the tradition of Rose’s lifelong commitment to Holocaust education.

It is her hope that the world will never forget the millions of Jews whose lives were sacrificed to anti-Semitism.”

In a series of vignettes spanning more than sixty years, Rose Rechnic conveys the unspeakable, while engaging her listeners and readers with vivid images, both haunting and uplifting.”

Her proud family writes, “Thank you, for your gift of love and for writing this book for our children, future generations and us who live because you survived.”

-Excerpts from the Introductions

Introduction:

Second Generation..............................................................i

Third Generation...............................................................v

“Mem’ry”

Chapter 1 End of Paradise................................................1

Chapter 2 Fateful Decision...............................................4

Chapter 3 My Immediate Family.....................................7

Chapter 4 My Extended Family.....................................13

Chapter 5 Będzin...........................................................16

Chapter 6 After The First Storm.....................................21

Chapter 7 Pilsudska 13..................................................24

Chapter 8 An Act Of Kindness.......................................30

Chapter 9 The Ghetto....................................................32

Chapter 10 Deportation...................................................37

Chapter 11 Destination Auschwitz-Birkenau....................40

Chapter 12 Auschwitz-Birkenau Daily Life.....................49

Chapter 13 Selection........................................................53

Chapter 14 Typhoid.........................................................56

Chapter 15 One More Miracle.........................................59

Chapter 16 To Survive.....................................................62

Chapter 17 Work in Auschwitz........................................66

Chapter 18 Despair..........................................................69

Chapter 19 Escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau...................71

Chapter 20 Bergen-Belsen................................................74

Chapter 21 Liberation......................................................77

Chapter 22 Free But Alone...............................................80

Chapter 23 New-Found Cousins......................................85

Chapter 24 And Now.......................................................89

Chapter 25 Lajbek’s Story….............................................94

Chapter 26 Bayreuth........................................................99

Chapter 27 Immigration to the United States.................102

Chapter 28 The Good Life.............................................110

Epilogue............................................................................116

Postscript...........................................................................120

Rose’s Poetry.....................................................................123

Appendix 1. Student Responses to Rose’s Story................129

Appendix 2. Glossary of Terms........................................134

1 Chapter 1

End Of Paradise

It was late August 1939 in the countryside resort near the Beskid Mountains of Poland. We were saying goodbye to the people who spent the summer with us in the villa—two other families with children, and four female students from Warsaw. We had spent the entire summer in the mountains, as we did every year.

Our mother, Andzia, my sister, Bronia, fifteen years old, my little eight-year old brother, Marek, and I, thirteen at the time, escaped to the countryside to enjoy the fresh air and be fed five times daily in order to gain weight—chubby meant prosperous! My father, Abel, who was an accountant in a large iron company, joined us every weekend. He never actually took a summer vacation; instead he chose to work in order to double his summer salary.

The two-story villa my parents rented that summer of 1939 was surrounded by evergreens and from the porches we could hear the nearby brook. The villa was on top of a hill, a picturesque site reminiscent of Switzerland, yet isolated from the hubbub of the village where most families with young children lived. My sister and my little brother were my only companions. I missed being with young people my age. The four students living in our villa had fun with my mother, whose wisdom and humor kept them in stitches, while I felt bored and lonely. This was our first time at this particular resort, and I felt angry that my parents had chosen that place without considering the social situation for my sister and myself.

True, the scenery was magnificent! And the air so fresh!

But while we were saying our good-byes, that pure fresh air was permeated with terrible rumors of unrest in neighboring Czechoslovakia. On the radio we heard talk of the plans of the German dictator, Hitler, to annex Czechoslovakia. The atmosphere was further filled with the screaming, agitating voice of this madman promising the German people that he would conquer all of Europe, starting with his and our neighbor, Sudetenland.

Our family and summer neighbors kissed and hugged and said, “See you next year.”

But somehow, because of the rumors of war, we felt we might never see each other again. With our belongings packed we were driven to the train station in a carriage and headed home. Three and half-hours later we arrived at the Będzin train station where our father was waiting for us.

My father was very happy to see us looking so well upon our return from the summer in the mountains. However, despite his joy at having us home, he seemed very tense and troubled. My father was always a serious man, but now he seemed anxious. He shared the news of the possibilities of a war with my mother. Of course we couldn’t help overhearing, “A war is a terrible thing. Food is sometimes impossible to obtain. I worry,” he said, “about food for the children.”

How naïve he was to think that food would be his biggest problem. This was to be a war beyond his or anyone else’s imagination.

In late August of 1939, because it was almost time to start the new school year, my mother proceeded to get us ready. She bought us new clothes and notebooks. But there was more and more unrest and uncertainty in town. The prospects of school reopening and normal life resuming were unlikely. Everyone was glued to the radio when the most dreadful news was announced: “Hitler has annexed Sudetenland-Czechoslovakia and is on his way to Poland!”

Paradise lost!

Rose lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey and continued to be actively involved in Holocaust education until two weeks before she died on April 18, 2006. He beloved husband Leon passed away on October 22, 2003.