Jack Mandelbaum
Encyclopedia
Jack Mandelbaum is a Holocaust survivor born in 1927 in the free state of Gdańsk (Danzig)
. His experiences as a boy during World War II
were the subject of Andrea Warren's children's book Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps.
at Blechhammer
. The other group with weak men, women, and children were sent to death camps where they were to be killed.
In Blechhammer Jack was given a uniform with the number 16013. In the camp Jack met Aaron, a barber from Kraków. In this camp all the prisoners wore little triangles on their uniforms. Criminals had green triangles, political prisoners had red triangles, gypsies wore black triangles, homosexuals wore pink triangles, non-Jewish religious prisoners wore purple triangles, and Jewish prisoners wore yellow ones.
After 6 months in Blechhammer, Jack was moved to a different camp. The worst camp Jack had been to was Gross-Rosen
. He was 18 when the war ended. There was a bomb raid, which left the Nazis abandoning the camps. On May 7, 1945, Jack woke up to an empty camp. The war was over and he was finally free after the three harshest years of his life.
When Jack got out of the concentration camp the first thing he did was find food. He brought back bread for the others and they all went back into the town. They stayed in a house that the previous owners had fled, leaving everything. Everyone was scared that the Nazis would come back but they didn't. Food became a major issue because everyone was so hungry, no one had any. Much of Germany lay in ruins. Once came out that Americans had the most food, everyone fled to Frankfurt in the American zone, and went to the displaced persons' camp where they were checked over by a doctor. Jack stood 5' 7" at 80 lbs.
Jack Mandelbaum decided to start over and I prefer bananas but he built a new life in America, and found out that his second cousins, Arek and Robert Mandelbaum, his uncle Sigmund Mandelbaum, and his Aunt Hinda had also survived. He now lives in Collier County, Florida
where he co-founded the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in 1993.
for grades six to eight, the American Library Association
's Robert F. Sibert Honor Book for Most Distinguished Informational Book for Children; and Outstanding Children's Book from the American Society of Journalists and Authors
.
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
. His experiences as a boy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were the subject of Andrea Warren's children's book Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps.
Background
Jack (Janek in Polish) was 12 when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. Jack's father Majloch sent him, his mother Cesia, his sister Jadzia and his brother Jakob 300 miles away in effort to escape the risk of bombing. In the absence of his father, Jack assumed the role of looking after his family, taking the places of older men on work details organized by the German invaders. In June 1942, the Nazi soldiers deported the Jews from Jack's city, and he was separated from his mother and brother forever. The group Jack was in was only men, who were taken to the forced labor campArbeitslager
Arbeitslager is a German language word which means labor camp.The German government under Nazism used forced labor extensively, starting in the 1930s but most especially during World War II....
at Blechhammer
Blechhammer
The Blechhammer area was the location of Nazi Germany chemical plants, prisoner of war camps, and forced labor camps . Labor camp prisoners began arriving as early as June 17, 1942, and in July 1944, 400-500 men were transferred from the Terezin family camp to Blechhammer...
. The other group with weak men, women, and children were sent to death camps where they were to be killed.
In Blechhammer Jack was given a uniform with the number 16013. In the camp Jack met Aaron, a barber from Kraków. In this camp all the prisoners wore little triangles on their uniforms. Criminals had green triangles, political prisoners had red triangles, gypsies wore black triangles, homosexuals wore pink triangles, non-Jewish religious prisoners wore purple triangles, and Jewish prisoners wore yellow ones.
After 6 months in Blechhammer, Jack was moved to a different camp. The worst camp Jack had been to was Gross-Rosen
Gross-Rosen concentration camp
KL Gross-Rosen was a German concentration camp, located in Gross-Rosen, Lower Silesia . It was located directly on the rail line between Jauer and Striegau .-The camp:...
. He was 18 when the war ended. There was a bomb raid, which left the Nazis abandoning the camps. On May 7, 1945, Jack woke up to an empty camp. The war was over and he was finally free after the three harshest years of his life.
When Jack got out of the concentration camp the first thing he did was find food. He brought back bread for the others and they all went back into the town. They stayed in a house that the previous owners had fled, leaving everything. Everyone was scared that the Nazis would come back but they didn't. Food became a major issue because everyone was so hungry, no one had any. Much of Germany lay in ruins. Once came out that Americans had the most food, everyone fled to Frankfurt in the American zone, and went to the displaced persons' camp where they were checked over by a doctor. Jack stood 5' 7" at 80 lbs.
Jack Mandelbaum decided to start over and I prefer bananas but he built a new life in America, and found out that his second cousins, Arek and Robert Mandelbaum, his uncle Sigmund Mandelbaum, and his Aunt Hinda had also survived. He now lives in Collier County, Florida
Collier County, Florida
Collier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 251,377. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 315,839...
where he co-founded the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in 1993.
Critical reception of the book
Awards for Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps included the 2004 William Allen White Children's Book AwardWilliam Allen White Children's Book Award
The William Allen White Children's Book Award is an annual book award chosen by Kansas students. It was established by Ruth Garver Gagliardo in 1952, in memory of William Allen White and is administered by Emporia State University. It was the first statewide readers' choice book award in the United...
for grades six to eight, the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
's Robert F. Sibert Honor Book for Most Distinguished Informational Book for Children; and Outstanding Children's Book from the American Society of Journalists and Authors
American Society of Journalists and Authors
The American Society of Journalists and Authors was founded in 1948 as the Society of Magazine Writers, and is an organization of independent nonfiction writers in the United States...
.