Advanced Search

Learn About The Holocaust

Special Collections

My Saved Research

Login

Register

Help

Skip to main content

Oral history interview with Leonard Zawacki

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 1996.A.0358 | RG Number: RG-50.549.01.0012

Search this record's additional resources, such as finding aids, documents, or transcripts.

No results match this search term.
Check spelling and try again.

results are loading

0 results found for “keyward

    Oral history interview with Leonard Zawacki

    Overview

    Interview Summary
    Leonard Zawacki, born January 20, 1916 in German-controlled northwest Poland, describes being brought up as a Catholic and having a comfortable, good life; taking part in the defense of Warsaw, Poland September 28, 1939; being sent to Auschwitz, where he joined forces with the underground; escaping and living for four months in the Carpathian Mountains with about 100 partisans; the scenes of total chaos after Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians on January 28, 1940; returning home briefly; moving to Krakow, then to Italy, and then to Great Britain; immigrating to the United States in 1951; going first to New York and then to Milwaukee, WI, where he was married and worked for various financial institutions; moving back to New York in 1978 and becoming an executive in the finance industry; having become more tolerant, understanding, and forgiving as a result of his war experiences; his view that the Polish did more to help Jews than any other nation; his views on the actions of Lithuanians and Ukrainians; the uncertainty of life as being the worst part of Auschwitz; and his greatest sense of pride was having been able to escape from Auschwitz, having been able to outwit the Germans.
    Interviewee
    Leonard T. Zawacki
    Interviewer
    D. Roberts
    Date
    interview:  1996 June 29

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Extent
    3 sound cassettes (60 min.).

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum conducted the oral history interview with Leonard Zawacki on June 29, 1996.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this oral history interview has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2022-07-28 19:53:56
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn504918

    Additional Resources

    Download & Licensing

    In-Person Research

    Contact Us