Bernard Klein Oral History

Bernard Klein Oral History

An interview with Bernard and Emery Klein, brothers and Holocaust survivors, conducted by Dr. Sidney Bolkosky, Professor of History at the University of Michigan--Dearborn. The Klein brothers were born in Humenné, a town in eastern Slovakia. The immediate family of the brothers included their parents and a younger sister. The Germans occupied the area in 1939 and started to deport the Jews in 1941. The Klein family was not deported until 1944 because Mr. Klein was an important farming advisor. The family was sent to Auschwitz without Bernard, who had become separated. Mrs. Klein and her daughter were immediately gassed upon arrival at the camp. Bernard was reunited with his brother and father at Auschwitz a month later. The three were sent to Gleiwitz where Emery and his father worked in a factory while Bernard worked in the concentration camp kitchen. In 1945, as the Russian army advanced into the area, the camp was evacuated to Blechhammer, another camp in the vicinity. The German guards fled the camp, leaving the prisoners. A few days later, the brothers, their father and several others began walking back to HumennĂ©. The Klein family moved to Israel, Montreal and eventually to Detroit

Bolkosky, Sidney M

Klein, Bernard

1984-05-23