Miriam Ferber Oral History

Miriam Ferber Oral History

An interview with Miriam Monczyk-Laczkowska Ferber, a Holocaust survivor, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. Soon after Miriam's birth in 1942 in Sosnowiec, Poland, the Monczyk family was moved to the Srodula ghetto on the outskirts of the city. Miriam's mother asked the Laczkowskas, a Polish family who were former neighbors and friends, to take care of the infant Miriam until her mother could return for her. The Laczkowskas agreed and smuggled Miriam out of the ghetto. The Nazis murdered Miriam's father in the ghetto. Her mother and brother were deported to a death camp sometime later and never returned for her. Miriam spent the remainder of the war in the care of the Laczkowskas. She was portrayed by the family as the illegitimate daughter of the oldest Laczkowska daughter and was raised as a Polish Catholic. Near the end of the war, Mr. Laczkowska was deported to Gusen, a sub-camp of Mauthausen, where he died of typhus. Following the war, Miriam continued her life as a Polish Catholic. While still a teenager, Miriam found out about her Jewish background. As part of a program developed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to bring European Jews to America, Miriam was separated from her foster family and brought to America

Bolkosky, Sidney M

Ferber, Miriam Monczyk-Laczkowska

2001-12-07