"Surviving A Century – Survival & Triumph”

Joe was born in 1922 in Kowal, Poland. He and his family enjoyed a comfortable life until Nazi
Germany invaded Poland in 1939. At the beginning of the war, Joe’s family fled and joined
other relatives in the town of Blonie. In late 1940, Blonie’s Jews were transported to the
Warsaw Ghetto. Joe’s father bribed some guards to let Joseph and two of his siblings escape
back to Kowal. This was the last time he saw the rest of his family. From Kowal, Joe was sent
to 12 different concentration camps including Dachau and Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, he was sent from Auschwitz back to the Warsaw Ghetto to clean up
the destruction’s aftermath. When Joe arrived at Auschwitz, his left forearm was tattooed with
the number 142584. As the Polish Home Army advanced towards Warsaw, Joe was sent to
camps in Germany, and then on a death march. He was liberated by American troops in 1945.
He immigrated to the United States in 1949 where he married and had two children.
For over the past 25 years Joseph has spoken to tens of thousands of students and members of
the public about his Holocaust experiences. He is known worldwide for his educating students
and adults about the Holocaust so that another event like this never happens again.