Pawlowicz family papers

Pawlowicz family papers 

Max Pohl (born Mordka Pawlowicz) was born on October 5, 1922 in Wieluń, Poland to Aron and Ruchla (neé Gelbert) Pawlowicz. A Polish Jew, Max moved to Pabianice, Poland in 1937. He met his future wife, Rose Pohl (born Ruchla Tosk) in 1940. Max worked on the railroads under forced labor conditions until 1943 when he was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. After three weeks, he was sent to the Warsaw concentration camp, then on to Dachau concentration camp. On May 31, 1945, he was liberated by the United States armed forces from the Ampfing-Waldlager V and VI concentration camp in Germany. Max’s brother Herschl was deported from the Lódź ghetto and perished, and his mother perished at the Chełmno concentration camp in Poland. Max’s sisters Mania Pawlowicz and Bronia Shani (née Pawlowicz) survived imprisonment in concentration camps. After liberation, Max spent a year in Paris, France with assistance from the Jewish Federation. While in Paris he was informed that Rose and her family survived and were located at the displaced persons camp in Zeilsheim, Germany. While traveling to find the Tosk family, Max met Isaac Tosk, Rose’s brother, on the French border and together they traveled to Zeilsheim. Rose Pohl (born Ruchla Tosk) was born on July 26, 1925 in Pabianice, Poland to Fiszel and Hinda (neé Sieradzka) Tosk. Rose was imprisoned in the Lódź ghetto, then at the concentration camps of Salzwedel and Bergen-Belsen in Germany and Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. In April 1945, Rose was liberated by the United States armed forces at Salzwedel concentration camp. While her father perished during the war, Rose, her mother, her sisters Fajga, Nacha, and Golda, and her brother Isaac all survived the war. By 1946, Max and Rose were both at the displaced persons camp in Zeilsheim, Germany. According to a marriage certificate, Max and Rose Pohl married in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 2, 1947. However, Rose’s American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) Displaced Persons Registration Record shows her using Max’s Polish name as early as 1945. Max’s aunt who lived in Buffalo, New York agreed to serve as their sponsor, and on February 17, 1949 Max and Rose Pohl immigrated to the United States. 

Pawlowicz family papers