Henry Martin

"Never give up"

Name at birth
Henoch Martyn
Date of birth
02/15/1915
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Bedzin, Poland
Name of father, occupation
Aaron Martyn
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Sarah Martyn
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and nine children. Only Henry survived of the immediate family.
How many in entire extended family?
Not known
Who survived the Holocaust?
Two first cousins Sidney Martyn (deceased), Nathan Martyn currently resides in Toronto, Ontario
Henry was a member of the Polish army.  In 1939, he was captured by the Nazis.  Henry arrived at Auschwitz and was instructed to stand in line with the throngs of people waiting an unknown destiny.  
 
He noticed another line where people were getting their forearms tattooed with numbers.  When the guard had his back turned he quickly switched to the tattoo line assuming that people getting tattooed would be kept alive. 
The man who was giving the tattoos told him he was lucky!  If he would have been spotted switching lines they would have shot him on the spot, although the original line lead to the gas chambers. 
 
After liberation he was sent to a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Stockholm, Sweden.  There he met his wife Mina Sczupak.  They married in 1947 and had a daughter Shirley.  Henry’s father had a sister who lived in Detroit since the 1920’s and she sponsored his family and him to come to America.  They moved to Detroit in 1949.  They lived in Detroit until 1961 then moved to Oak Park.   
 
Henry was a carpenter by trade, but eventually sold produce six days a week in a modified pick-up truck for thirty two years.  He was a member of B’nai B’rith and Shaarit Haplaytah Holocaust survivor organizations.  He raised and supported his family then retired to Florida with his wife Mina
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
What DP Camp were you after the war?
Stockholm, Sweden
When did you come to the United States?
1949
Where did you settle?
Detroit, Michigan
Occupation after the war
Carpenter
When and where were you married?
1947 Stockholm, Sweden
Spouse
Mina Sczupak Martin, Manicurist
Children
Shirley Marcus, school administrator; Rosie Daya, office clerical, Aaron Martin, owner, Ameripak, Inc
Grandchildren
Kara, Rachel, Michelle, Justin, Adam, Jacob
What do you think helped you to survive?
A useful talent, youth, luck
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Never give up
Interviewer:
Biography given by Aaron Martin, Henry Martin’s son
Interview date:
06/01/2008
To learn more about this survivor, please visit:

Contact us

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our email newsletter to receive updates on the latest news

thank you!

Your application is successfuly submited. We will contact you as soon as possible

thank you!

Your application is successfuly submited. Check your inbox for future updates.