us-005578-irn722705-irn503695
type: RecordSet
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 2
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: pol
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 513
has or had subject: 701
has or had subject: 1138
has or had subject: 177
has or had subject: 904
has record set type: Item
history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
history: Bernard Lee (born Bernard Lieberman) was born in December, 1920 in Pabianice, Poland to Josef and Gitla (née Rosenthal) Lieberman. He had four brothers and four sisters. Bernard’s father had various professions including watchmaker and religious studies. Bernard considered his family as both distinguished and religious (Hasidim). He had only little contact with non-Jews while young, but remembers frequent outbursts of anti-Semitism, especially as the war approached. Before the war, Bernard worked in textile manufacturing. A few days after the war started in 1938, his family went to nearby Łódź but returned home as there were no escape routes. He learned early on not to rely on old friendships when a Volkdeutscher he knew ignored him entirely. Bernard volunteered for a drafting of Jews to a labor camp. His younger brother sought to replace him, but Bernard refused. On the march to the train Bernard saw his mother and any members of his family for the last time. He was sent to a camp at Będzin, which was then on the Polish/Germany border from May 1941 to July/August 1943. He describes life in the camp. Bernard was then transferred by train to Auschwitz, stayed for a night and he then moved to Birkenau. In winter, 1943, he was sent to the Warsaw ghetto, which was burned out from the earlier Jewish uprising. He caught typhus which was rampant, but survived. In July/August, 1944, his commander was told to evacuate his group to Dachau or kill them all; they made it to Dachau. Bernard describes his life there, especially his work in the kitchen. One day, they were sent on a march to an unknown destination. After three days, Bernard escaped the group by hiding in barracks, and then hiding amongst other prisoners. The American army liberated him on May 8, 1945. After a few days, he went on his own to Munich and contacted Herut Israel. He worked with them to organize kitchens for refugees, which he continued for his remainder of time in Germany. Bernard also began to search f…
identifier: irn503695
is or was included in: us-005578-irn722705
record resource extent: folder 1
record resource structure: Arrangement is thematic
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Consists of documents relating to Bernard Lee (formerly Berek (Bernhard) Lieberman) and the Lieberman family of Łódź, Poland. Among the documents are birth certificates of the Lieberman children, photographs of family gatherings, and documents issued by occupation authorities after the liberation of Dachau concentration camp.
title: Bernard Lee papers