Rose, I had a relative who was picked up in Poland and taken to Stutthof on the Baltic sea. My first trip to Poland in 1978 he and I visited the camp where he was interred. He told me what happened in the camp and the daily routine. He cried as he told me about his time there. How they slept 7 to a bunk. How he was third in line at the gas chamber but the Germans needed workers for the road and he was spared. He was liberated and lived until 2004. And he had his number on his arm. He wrote about his life there. He was not Jewish but was a Catholic. Jim On Jul 19, 2007, at 9:15 PM, Jack and Rose wrote: > Hi Mary > I did not mean HAPPY as in JOY,, I meant "happy" glad that we did > get ENOUGH > COURAGE TO REALLY GO AND SEE THINGS FOR OURSELVES. > I know what you mean,,,,,, I was in such shock and horror the > entire time, > but NEEDED TO SEE THIS, I think everyone in the WORLD needs to see > this > My neighbors have their " tatoos" from Auswitz on their forearms > and they > have told us about watching their PARENTS DIE IN FRONT OF THEM > sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we have learned first hand from > Survivors and > victims of this HORROR AND EVIL > > I did not want you to get the wrong impression, we were not HAPPY > to be > there > GRATEFUL TO GOD, really, for the courage and strength that he gave > us both > to GO TO SEE FOR OURSELVES, we were both nervous beforehand also > > Rose > Kuba Przedzienkowski jimpres1@mac.com kuba@przedzienkowski.com www.przedzienkowski.com

God bless your relative Jim and God bless all of the victims of these HORRORS We must all learn and remember this and never never allow this to happen again. NEVER! Thanks for sharing...I know many non-jews were MURDERED at these camps also...... Rose ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Presenkowski" <jimpres1@mac.com> To: <polandbordersurnames@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 3:33 PM Subject: Re: [PBS] Camps > Rose, > > I had a relative who was picked up in Poland and taken to Stutthof on > the > Baltic sea. My first trip to Poland in 1978 he and I visited the > camp where > he was interred. He told me what happened in the camp and the daily > routine. > He cried as he told me about his time there. How they slept 7 to a > bunk. How > he was third in line at the gas chamber but the Germans needed > workers for > the road and he was spared. He was liberated and lived until 2004. > And he > had his number on his arm. He wrote about his life there. > He was not Jewish but was a Catholic. > > Jim > > > > On Jul 19, 2007, at 9:15 PM, Jack and Rose wrote: > >> Hi Mary >> I did not mean HAPPY as in JOY,, I meant "happy" glad that we did >> get ENOUGH >> COURAGE TO REALLY GO AND SEE THINGS FOR OURSELVES. >> I know what you mean,,,,,, I was in such shock and horror the >> entire time, >> but NEEDED TO SEE THIS, I think everyone in the WORLD needs to see >> this >> My neighbors have their " tatoos" from Auswitz on their forearms >> and they >> have told us about watching their PARENTS DIE IN FRONT OF THEM >> sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we have learned first hand from >> Survivors and >> victims of this HORROR AND EVIL >> >> I did not want you to get the wrong impression, we were not HAPPY >> to be >> there >> GRATEFUL TO GOD, really, for the courage and strength that he gave >> us both >> to GO TO SEE FOR OURSELVES, we were both nervous beforehand also >> >> Rose >> > > Kuba Przedzienkowski > jimpres1@mac.com > kuba@przedzienkowski.com > www.przedzienkowski.com > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hello everyone! When my daughter and I were in Poland a few years ago, I wanted very much to bear witness by going to Auschwitz. I am an amateur scholar of the Holocaust, and I regarded it as part of a pilgrimage I felt obligated to take. However, on the morning of the planned excursion, I realized I did not have the courage to do it. Having read so many of the histories and journals and diaries and literature that came out of the Holocaust, I knew that I would most likely collapse when in the presence of what must surely be an immense pervasive evil. The vast majority of victims were Jewish. We can never forget that. Nearly the entire Jewish population of Poland was exterminated as part of Hitler's "Final Solution." No one would ever deny that other groups were targeted and persecuted. Wikipedia, in its section on "The Holocaust," lists "Roma, Soviet POWs, disabled people, gay men, Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholic Poles, and political prisoners." But we must remember that of the estimated 9-11 million that suffered and died in the death camps, 6 million were Jews, over 3 million at Auschwitz alone. I mention this because as a person of 100% Polish ancestry, I am very interested in the history of the Polish people. when I was 12 (I'm now 58) I read "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and those two books spurred me on to read and research more and more into the Holocaust. I began research into my Polish roots primarily to be sure that my ancestors, those that stayed in Poland after my great-grandparents and grandparents left and lived in Poland during the 30s and 40s, hadn't fallen into one of two categories: (1) Those who, because of religion (Catholic) or politics (judging from my grandparents, liberal and anti-totalitarian), were persecuted and possibly killed for those reasons, and (2) Those who, because of religion (Catholic AND anti-Semitic) or politics (Nazi sympathizers or bystanders), aided in persecuting the Jews and any of the other groups. If I found ancestors or relations in the first category, I wanted to honor them for their sacrifice. And if I found ancestors or relations in the second category, I wanted to be able somehow to (for lack of a better word) atone for them. My research has, as of yet, turned up nothing in either category, other than someone with my maternal grandfather's name (it couldn't be him) listed on Yad Vashem's list of the righteous. (There are 6,004 entries for Poland, which is the highest number for any nation. And, considering that Poland had the most severe penalty - death to everyone in the household - for harboring Jews, that is remarkable. The Netherlands is next with 4,767, followed by France and the Ukraine.) At the website "Polish Righteous," there is a wonderful poem and an alphabetical list of all of the (thus far) recognized Poles who put their lives on the line, and for 704, lost them, to aid Jews. The link is: http://www.savingjews.org/ Sorry to go on so long on what could be considered entirely off topic. However, this subject is what initially brought me to this site and genealogical research. For anyone interested in that time period, Norman Davies book, "Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw," makes for compelling reading, as does John Hersey's fictionalized account, "The Wall." And, if anyone is interested in the topic and would like more suggested reading, please feel free to contact me off-list. Sandra Watters (nee Slago aka Szlaga) On 7/19/07, Jim Presenkowski <jimpres1@mac.com> wrote: > > Rose, > > I had a relative who was picked up in Poland and taken to Stutthof on > the > Baltic sea. My first trip to Poland in 1978 he and I visited the > camp where > he was interred. He told me what happened in the camp and the daily > routine. > He cried as he told me about his time there. How they slept 7 to a > bunk. How > he was third in line at the gas chamber but the Germans needed > workers for > the road and he was spared. He was liberated and lived until 2004. > And he > had his number on his arm. He wrote about his life there. > He was not Jewish but was a Catholic. > > Jim > > > > On Jul 19, 2007, at 9:15 PM, Jack and Rose wrote: > > > Hi Mary > > I did not mean HAPPY as in JOY,, I meant "happy" glad that we did > > get ENOUGH > > COURAGE TO REALLY GO AND SEE THINGS FOR OURSELVES. > > I know what you mean,,,,,, I was in such shock and horror the > > entire time, > > but NEEDED TO SEE THIS, I think everyone in the WORLD needs to see > > this > > My neighbors have their " tatoos" from Auswitz on their forearms > > and they > > have told us about watching their PARENTS DIE IN FRONT OF THEM > > sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we have learned first hand from > > Survivors and > > victims of this HORROR AND EVIL > > > > I did not want you to get the wrong impression, we were not HAPPY > > to be > > there > > GRATEFUL TO GOD, really, for the courage and strength that he gave > > us both > > to GO TO SEE FOR OURSELVES, we were both nervous beforehand also > > > > Rose > > > > Kuba Przedzienkowski > jimpres1@mac.com > kuba@przedzienkowski.com > www.przedzienkowski.com > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

One of my uncles was also interred at Stutthof and survived. According to family, as soon as he was released he left for the West, and we presume settled in Germany. To this day, we've no idea of what happened to him. We do know of one of his brothers, who was executed at Katyn. Karl von Loewe ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Presenkowski" <jimpres1@mac.com> To: <polandbordersurnames@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 3:33 PM Subject: Re: [PBS] Camps > Rose, > > I had a relative who was picked up in Poland and taken to Stutthof on > the > Baltic sea. My first trip to Poland in 1978 he and I visited the > camp where > he was interred. He told me what happened in the camp and the daily > routine. > He cried as he told me about his time there. How they slept 7 to a > bunk. How > he was third in line at the gas chamber but the Germans needed > workers for > the road and he was spared. He was liberated and lived until 2004. > And he > had his number on his arm. He wrote about his life there. > He was not Jewish but was a Catholic. > > Jim > > > > On Jul 19, 2007, at 9:15 PM, Jack and Rose wrote: > >> Hi Mary >> I did not mean HAPPY as in JOY,, I meant "happy" glad that we did >> get ENOUGH >> COURAGE TO REALLY GO AND SEE THINGS FOR OURSELVES. >> I know what you mean,,,,,, I was in such shock and horror the >> entire time, >> but NEEDED TO SEE THIS, I think everyone in the WORLD needs to see >> this >> My neighbors have their " tatoos" from Auswitz on their forearms >> and they >> have told us about watching their PARENTS DIE IN FRONT OF THEM >> sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we have learned first hand from >> Survivors and >> victims of this HORROR AND EVIL >> >> I did not want you to get the wrong impression, we were not HAPPY >> to be >> there >> GRATEFUL TO GOD, really, for the courage and strength that he gave >> us both >> to GO TO SEE FOR OURSELVES, we were both nervous beforehand also >> >> Rose >> > > Kuba Przedzienkowski > jimpres1@mac.com > kuba@przedzienkowski.com > www.przedzienkowski.com > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to POLANDBORDERSURNAMES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >