Abraham Zarnowiecki
"We should not forget the torture of the survivors."
Date of birth
06/02/1921
Where did you grow up?
Dombrowa, Poland
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Where did you go after being liberated?
I met my wife, Bella, through Bella's brother, Salek Dancygier, I knew their whole family. We became engaged from before the war. I then learned that I had a cousin living in Pietrekov, Poland and went to find him. I found my cousin and we then learned that we had other family members living in Berlin. We decided to go to Berlin to find them. After we married, we went to Israel. We came to Israel illegally in 1948. An organization from Israel helped to arrange it, we first came to Gibraltar and then to Haifa. I knew Hebrew, I had studied in a Yeshiva (rabbinical school) for 14 years. I worked for a kibbutz (a collective agricultural settlement in modern Israel) near Lod, we lived near Rishon LeZion. The living conditions in Israel were very hard. We got papers to go to Canada and later arrived in Windsor, Ontario in1959. We had two daughters who were born in Israel, Tovah and Ella. Helen was born on a kibbutz (a collective agricultural settlement in modern Israel) in Germany.
Occupation after the war
Tool and die maker, restaurateur . I joined my wife's restaurant on Wyandotte Street, it was called it Bella’s. Later when I joined the restaurant and we called it Abraham’s. It became successful. We made homemade soup and Jewish dishes.
When and where were you married?
We were married on a kibbutz in Regensburg, Germany
Spouse
Bella Zarnowiecki
Children
Helen, Tova, and Elizabeth
Grandchildren
Two grandchildren: Mark and Rona and three great-grandchildren
What do you think helped you to survive?
The Russians
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
We should not forget the torture of the survivors.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
02/13/2011
