Jack Garfein papers

Jack Garfein (1930-2019) was born on 2 July 1930 in Mukachevo, Czechoslovakia (Mukachevo, Ukraine) to Herman and Blanka (née Spiegel) Garfein. He had one sister, Hadasah (nicknamed Hady, b. circa 1933). He grew up in Bardejov, Czechoslovakia (Bardejov, Slovakia) where his father worked at a family-owned lumberyard called Korn & Garfein. The family lost the lumberyard when Jewish businesses were taken over by the Hlinka Guard.

In March 1942 Jewish men in Bardejov were deported but Jack’s father fled to Hungary. Jack, along with his mother and sister, also managed to flee to Hungary where they hid with relatives. His father was deported to Auschwitz in 1943 where he perished. In 1944 Jack, his mother, and sister were deported to Auschwitz. Jack survived eleven concentration camps, including Auschwitz, camps in Riese (Silesia), Flossenberg, Buchenwald, and Bergen-Belsen. Jack was liberated from Bergen-Belsen on 15 April 1945 by the British Army. He was then sent by the Red Cross to a hospital in Malmö, Sweden. His father, mother, and sister, along with other relatives all perished in the Holocaust.

Jack immigrated to the United States in January 1946 with the help of his uncle Joseph E. Scheinkopf. He briefly lived with his uncle and aunt and then was placed in a foster home in Ozone Park, Queens. He attended the Dramatic Workshop of the New School where he studied with Erwin Piscator and subsequently studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s studio. He went on to have a successful career as a theater and film director, producer, and writer. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on February 25, 1952. He was involved with Holocaust education and remembrance throughout his career, discussing his experiences in speeches, newspaper articles, and public events. He died of leukemia in 2019.