Holocaust survivor speaks about hope, freedom

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Katherine Roling
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
"I only want freedom," said Jack Mandelbaum, Holocaust survivor. "What is the point of health without freedom?"

For Holocaust Remembrance Day, Mr. Mandelbaum spoke to Vance Airmen and their families April 21 about his experiences in the concentration camps in Nazi Germany from 1942 to 1945.

In 1942, when he was 15, Mr. Mandelbaum was separated from his mother and brother. His father had already been captured and sent away. He said the Nazis underwent a systematic approach of separating the Jewish sector of Gdynia, Poland, into two groups: the left side and the right side.

Mr. Mandelbaum said he was first sent to the right side with his mother and brother. After he showed the Nazis a certificate designating him as an electrician, they then sent him to the left side to work.

He found out after the war that those sent to the right side worked at a brewery for three days, and then were sent to Auschwitz, Nazi-Germany's largest concentration and extermination camp, never to be seen again.

Separated from the last of his family, Mr. Mandelbaum was sent to Blechhammer, the first of five concentration camps he would see. He remembered prisoners stuffing leaves in their mouth to puff out their cheeks, making them appear healthier.

Those considered unhealthy and unfit to work were killed.

His motivation to continue living stemmed from his determination to regain his former life.

"The minute you lost hope, you were dead," said Mr. Mandelbaum.

He stressed the importance of hope, because those who gave up became disoriented and died within a week.

On May 7, 1945, Mr. Mandelbaum, then 18, said he woke up to a camp without guards. He and the other inmates did not see the Nazi flag flying as usual.

He remembered using chairs to climb the fences and liberate themselves. Eventually, they found abandoned military vehicles and "two chestnut horses with a painted wagon." He and a friend took off on the wagon.

After their escape, Mr. Mandelbaum said they discovered a concentration camp for women and helped them on their way to freedom. The five gallons of marmalade and sacks of sugar in the back of the wagon disappeared soon after, he said with a laugh.

Able to make his way to Allied lands, Mr. Mandelbaum said the Americans later put him with the first group of men sent to America on the troopship SS Marine Perch.

Mr. Mandelbaum now resides in Kansas City. He is married with seven children and 16 grandchildren.

In 1993, he co-founded the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education to teach the history of the Holocaust and counter indifference, intolerance, and genocide.

He did not speak of the Holocaust until 25 years after his liberation. At that time, he realized how people did not understand the atrocities of the Holocaust.

As a survivor, he encourages others to share their story.

"You must tell the world what happened there. This must never happen again," he said.

His final message to the audience was sincere yet firm.

"Guard your freedom. There is nothing more precious."