Hertsel Lenchner
"I want my family to be happy, like I'm happy. I believe it was destiny that I survived. People should be happy."
Date of birth
03/04/1916
Where did you grow up?
Leluv, Poland (outside of Czestochowa)
Name of father, occupation
Hershel,
Fruit and vegetable business (died at 31 years old, I was 6 years old)
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Pessel Frendlik,
Homemaker, cleaning lady
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Mother, me, Gittel, Hinda, Yadja (I was named after my late father)
How many in entire extended family?
45
Who survived the Holocaust?
Only me
After our father’s death, my mother’s sister took us children to a children’s orphanage in Bendjin, about 2 km away. At 13, I was apprenticed as a tailor. In 1939, after the German invasion, I was taken to a prison camp, Zawerche, with other young people, for three months. I believe this was done by the Germans to see how the world would react to this for later.
Later, I left for Samborg in the eastern part of Poland occupied by the Russians away from the Germans. I was jailed there for two months and then released. From there I went to Lvov. The Russians gave me a choice, to return to Poland or to go on further into Russia. I chose Poland. Instead, I was put on a train to Yaroslov near Moscow where I worked cutting down trees in the forests. I tried to join the Polish army, being reorganized in Russia, however they were short on munitions and only took already trained soldiers. In 1944, I traveled to Fergena, Uzbekistan (near Tashkent) where I worked as a tailor. After the war, we moved to Lvov until 1974 when we immigrated to the United States.
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Where did you go after being liberated?
After the war, we moved to Lvov until 1974 when we immigrated to the United States.
Occupation after the war
Tailor; men's store "Louis the Hatter"
Spouse
Clara (Chaya) Gorshtein,
Homemaker
Children
Eugene, restaurant owner in New York Tamara, spa owner
Grandchildren
Four and six great-grandchildren
What do you think helped you to survive?
G-d helped me. My Mazal (my good luck).
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
I want my family to be happy, like I'm happy. I believe it was destiny that I survived. People should be happy.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
04/04/2011
Experiences
Survivor's map
