Isaac Engel

"I strongly believe that G-d has a plan for everyone. In my case I was given 50 extra years to live, raise my family, and continue my Jewish values."

Date of birth

03/01/1921

Where were you born?

Zwolen, Poland

Where did you grow up?

Zwolen, Poland

Name of father, occupation

Avraham Yehoshua Arye, Owner of hardware business; was an ordained but not a practising rabbi

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Yitta Leah Bonhardt, Homemaker, worked in family business

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Father, mother and three sons: Gavriel Zev, Simcha Bunim and myself

How many in entire extended family?

Who survived the Holocaust?

Isaac and two cousins, one went to Russian, one survived the camps, another cousin escaped to Israel in 1939

Following the German invasion in 1939, my family and I hid from the Germans in village of Zileonka. After the situation cooled down, I went back to my hometown with my family. Soon, my family was separated. I moved between local villages, at one point escaping from a truck transporting Jews to a labor camp in order to make my way back to my family. In 1942, my family left their hiding place in the ghetto and went to the town of Ciepelow where they were rounded up by the Germans. There they were either killed on the spot or deported to Treblinka. In October, 1942, I was sent to Polichna where I worked on a government run potato farm. In December, 1942, I was moved to Skarzysko-Kamienna where I worked as a forced laborer for the Hugo Schneider Aktiengellescaft (HASAG). After the liquidation of Skarzysko-Kamienna, I was then sent to Czestochowa. From there I was sent to Gross Rosen, Nordhausen, Dora, and finally Bergen-Belsen where I was liberated by the British.

After liberation, I remained in Bergen-Belsen, which was converted to a Displaced Person’s (DP) camp where I married and had a child, Toby. We remained there until December, 1949 when we immigrated to Detroit.

Biography taken from University of Michigan-Dearborn, Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive and interview with daughter, Toby Schlussel

Name of Ghetto(s)

Zwolen

Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)

Bergen Belsen / Czestochowa / Dora / Gross Rosen / Nordhausen / Polichna / Skarzysko Kamienna

Where were you in hiding?

Zileonka

What DP Camp were you after the war?

Yes, at Bergen-Belsen

Occupation after the war

I sold yeast and bakery supplies and was involved in transportation while living in the DP camp. In Detroit, because I wouldn’t work on Shabbos (the Sabbath), I became a Shochet (ritual slaughterer) and owned the last kosher wholesale poultry slaughterhouse in the city.

When and where were you married?

While at Bergen-Belsen

Spouse

Adela Ehrenfried

Children

Three daughters: Toby, Cillia, and Gertrude

Grandchildren

Nine and seven great-grandchildren

What do you think helped you to survive?

I was always alert and had my eyes open. I was very resourceful. I always wanted to work because I knew work would save my life. I volunteered to do any work possible (carpenter, blacksmith), even if I was not trained for it. I made friends easily and helped others whenever possible. I was a very religious man. I strongly believe that G-d has a plan for everyone and in my case I was given fifty extra years to live, raise my family, and continue my Jewish values.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

I strongly believe that G-d has a plan for everyone. In my case I was given 50 extra years to live, raise my family, and continue my Jewish values.