Interview with Henry & Gita Baigelman

Henry Chaim Baigelman was born on July 12, 1911, in Łódź, Poland, to Szyman and Rifka. He had a brother David, a composer and conductor, born in March 1887, two other brothers, a sister Rose, and three other sisters. A Polish-Jewish family, they attended synagogue, observed major holidays, and spoke Polish and Yiddish at home. Henry attended shul every Saturday, and received his secular education at a public Polish Gymnasium. They were a family of professional musicians. When Henry was 6, his brother-in-law, Samuel, taught him to play the violin. He joined a conservatory and at 15 began playing both the violin and the saxophone professionally. Szyman died in 1939, before the war started.
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. When the bombing began, the Baigelman men fled the city and hid in a field to avoid being caught and sent to a labor camp. Henry promised his mother that he would return that same day and he did. By September 8, the German army occupied Łódź and established a sealed ghetto. Henry, Rifka, David, a younger brother, Rose, her daughter, and extended family members were forced to move into a two room apartment in the ghetto. Henry worked in a kitchen and at a factory that manufactured hats for German soldiers. The administrative head of the ghetto, Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, established the House of Culture where the Łódź ghetto orchestra performed twice per week; David was the conductor and Henry played the violin.
After Rose died of a brain tumor around 1942, Rifka and Henry cared for her daughter. On June 10, 1944, Heinrich Himmler ordered the destruction of the ghetto. David hid the family instruments, including Henry’s violin, in a factory attic. On August 4, 1944, Henry and 23 family members were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp. They took what they could carry and were forced into covered cattle cars for an overnight ride. Upon arrival, the men, women, and children were separated. Henry was stripped, shaved, disinfected, and given a prison uniform and shoes. He shared a bed with 3 others and did not work. Henry saw the crematoriums, but only heard rumors as to their purpose.
On August 18, Henry was transported to Kaltwasser concentration camp in Germany in a closed cattle car. The prisoners could see people standing along the tracks, watching the train. He arrived on August 21 and was placed in a barracks with 500-600 prisoners. There was no sanitation or toilets, and many were ill. Henry worked building highways for 14 hours a day, 6 days a week; his rations were a small piece of bread and soup each day. In November 1944, he was transported to Flossenberg concentration camp and assigned to hard labor. In February 1945, there was a typhus outbreak in sub-camp Altenhammer and the sick were brought to the hospital at Flossenberg. Henry, his nephew, and 2 cousins were among those selected to replace them. In Atlenhammer, Henry met the camp supervisor, a German political prisoner. He had a violin and accordion and he made Henry and his cousin play daily for him. In return, Henry was well fed and had extra food to share with friends.
On April 16, the German soldiers and guards vacated the camp. The prisoners, having nowhere to go, stayed behind. They found food and ate. After two days, the Germans returned and on April 20, decided to evacuate the camp by ordering a forced march of 12,000 prisoners. They marched at night and hid in orchards during the day. There was no food and they slept in the snow with one blanket. If a prisoner did not get up, he was shot. On April 23, Henry could not get up; his nephew and a friend carried him until he could walk on his own. They were liberated that night by the United States Army. Only 3,000 prisoners survived. The soldiers gave the liberated prisoners milk and food.
Henry and four others found a farm and the farmer provided food and shelter. After a few weeks, they left for the American controlled city of Cham, Germany, and were provided with living accommodations. Henry and two nephews were the only survivors from his immediate family of twenty-three people. While in Cham, Henry met seven other musicians from Łódź. An American army captain and the Cham Burgermeister helped Henry organize an orchestra. Henry procured instruments from Czechoslovakia. His brother-in-law had retrieved the family instruments from the Łódź ghetto following its liberation by the Soviet Army on January 19, 1945. Henry also visited a textile factory and had suits tailor made for performances. The group named themselves the Happy Boys. They specialized in American jazz and performed for American troops. Henry contacted the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRAA), which administered displaced persons camps. UNRAA provided the group with an ambulance and driver. They converted it into a tour bus and performed at displaced persons camps and concert halls in large German cities. The Happy Boys were known for their mix of prewar hits, easy listening classics, Jewish songs, and original works about the lives and concerns of Jewish displaced persons. While touring in 1947, Henry married Gita Glazer. The couple had met in Łódź in 1939. The Happy Boys played together for four years.
In 1949, Henry and Gita decided to leave Germany. Emigration to the United States was difficult and the couple decided to go to Israel. As they were making preparations, the quota opened for visas to the US. On August 9, they emigrated to New York from Cham on the USS General Haan. The couple had 2 children. Henry died on June 2, 2002, at the age of 90.