Abram Wolraich collection

Abram, later Alf, Wolraich was born on 18 June 1928 in Piotrkow, Poland. His father, Szyja, a dance teacher and drummer, worked in the Hortensia glass factory after the Nazi invasion of Poland; Abram joined him at the age of about 14. Abram narrowly escaped being deported to Treblinka with his mother, sister and younger brother. In 1944, as the Red Army invaded Poland, he and Szyja were sent to Buchenwald, where he was separated from his father.

After the war, Abram joined a transport of children from Czechoslovakia to Britain, lying about his age to become eligible. He spent some time with his great aunt Miriam Lefkowitz, who ran a guest house in Bournemouth.

Abram’s father had also survived Buchenwald; he had been assigned to a band on account of his musical abilities. He found himself in a displaced persons camp in Landsberg. He remarried and had a daughter, Hannah. He was able to contact Abram in August 1947; they met in Germany in March 1948.

Abram’s father immigrated to Israel in 1949. Abram planned to join him, but settled in the UK after marrying Gertie, who had also survived the Holocaust.