Brown leather and cork men’s dress shoes crafted in Sedan Kaserne Ulm DP camp by a Jewish Polish soldier

Noel Galicki was born on March 25, 1912, in Siedlce, Poland, to Jewish parents, Szul-Ajzyk and Paja Siennicka Galicki. They lived in Warsaw. He married Henja Abramovna Galitzky, who was born in 1916.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Noel was in the Polish Army. On September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland. The Polish Army, retreating from the German advances in western Poland, was regrouping in eastern Galicia when the Soviets invaded. Noel and thousands of Polish troops were taken prisoner by the Soviets. Noel was released and lived in Soviet occupied Poland with Henja. On June 29, 1940, the Soviets deported Noel and Henja from Brest-Litovsk, Poland (Brest, Belarus) to Komi ASSR (Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) (Komi Republic, Russia). On March 30, 1941, Henja died during childbirth. Their daughter, Paja, died on April 27, 1941. Noel’s brothers, Benik (Ben) and Abraham, also went to the Soviet Union. Ben’s first wife stayed behind. Ben fought in the Soviet Army and was imprisoned for three years in Vorkuta, Komi. Noel stayed with Abraham and his wife Mollie (Malka) following the deaths of Henja and Paja. He chopped timber in the summer and worked at a collective farm in the winter. In 1941, Abraham and Mollie had a daughter, Frieda. In 1942, Noel met Lydia Senkin Turubanov. Lydia was born on June 27, 1920, in Mezhador, Russia, to Aleksiej and Anastazja Pysccina Senkin. In 1938, she married a Soviet soldier, Nikolai Vickentevich Turubanov. They had a son, Albert, on August 27, 1939. Nikolai died on February 8, 1942, following the Battle of Moscow. Noel and Lydia married and had a son, Paul, on April 3, 1943. They lived in Syktyvkar, Komi. In 1946, Abraham and Mollie had a son, David.

In 1946, Noel, Lydia, and their children left Syktyvkar for Łódź(?), Poland because of increased anti-Semitism. The Bricha movement smuggled them across the border into Germany. In July 1946, they entered the Sedan-Kaserne Ulm displaced persons camp. Noel and Lydia were educated through the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training (ORT) vocational training school. Noel learned how to make shoes and Lydia took classes in garment making. On October 29, 1947, Noel was certified as a shoemaker. Noel’s brothers and their families, Abraham, Mollie, and their children David and Frieda, and Ben and his wife Lucia, also lived in Ulm. By June 1949, they were transferred to Foehrenwald displaced persons camp. On January 7, 1951, the family boarded the United States Navy Ship General CC Ballou in Bremerhaven, and arrived in New York on January 20. They settled in Brooklyn and Americanized their last name to Gell. Noel's brothers also emigrated to America. Noel worked in the garment industry and Lydia as a seamstress. On May 8, 1956, Noel and Lydia became naturalized American citizens. Albert worked on Wall Street and Paul was an architect. Paul, age 40, died in May 1983. Noel, age 85, died on June 25, 1997. Lydia, age 81, died on November 3, 2001.