us-005578-irn522410-irn522434
identifier: irn522434
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn522410-irn522434/alternateIDs/1
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/701
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-cb/347
has or had holder: us-005578
title: Jerzy Ogurek papers
is or was included in: us-005578-irn522410
history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/843
has record set type: Item
type: RecordSet
history: Jerzy “Jurek” Jakub Ogurek was born in Katowice, Poland, on October 20, 1933, to Alexander and Karola Fiszer Ogurek. Alexander was born in Krakow and earned a law degree in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He was an insurance adjustor for the Polish branch of Italy’s largest insurance company. He met Karola Fiszer when he provided service for her father after a robbery. The couple married on April 16, 1932, and lived in Bedzin with Karola’s parents, Izak and Helene Fiszer, observant Jews who owned a leather store. Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, and the family fled by train to Kielce, but returned by horse drawn cart after a week. The family home was divided and the two front rooms were occupied by Germans. Alexander now worked as the supervisor of a German leather factory and Karola worked there as the bookkeeper. Jurek was left alone during the day. Germans came to the house and took their furniture. After a curfew restricted Jews from the streets, the family moved from near the train station to near the slaughterhouse. Karola’s cousin, Max Fiszer, his wife, and daughter, Rutka, age 14, also lived in Bedzin and owned land next to the train station where Jurek helped with the vegetable garden. There were frequent selection of Jews for concentration camp and at one point, Jurek and his grandparents were placed in a group designated for later consideration. The owner of the factory where Jurek’s parents worked used his connections to change their classification so that they were not deported. In March 1943, the family was forced to move into the Srodula ghetto. Alexander asked Polish friends to take in Jurek, but they refused. On August 1, 1943, during the liquidation of the ghetto, the family hid in an attic with 20-30 people. After a week, they were discovered and taken to the old leather factory in Sosnowiec and placed in a labor camp. It was filthy and disease ridden and guards continually removed those, including children, who were unfit for work; Jurek was often…
record resource extent: folders 4
scope and content: The papers consist of documents and photographs relating to the experiences of Jerzy Ogurek, originally of Katowice, Poland, and his family during the Holocaust.
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn522410-irn522434/acquisitions/1