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Jack, who has died aged 96, was speaking in 2012 after making an emotional pilgrimage back to his home town of Staszow in Poland as part of an ITV’s series, Strictly Kosher, which tracked the lives of Manchester’s Jewish community.
With tears streaming down his face, Jack, then 86, said of his family: “They were murdered.
“My brother was only nine years old. He was a Jew – that was his guilt! What kind of world is that?”
Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Aizenberg. Born in Staszow in Poland, Jack was a survivor of multiple labour camps, Buchenwald and Terezin concentration camps,. He came to the UK as one of the Boys, brought to Windermere for treatment and recuperation. He was a beloved member of the survivor community and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Jack was himself among 600 people forced on a 100-mile death march as American troops advanced into Germany in the closing days of the Second World War. Jack was also one of the one in 10 who survived. But he was left with no home and no family.
He returned to the camps where he nearly died 10 years ago – and the riverbank where he last saw his family alive in November, 1942, as Jews were force-marched to the death camps.
His father, Ajzyk, had been told he could get a job in the barracks but told his eldest son, then 16, to hide with his uncles and cousins.
“I didn’t know anything about life – I just thought it was a pleasant adventure,” Jack told the documentary. But it only took the Nazis 10 days to find his hiding place in an attic along with 30 other Jews.
Jack was put to work as a slave labourer, 50 miles away in Kielce. On one occasion he was loading cabbages.
“I had never seen cabbages like them, beautiful round footballs and I put one in my hand and started staring at it,” he said. “Then I got hit on the head by a German soldier. He shouted ‘work!’. I realised I was not at a holiday camp.”
Another job in charge of a little hut handing out tools saved his life. “When the lorries came for petrol and the drivers walked away, I stole their food,” he said. “If they had caught me I would have been shot on the spot.”
But he was soon taken to Buchenwald concentration camp.
“From then on there was no food, just starvation,” he says.
“The smell of burnt flesh was horrific. The crematorium was going 24 hours a day to burn the dead. Every morning they would use a big wheelbarrow and take the bodies to the crematorium. You become immune to it.
“One day they gave us all a little piece of soap with initials on it like you get in hotels. It stood for ‘pure Jewish fat’.
“I didn’t work, just starved and thought about food and watched myself get thinner.
“But I was still young and had a will to live. If you gave up, that was it.”
After a few months, Jack was moved to a weapons factory in the shadow of Colditz Castle.
But as the Allied advance continued he was put on a two-week death march to Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.
“It took two weeks,” he says. “There were 600 of us when we started, but only 60 survived.
“If you couldn’t walk you were shot, if you fell down you were shot. I was thinking ‘Why are they dragging this poor beggar across Europe, shuffling along’. Maybe that kept me alive.
“We stopped every night at a farm and at some farms we got a potato. We also started eating grass.
“After a week we stopped at a factory. I found a dried-out pea. It had probably been on the floor for six months, but I was excited.
“I decided to boil it and all the boys helped me start a fire, using a little bit of timber from the ceiling.
“The crowd of survivors gathered around watching, and I could see their eyes popping out. I was nervous, ‘what if they pinched my pea?’
“I poured out the water and cut it into four to make it last longer.” They got no food for another week.
By the time the Germans surrendered, he was near death. “I think another day and I would have been dead,” he said. “I was dying, but didn’t care.”
Then he heard the sound of accordions and realised the camp had been liberated by the Russians.
The British Government agreed 1,000 orphaned children under 16 could enter the country. Jack was among the first 300, flown to Windermere in Cumbria to recuperate for six months.
“I had to lie about my age,” he said. “I was 19 but we had no papers. When I got on the fear and the hunger was gone.
“When we arrived in Britain it was like arriving in paradise.”
With just £30, Jack went on to create a successful luggage business with two other Holocaust survivors in Manchester. He was married for 46 years to Rhona by the time of the documentary – the couple have two children.
He said: “Being a survivor has taught me something. I have got more patience, more tolerance, more understanding of suffering and I really hate mistreatment of human beings.
“I came here without a penny and now I have a few pennies,” he laughed, adding: “and a very, very special wife.
“England is paradise. I wish the whole world is like the English. I am so grateful to this country.
“I cannot believe that I nearly died of starvation and now I watch my weight!”
“I’ve seen two worlds. I’ve been in hell and in paradise.”
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I have already visited Szydłów several times but without sightseeing. I decided to catch up and visit this city to see why it is gaining popularity among tourists visiting the Świętokrzyskie Province.
There are several parking lots for tourists here
so you don’t have to worry about where to leave your car (unless there is a big tourist event going on)
A trip to Szydłów can be combined with a visit to Kurozwęki
The first records of Szydłów come from the end of the 12th century
It was granted city rights by King Władysław Łokietek in 1329
and local craftsmen were also involved in the production of cloth
the city was hit by a fire that destroyed a large part of the buildings
there was a large Jewish community in Szydłów
and later Polish brothers (Arians) also settled there
among others by various conflicts that had a strong impact on the number of inhabitants
Szydłów had three city gates – Water
Only the last one has survived to this day
Inside the city walls (by entering the city gate
The synagogue in Szydłów is considered to be the oldest surviving synagogue in the Świętokrzyskie region
and you can read more about this building in the text – an article about the synagogue in Szydłów
It comes from the fourteenth century and is built of brick
The belfry next to the building was probably built from a defensive tower in the 18th century
Once again the church went down during the First World War
we only managed to look through the open door
and inside it is worth paying attention to the rich polychrome
This place was not far from the parking lot where we left our car
but you can also see the object from the outside and the cemetery
Church and hospital The Holy Spirit was founded in the 17th century
The second function of this facility (hospital) was intended for the poor and the elderly
There is a still functioning cemetery right next to the building
It was most likely built during the reign of Casimir the Great
Both the mentioned ruler and Władysław Jagiełło visited Szydłów many times
and its defensive value lost its importance
Subsequent raids and fires did not improve his condition
it was planned to sell the castle walls as a building material
The site was originally about 60 x 60 meters and was part of the city’s fortifications
It consisted of two castle houses and a tower
but you can also see the royal chamber with furnaces that heat it
This is an event that brings a huge number of tourists to the city
It is not quite an event that suits my taste
Szydłów is sometimes called the plum capital of Poland due to the large number of orchards where these fruits are grown
If you are planning a comprehensive tour of Szydłów
it is good to get a collective admission ticket to all facilities
which costs PLN 20 for normal and PLN 15 for reduced tickets
The ticket includes the following places: Castle Square (Castle and Royal Castle Museum)
Church of All Saints and Hospital of the Holy Spirit
Tourist attractions of Szydłów are available:
May to September:10:00 – 17:00 (monday – friday)10:00 – 18:00 (saturday – sunday)
October to April:8:00 – 16:00 (monday – friday)10:00 – 16:00 (saturday – sunday)
because the city has an interesting atmosphere
It also has enormous potential that is gradually being used more and more
My name is Jakub Juszyński and I create this place
Nie zabraknie tu lokalnych smaków i ciekawostek
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