My father is a Polish immigrant and both of his parents had their own experiences in World War II. When I was 13 years old, I had the opportunity to visit Poland with my parents and see part of the story first-hand.
When the Germans invaded Poland, they arrested my grandfather’s brother for possessing a weapon in his home. He put the blame on my grandfather but ultimately was sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp where he was ultimately shot at the firing wall.
After months of imprisonment and torture, my grandfather was moved to Auschwitz where he spent time working in hard labour. He was forced to help build the neighbouring Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. He also spent three months working in the camp’s crematorium. While he was there, he lived in block 18.
Visiting the camps was incredibly humbling. Seeing the space he lived in for so long and walking around the enormous camp that was Auschwitz-Birkenau brought a whole new perspective.
Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away before I was born.
Years after my family’s Europe trip, my father showed me a letter that had been written to the German government when they allowed Holocaust survivors to be financially compensated for their time in prisons and camps. The letter outlines my grandfather’s experiences in his own words.
His story is one that I look to pass on to future generations in my family and to others to keep his memory alive.
