Nathan Nothman

"The world was cruel.  Even the United States, wouldn’t let us in.  We had no place to go; nobody wanted to take in Jews.  We were scapegoats.  Thank G-d we now have Israel.  If anything happens, we can go there.   We have to all stay together to not allow things like this to happen.  The most important thing in life is freedom.  All people should be united as brothers and sisters.  Hatred is no good.  "

Name at birth
Natek (Nachman) Goldberger
Date of birth
07/15/1925
Where were you born?
Name of father, occupation
Szymon Goldberger, Plumber
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Bronia Nothman, Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and four children: Oskar, Lolek, Charlotte (Simko) and me
How many in entire extended family?
38
Who survived the Holocaust?
Lolek, Charlotte and me
After the Germans invaded, we were not allowed to walk on the sidewalk when a German approached.  We had to take off our hats and walk in the gutter when a German approached.  We were not allowed on streetcars or to go to the movies.  My brother Lolek fled to Russia, he tried to convince our father but he thought Germans would not be so brutal.  In 1940, the ghetto in Cracow-Plaszow was created. 
            
In March 1943, my mother, father, sister, and brother were taken to Auschwitz.  I was alone.  I witnessed many Jews being murdered in the ghetto.   Other Jews and I were ordered to go to a Jewish children’s home.  The Jewish nurse there was immediately shot.  Her blood sprayed like a fountain.  
 
We were ordered to bring down the Jewish babies.  I remember how it was a beautiful day.  We brought down 500-600 Jewish babies.  For hours we brought them down.  The Germans laid them out on the sidewalk and shot them all.  I cursed G-d that day for not doing anything to stop them.  G-d you go to hell, you were not here.  Jewish blood was flowing.  I was covered in blood.  We were then ordered to throw the dead Jewish children onto a wagon.  We thought if we resisted, we would all be shot.  Where could we run, where would we go, where would we hide, where would we get food.  There was no one to help us.
Name of Ghetto(s)
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Occupation after the war
Plumber
Spouse
Sonia Garfinkel Nothman
Children
Sandra, teacher Sam, plumber Carol, writer
Grandchildren
Three and five great-grandchildren
What do you think helped you to survive?
Courage. I’m a strong person. I put everything in a box, in a closet and then it stays there. Also, I wanted revenge. I wanted to see the day when the Germans would be defeated. And also I had common sense. One time a Nazi was about to kill me. I said to him in German, “I’m not a Jew.” I pushed him away and he let me go. In the ghetto, there were watchtowers. A few times at night, I snuck out to take some winter potatoes growing under straw to help my mother who was starving. The guard shined the light above me. He could have exposed me but he did not. I took risks to live.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
The world was cruel.  Even the United States, wouldn’t let us in.  We had no place to go; nobody wanted to take in Jews.  We were scapegoats.  Thank G-d we now have Israel.  If anything happens, we can go there.  
We have to all stay together to not allow things like this to happen.  The most important thing in life is freedom.  All people should be united as brothers and sisters.  Hatred is no good.
 
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
04/05/2011
To learn more about this survivor, please visit:
The Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive, University of Michigan
http://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/nothmann/

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