Nick

__JACK MANDELBAUM __

Jack Mandelbaum was born in April of 1927 in Gyndia, Poland. Jack was only twelve when the Germans invaded Poland. He and his family moved all around Poland to stay away from the Germans who were making their town into a ghetto. Eventually, when they moved to live with Jack's grandfather, that town was also turned into a ghetto. Jack lived in that ghetto for about three years until he and his family were taken to a concentration camp. Jack and his family got separated in the sorting spot in the ghetto. When people got into the camps, they were sent to the left or right. If you went right, that meant you were a worker. If you went left, that meant you were being sent to the gas chambers. Jack went to the right side were the workers went, and the rest of his family were sent to the gas chambers. But, Jack kept up his hope through the entire time spent in the camps. The hope that his family was still alive probably kept him alive thoughout all the camps and days of hard labor. Jack was one of the luckier prisoners in the concentration camps. When he got transported from his old camp to his new one, he met a boy by the name of Moniek. Moniek was always very cheerful, and he kept Jack's spirits up. Since Jack's spirits were up, it also boosted his moral, which in turn, helped him survive. Another reason Jack was very lucky was because he and Moniek were ordered to be the cooks at the camp they were at because the original cook had gotten sick. While there, they took as much food as the could for themselves and their other friends they had met. They also put a little extra food into the soup the prisoners got every day before work. Jack is still alive today and has a wife and 12 grandchildren. He does not like to talk about the Holocaust, even though it is a huge part of his history. Jack Mandelbaum is a great role model for everyone to follow. I hope this wikispace helped put to light some of the reasons why students like us at Christ the Divine Teacher School look up to these survivors.



Jack Mandlebaum today.

Pictures from: vanceairscoop.com andreawarren.com