Dr. Emanuel Tanay
"Absolutists’ beliefs be they religious or ideological are genocidal. Education about the past genocides should be part of every curriculum. Even though I was teaching in medical school and law school I found teaching about genocide in Florida secondary schools most rewarding. Florida has mandatory Holocaust education. As a charter member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, I consider this institution to be of immense importance. I am troubled... (continued below)"
Name at birth
Emanuel Tenenwurzel
Date of birth
03/05/1928
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Between ages six and fourteen, I lived in Miechow, Poland
Name of father, occupation
Bunim Tenenwurzel,
Dentist
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Betty Kowarski,
Physician-dentist
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents, myself, and my sister Olga Ruth
How many in entire extended family?
60
Who survived the Holocaust?
My mother, my sister, two of my mother's sisters, and myself
My mother’s sister, Clara, jumped from the train taking Jews to the extermination camp. The SS shot at her as she was rolling down the embankment. She got two bullets in her leg but survived in the forest. She later emigrated to in Israel.
My mother’s sister, Sonya, was in Stutthof concentration camp when the Russians were approaching. The women were placed on ships without a crew in the hope that they would drown. They ended up in Sweden. Sonya lived for many years in Israel.
I escaped from the Ghetto in 1942 and entered the Mogila Monastery. I was denounced and escaped from Gestapo by hiding in the Church organ. This event was depicted in the Oscar nominated documentary, “The Courage to Care.”
I was in number of jails including the famous Foe Ucca Prison. Hannah Szenes was in the next cell. One of her companions was in my cell. I escaped from there. I was in the concentration camp, Topolya in Yugoslavia, escaped from there with help of a Gestapo man whom I trusted.
I came to Communist Poland searching for my father who was, as it turned out, executed by Amon Goeth, depicted in some detail in Schindler’s List. Upon return to Poland, my life was in danger. Jews were being killed. I resumed my Christian identity and shortly thereafter escaped to the American occupied zone of Germany. I had false papers.
See my book, Passport to Life: Autobiographical Reflections on the Holocaust.
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Where were you in hiding?
I hid in a monastery
What DP Camp were you after the war?
I was in Landsberg DP Camp at the time when General Patton kept the Jews behind barbed wire. I escaped to Munich and lived among the Germans. I studied political science and medicine. I received an MD degree in December of 1951.
Where did you go after being liberated?
I was liberated in Budapest, wandered all over Europe, ending up in Poland and Germany.
When did you come to the United States?
January 1952
Where did you settle?
I took an internship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, psychiatric residency training at Elgin State Hospital.
How is it that you came to Michigan?
I received a staff position at Ypsilanti State Hospital and became associate director of the Detroit Receiving Hospital Department of Psychiatry.
Occupation after the war
Academic psychiatry, private practice of psychotherapy, and forensic psychiatry. I was a consultant to the German compensation office of Holocaust Survivors and examined hundreds of survivors from all over the world. I am an author of three books, co-author of some, and author of many scientific papers.
When and where were you married?
August 7, 1970
Spouse
Sandra,
Teacher
Children
Anita, lawyer; Elaine, social worker; David, lawyer, employed by Michigan Attorney General
Grandchildren
Six: Aaron, Jeremy, Sarah, Rachel, James, and Katherine
What do you think helped you to survive?
My optimism, resourcefulness, and courage. The help of Christians was important however the help of Jews was even more significant. Without the underground organization of Zionists in Budapest, neither my mother, sister, nor I would have survived.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Absolutists’ beliefs be they religious or ideological are genocidal. Education about the past genocides should be part of every curriculum. Even though I was teaching in medical school and law school I found teaching about genocide in Florida secondary schools most rewarding. Florida has mandatory Holocaust education. As a charter member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, I consider this institution to be of immense importance. I am troubled by the distortions of Holocaust history that conflict with my clear memories. I am in the process of writing a book called “The Genocide of the Jews: Myth and Reality”.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
02/08/2011
To learn more about this survivor, please visit:
The Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive, University of Michigan
https://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/tanay/
https://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/tanay/
Survivor's map
