Spéciale Dédicace à Béné qui a pris le temps de m'aider pour l'article "Back from Hell to Tell"!!!
Merci!
Si le courage j'ai, je traduirais l'article en francais!
mardi 18 novembre 2008
lundi 17 novembre 2008
Back from Hell to Tell
Henry Greenbaum sits in his chair and put his pen on his desk located in the centre of the Hall of Witness, the great hall of the first floor of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Like every Friday, Henry is volunteering at the Museum. Associated with Erika Eckstut, they are going to tell to whoever wants to listen what happened to them and their families during the Holocaust.
“We promised one another: If you survive, make sure you tell what they did to us,” says Henry Greenbaum, 80. “Human beings are capable of doing anything,” says Henry. “Hopefully by telling what happened, by describing what happened, perhaps we can prevent it from happening again.”
Henry is the youngest of nine children. He lived in Poland and he moved from the ghetto of his own town to a slave labor camp and from there to several concentration camps. He was liberated by the United States Armed Forces in April 1945. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 and he lives here since then. Henry and his wife, Shirley, now have 3 sons, 1 daughter and 10 grandkids. Henry ran a dry cleaning business during 44 years before retiring in 1997. Since its dedication on April 22, 1993, he is volunteering at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Erika Eckstut enjoys every second of her work as a volunteer with Henry. “For me, he is like a brother,” says Erika. “He is the kindest, the nicest man I have ever ever met.”
When he is not volunteering at the Museum, Henry speaks to class and teachers in countless places all around the United States. For example, he gave speeches in Utah, Colorado, Michigan, Kentucky... “We teach teachers, they’ll teach to children in school,” says Henry. “These children will get married and they’ll teach it to their children. We cannot let this to be forgotten. It is not 10 people dead. We have to tell the world what happened. We are still alive and you have those guys saying the holocaust doesn’t exist.”
Henry Greenbaum is born on April 1, 1928 in Starachowice in Poland. He was the youngest of nine children. “I was a normal child. I had a normal upbringing,” says Henry. “We played soccer, we went to public school, we went to religious school.”
The Germans occupied Starachowice on September 9, 1939 and they moved all the Jewish people into the ghetto. “We were still a family, we were still together,” says Henry, but they could not go out to shop, they had to depend on the German army to bring them food.
Despite his young age, Henry and his three sisters worked in the ammunition factory. He was building big heavy springs. Later on, his job was to press out the anti-aircraft shelves from the hot oven.
On October 27, 1941, the German ordered them out of the ghetto to a market place and a selection took place. That day, Henry was separated from his mother and the two sisters who were already married. “I no longer saw them at all,” says Henry. They were sent directly to Treblinka. Henry was left with three sisters. After the selection, they moved to a slave labor camp near the ammunition factory. They worked there until the end of 1943. During that time, Henry lost two of his sisters.
One day, the rumours came out that they were going to be deported out of this labor camp. “We helped the Germans with the war machinery, we didn’t get any money, we just got a little piece of bread, a little bit of soup at night when we come back home into the barracks, that is all they spent on us,” remembers Henry. “And they are going to ship us out of here? So we said, now they are probably going to kill us.” That is why some prisoners tried to escape. Among them were Henry and Faiga, the last sister of Henry still alive in the camp. Unfortunately, the escape did not go well and Henry got shot in the back of the head by the guards. After he got shot, Henry ran into the women barracks to look for his sister. He could not find her, but some women helped him washing his wound. Henry ran back to the men barracks early in the morning. The next day, the Germans called everybody out of the barracks. The Germans killed all the prisoners who were wounded. At that time, Henry had long hair and the wound on his head was well-hidden. While lining up, Henry saw his sister. She was lying on the ground near the hole they made into the barbed wire to escape. She didn’t move. She was dead. Henry was 15 and he was now all alone.
Two weeks after the escape’s attempt, the slave labor camp was evacuated. Henry was sent to Auschwitz in cattle cars. “For three days, we stayed in that car, with no food, no water, no bathroom,” says Henry. “The destination was Auschwitz, but we didn’t know it.”
Once arrived in Auschwitz, the selection started again. “Left, Right, Left, Right, half of my transport went straight to the crematorium. The reason? I don’t know,” says Henry. After the selection, Henry was given his number: A18991 and they went to the barber to get their hair cut. This is the first time somebody saw the wound of Henry. “Finally, after four years, we got a shower,” says Henry. “We were not aware that they were lying. They tell you sometimes “shower” and instead of water you get gas. But we were lucky and water did come down.” After the shower, they gave Henry a uniform with stripes. Henry stayed three months in Auschwitz. He had little to do. Sometimes, he helped the guy who put the dead bodies into the pushcart.
One day, a man came. He looked like a very wealthy man. He was wearing a suit and white and brown shoes. He started to pick around 50 people from the transport of Henry. Henry got picked up and he was sent to Buna Monowitz, a satellite camp of Auschwitz. He worked there for a chemical company called IG Farben. His role was to build the road of the compound of the factory. “We worked also with some British soldiers, war prisoners,” says Henry. “We got a lot of help from them, encouragements from them.” When the IG started to getting bombed by the United States Air Force, the Germans and the non-Jews workers ran into a bunker. Henry had to stay outside with the British soldiers. They told Henry how to protect himself when hearing the whistle of the bombs. “After a few bombings, one of my bunkmates decided that if the Germans and the workers are in the bunker, maybe I can look for food,” says Henry. “We told him not to do it, but he didn’t listen. He did it three times without being caught. One day, he was caught. On a Sunday in Buna Monowitz, we were all ordered outside to the yard and there were four people hung there. This young boy was my age.”
In late 1944, Henry was transferred by train to another concentration camp called Flossenburg. On the way, the train was bombed so many times by the United States Air Force that they had to walk and to take another train. They finally arrived to their destination partially by foot.
In Flossenburg, Henry worked at a depot, where they stored the clothes from the people they murdered. “Food situation was the same: a piece of bread in the morning, a cabbage soup in the evening,” remembers Henry.
At that time, the Russians attacked from the East. Henry could hear the attacks everyday. “The men in charge for the barracks told us every morning: you’ll never leave this place alive. Before the Russians come here, we are going to kill you,” says Henry. “We did not know who it was but he gave himself away.”
As the Russians approached, Henry had to be evacuated deeper into Germany. In February 1945, they started marching, strictly marching until April. They ate greeneries or whatever they could find in the woods. They would stop in a farm only if the guards or the dogs were hungry.
On April 25, 1945, as they were marching near the highway, they saw tanks. All of a sudden, the Germans guards left them alone. A few minutes later, they saw a tank approaching. “We thought this was a German tank, these Germans are going to kill us all,” says Henry. “But, luckily, it was an angel, an American tank.”
The Americans drove them to a farm nearby. “Eventually, after five years, we got food,” says Henry. “Big breads, boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, fruits, plenty of water. Everyone of those people was sick like a dog. The stomachs were not used to it anymore.”
After spending two weeks in a German farm where he worked for the American Army, Henry was moved to the displaced persons camp near Frankfurt am Main.
His brother, who was also in Europe during the Holocaust, joined him and they emigrated together to the United States. They shipped aboard the Marine Flasher from Bremen to New-York in 1946. When they arrived in New-York, they were welcomed by their brother, David, who emigrated in the United States in 1941. Henry and David moved to Washington and lived in their sister’s house for about one year.
In 1947, Henry got married to Shirley, an American girl he met in a Jewish convention. They moved together in Bethesda, in the north west of Washington D.C. Henry started a business in dry cleaning in Wisconsin Avenue, NW in Washington D.C. The name of the shop was Windsor Valet. “My sister’s husband was in dry cleaning, so we learned from him what to do,” says Henry. He worked there for 44 years and retired in 1997.
Henry never left the United States since he immigrated to the United States in 1946
In April 1978, a television miniseries called “Holocaust” was broadcasted on NBC. This show had a great success and won 8 Emmy Awards. After that, things started to change and people wanted to know more about the Holocaust. “Everybody wanted a speech, everybody wanted a survivor everywhere and we do it ever since,” says Henry.
Since then, Henry tells his story. He keeps the promise he made to the ones who have not survived. The Holocaust is stuck in Henry’s memory as deeply as his number is printed in his arm. “I used to tell my children that it was the number of the store on my arm,” remembers Henry.
Henry Greenbaum and all the survivors of the Holocaust are the living memory of the Holocaust and the souls of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“This museum is the best thing for the survivors,” says Henry. “This is the best thing that was ever built here because this is for the generation and the generation to be heard. After we leave this world, the museum will speak for us.”
“We promised one another: If you survive, make sure you tell what they did to us,” says Henry Greenbaum, 80. “Human beings are capable of doing anything,” says Henry. “Hopefully by telling what happened, by describing what happened, perhaps we can prevent it from happening again.”
Henry is the youngest of nine children. He lived in Poland and he moved from the ghetto of his own town to a slave labor camp and from there to several concentration camps. He was liberated by the United States Armed Forces in April 1945. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 and he lives here since then. Henry and his wife, Shirley, now have 3 sons, 1 daughter and 10 grandkids. Henry ran a dry cleaning business during 44 years before retiring in 1997. Since its dedication on April 22, 1993, he is volunteering at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Erika Eckstut enjoys every second of her work as a volunteer with Henry. “For me, he is like a brother,” says Erika. “He is the kindest, the nicest man I have ever ever met.”
When he is not volunteering at the Museum, Henry speaks to class and teachers in countless places all around the United States. For example, he gave speeches in Utah, Colorado, Michigan, Kentucky... “We teach teachers, they’ll teach to children in school,” says Henry. “These children will get married and they’ll teach it to their children. We cannot let this to be forgotten. It is not 10 people dead. We have to tell the world what happened. We are still alive and you have those guys saying the holocaust doesn’t exist.”
Henry Greenbaum is born on April 1, 1928 in Starachowice in Poland. He was the youngest of nine children. “I was a normal child. I had a normal upbringing,” says Henry. “We played soccer, we went to public school, we went to religious school.”
The Germans occupied Starachowice on September 9, 1939 and they moved all the Jewish people into the ghetto. “We were still a family, we were still together,” says Henry, but they could not go out to shop, they had to depend on the German army to bring them food.
Despite his young age, Henry and his three sisters worked in the ammunition factory. He was building big heavy springs. Later on, his job was to press out the anti-aircraft shelves from the hot oven.
On October 27, 1941, the German ordered them out of the ghetto to a market place and a selection took place. That day, Henry was separated from his mother and the two sisters who were already married. “I no longer saw them at all,” says Henry. They were sent directly to Treblinka. Henry was left with three sisters. After the selection, they moved to a slave labor camp near the ammunition factory. They worked there until the end of 1943. During that time, Henry lost two of his sisters.
One day, the rumours came out that they were going to be deported out of this labor camp. “We helped the Germans with the war machinery, we didn’t get any money, we just got a little piece of bread, a little bit of soup at night when we come back home into the barracks, that is all they spent on us,” remembers Henry. “And they are going to ship us out of here? So we said, now they are probably going to kill us.” That is why some prisoners tried to escape. Among them were Henry and Faiga, the last sister of Henry still alive in the camp. Unfortunately, the escape did not go well and Henry got shot in the back of the head by the guards. After he got shot, Henry ran into the women barracks to look for his sister. He could not find her, but some women helped him washing his wound. Henry ran back to the men barracks early in the morning. The next day, the Germans called everybody out of the barracks. The Germans killed all the prisoners who were wounded. At that time, Henry had long hair and the wound on his head was well-hidden. While lining up, Henry saw his sister. She was lying on the ground near the hole they made into the barbed wire to escape. She didn’t move. She was dead. Henry was 15 and he was now all alone.
Two weeks after the escape’s attempt, the slave labor camp was evacuated. Henry was sent to Auschwitz in cattle cars. “For three days, we stayed in that car, with no food, no water, no bathroom,” says Henry. “The destination was Auschwitz, but we didn’t know it.”
Once arrived in Auschwitz, the selection started again. “Left, Right, Left, Right, half of my transport went straight to the crematorium. The reason? I don’t know,” says Henry. After the selection, Henry was given his number: A18991 and they went to the barber to get their hair cut. This is the first time somebody saw the wound of Henry. “Finally, after four years, we got a shower,” says Henry. “We were not aware that they were lying. They tell you sometimes “shower” and instead of water you get gas. But we were lucky and water did come down.” After the shower, they gave Henry a uniform with stripes. Henry stayed three months in Auschwitz. He had little to do. Sometimes, he helped the guy who put the dead bodies into the pushcart.
One day, a man came. He looked like a very wealthy man. He was wearing a suit and white and brown shoes. He started to pick around 50 people from the transport of Henry. Henry got picked up and he was sent to Buna Monowitz, a satellite camp of Auschwitz. He worked there for a chemical company called IG Farben. His role was to build the road of the compound of the factory. “We worked also with some British soldiers, war prisoners,” says Henry. “We got a lot of help from them, encouragements from them.” When the IG started to getting bombed by the United States Air Force, the Germans and the non-Jews workers ran into a bunker. Henry had to stay outside with the British soldiers. They told Henry how to protect himself when hearing the whistle of the bombs. “After a few bombings, one of my bunkmates decided that if the Germans and the workers are in the bunker, maybe I can look for food,” says Henry. “We told him not to do it, but he didn’t listen. He did it three times without being caught. One day, he was caught. On a Sunday in Buna Monowitz, we were all ordered outside to the yard and there were four people hung there. This young boy was my age.”
In late 1944, Henry was transferred by train to another concentration camp called Flossenburg. On the way, the train was bombed so many times by the United States Air Force that they had to walk and to take another train. They finally arrived to their destination partially by foot.
In Flossenburg, Henry worked at a depot, where they stored the clothes from the people they murdered. “Food situation was the same: a piece of bread in the morning, a cabbage soup in the evening,” remembers Henry.
At that time, the Russians attacked from the East. Henry could hear the attacks everyday. “The men in charge for the barracks told us every morning: you’ll never leave this place alive. Before the Russians come here, we are going to kill you,” says Henry. “We did not know who it was but he gave himself away.”
As the Russians approached, Henry had to be evacuated deeper into Germany. In February 1945, they started marching, strictly marching until April. They ate greeneries or whatever they could find in the woods. They would stop in a farm only if the guards or the dogs were hungry.
On April 25, 1945, as they were marching near the highway, they saw tanks. All of a sudden, the Germans guards left them alone. A few minutes later, they saw a tank approaching. “We thought this was a German tank, these Germans are going to kill us all,” says Henry. “But, luckily, it was an angel, an American tank.”
The Americans drove them to a farm nearby. “Eventually, after five years, we got food,” says Henry. “Big breads, boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, fruits, plenty of water. Everyone of those people was sick like a dog. The stomachs were not used to it anymore.”
After spending two weeks in a German farm where he worked for the American Army, Henry was moved to the displaced persons camp near Frankfurt am Main.
His brother, who was also in Europe during the Holocaust, joined him and they emigrated together to the United States. They shipped aboard the Marine Flasher from Bremen to New-York in 1946. When they arrived in New-York, they were welcomed by their brother, David, who emigrated in the United States in 1941. Henry and David moved to Washington and lived in their sister’s house for about one year.
In 1947, Henry got married to Shirley, an American girl he met in a Jewish convention. They moved together in Bethesda, in the north west of Washington D.C. Henry started a business in dry cleaning in Wisconsin Avenue, NW in Washington D.C. The name of the shop was Windsor Valet. “My sister’s husband was in dry cleaning, so we learned from him what to do,” says Henry. He worked there for 44 years and retired in 1997.
Henry never left the United States since he immigrated to the United States in 1946
In April 1978, a television miniseries called “Holocaust” was broadcasted on NBC. This show had a great success and won 8 Emmy Awards. After that, things started to change and people wanted to know more about the Holocaust. “Everybody wanted a speech, everybody wanted a survivor everywhere and we do it ever since,” says Henry.
Since then, Henry tells his story. He keeps the promise he made to the ones who have not survived. The Holocaust is stuck in Henry’s memory as deeply as his number is printed in his arm. “I used to tell my children that it was the number of the store on my arm,” remembers Henry.
Henry Greenbaum and all the survivors of the Holocaust are the living memory of the Holocaust and the souls of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“This museum is the best thing for the survivors,” says Henry. “This is the best thing that was ever built here because this is for the generation and the generation to be heard. After we leave this world, the museum will speak for us.”
mercredi 5 novembre 2008
Un jour comme les autres...ou pas!
4 novembre 2008:
Tous les sondages donnent Obama gagnant, mais attention à la chute...
5 novembre 2008:
C'est la satisfaction dans le métro...
et au boulot!!!
Les Américains qui n'ont pas encore voté se rendent à leur bureau de vote.
Tous les sondages donnent Obama gagnant, mais attention à la chute...5 novembre 2008:
C'est la satisfaction dans le métro...
et au boulot!!!
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