Dictionary

Wrist watch kept by a Hungarian Jewish concentration camp inmate

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Wrist watch purchased by Karola Ogurek in Budapest, Hungary, around October 1943 after fleeing Kamionka, Poland, with her 10 year old son, Jurek, husband Alexander, and her parents Helene and Izak Fiszer. She kept the watch with her, even during incarceration in Auschwitz. In March 1944, after Germany invaded Hungary, the family tried to go to Slovakia but were arrested and turned over to the Germans. They were sent to a Polish POW camp, but released by the commandant. They went back and forth between Slovakia and Hungary seeking refuge. In April 1944, they were arrested and sent to Sered labor camp, then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The family was separated and Jurek was sent to the children's barracks. In early January, as the camp was evacuated, Jurek was rescued from the hospital by his uncle Stasiek who took him to Krakow. Stasiek was arrested and disappeared after being denounced as a collaborator by a Pole. In spring 1945, Jurek was placed in a Shomer Hatzair orphanage leaving Budapest for Germany, and along the way, was found by his mother and grandmother in Prague. They then went to Kavnitz displaced persons camp in Germany. Alexander and Izak had died during a forced death march from Auschwitz in January 1945. Karola married Chastiel Zimmerman, another survivor, in Esslingen am Neckar on December 6, 1947.

Rubber stamp from a Jewish refugee's postwar business

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Rubber stamp used by Chaskiel Zimmermann for his apparel business in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany, where he lived as a refugee after World War II. Chaskiel was deported from Sosnowiec, Poland, to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. He was liberated during a death march from Blechhammer slave labor camp in January 1945. Nearly his entire family was killed in Auschwitz. He married Karola Ogurek in Esslingen on December 6, 1947. Karola had fled Kamionka, Poland, in fall 1943, with her son Jurek, 10, husband Alexander, and parents Helene and Izak Fiszer. In April 1944, they were sent to Sered labor camp, then to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp where the family was separated. In early January, as the camp was evacuated, Jurek was rescued from the hospital by his uncle Stasiek who took him to Krakow. Stasiek was arrested after being denounced as a collaborator by a Pole. In spring 1945, Jurek left for Germany with a Shomer Hatzair group and was found by his mother. They went to Kavnitz displaced persons camp in Germany. His father and grandfather had died during a death march; his grandmother died from a fall in Belsen DP camp in January 1946. Later that year, Jurek and Karola moved to Esslingen am Neckar.

Jerzy Ogurek papers

Document

The papers consist of documents and photographs relating to the experiences of Jerzy Ogurek, originally of Katowice, Poland, and his family during the Holocaust.

Book

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Prayer book

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Prayer book

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D.A.R. podre̦cznik obywatelski [Book]

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Book

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Di lecte teg fun Warszewer getto [Book]

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