us-005578-irn500597
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Bernard (Beryl) Blustein (1905-1992) was born in Koscierzyna County, Poland. In 1941 he was living in Belarus and working as a railroad mechanic when he witnessed the onset of Operation Barbarossa in June. Bernard evaded German forces by fleeing his home with his wife and children and hiding in the woods. Eventually, Bernard was arrested and detained in Auschwitz as prisoner number 98812 for a couple years. Sometime around 1945, Bernard was transferred to Mauthausen where he was given prisoner number 123680 and forced to do hard labor. Because he was trained as a mechanic, Bernard was sent to Vienna to clean out and fix over-turned railroad cars. After Vienna was bombed, they returned to Mauthausen where he remained until he was liberated by the Americans in May 1945. Bernard eventually immigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. His wife and children perished in the Holocaust.
conditions of use: Copyright Holder: Bernard Blustein
has beginning date: 1980-01-01
has end date: 1980-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: yid
has or had subject: 0
has or had subject: 684
has or had subject: 101
has or had subject: 686
has or had subject: 570
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn500597
record resource extent: folder 1
record resource structure: The Bernard Blustein memoir is arranged as a single series.
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: The Bernard Blustein memoir is a 427 page memoir describing Bernard’s memories of the initial attack by the Germans on Belarus in June 1941, his imprisonment in Auschwitz and Mauthausen, and his liberation in 1945. Written sometime after his arrival in the United States, the memoir recounts details of Bernard’s family and work life in Belarus, efforts to evade capture, assignments as a forced laborer, living conditions in the camps, and details of death marches.
title: Bernard Blustein memoir