Survivor: Code: RelatioNet AR WV 29 BO PO
Family Name: Wvirzberg
Date of birth: 1.5.1929
Family Name: Wvirzberg
First Name: Arie
Father Name: Yoseph
Mother Name: Mina
Brother Name: Issaschar
Sister Name: EsterDate of birth: 1.5.1929
Country of birth: Poland
Arie Wvirzberg
I was born in Boryslaw, in Galicia which used to be part of Poland and today it is Ukraine. My mother’s name was Mina and my father’s name was Josef.
Underneath the city there was crude oil. The city was managed by a big oil company, and the citizens’ lives revolved around oil trading and my father was the oil company’s bookkeeper.
During my childhood, we lived in a 250 meter apartment. At that time, we were considered well- off, we had gas, electricity etc.
I had a sister, Ester, and a brother, Issaschar, who were 8 and 10 years older than I. They both graduated the Gymnasia (high school) that was very expansive at the time.
Life was calm until 1937- 1938, when a German shareholder who was already affected by the Nazis bought the company. The first thing they had done was fire Jewish employees.
We moved from our large apartment to a small, wrinkled flat with one and a half rooms. Even the bathroom was outside. We had no electricity, no gas and little water. It was a meaningful decrease in our living conditions.
Dad disappeared; I only saw him twice or three times a year. He probably worked far away, so he would be able to support our family financially. Life was pretty hard. It lasted until 1939 when the war between Poland and Germany started. Our area was attached to Russia according to the Molotov- Ribbentrop pact.In 1939, the Russians invaded Boryslaw and our financial situation became more difficult. My brother was drafted to the Red Army. I remember one day, we got a postcard from him, from a village named Pototzka. Since that day we lost contact and I have never heard from him since.
In 1941, the Russians retreated and the Nazis took over. A rough time began, we suffered from starvation and we were in constant danger. I do not have specific memories from that time, but I do remember that I was always hungry.
The Nazis’ way, was characterized by "aktzias"(selection of Jews to be sent to their death) and pogroms against Jews. Usually we knew before one of them began. I remember one time that my mother and I hid in the non- Jew neighbor’s warehouse. Since we had to be quiet, my mother kept me busy with family pictures.
When we came back home, my sister lied down on her bed and cried for many days. To these days, I don’t know for sure why she was crying, but I assume that she was raped by the non- Jew that hid her at his house.
In 1943, my mother and I were taken to the ghetto on a wagon that was dragged by a horse that had seen better times.
We arrived to a dark, small and dirty building that looked to me like "hell". We left the building and went to our previous neighbor's house. Then, a new aktzia was executed. We ran away to my sister's workplace and hid there until a group of German cops came and found us. They ordered us to gather in the yard. My mother told me "run away! Get out of here!" and so I did. That was the last time I saw her.
I wandered, all alone, in town for days alongside the train trying to find my parents. I was almost 14. Those days were horrible and I don’t remember if I ate or slept at all.
My sister, with 2000- 3000 other Jews, worked in a close camp which was my previous home building. This camp needed extra work force, and so my sister managed to set me a job. We lived there for a year; I was working as a delivery boy. In order to fulfill the job, I had to walk around in town without any Jewish well-known mark and that was a daily risk.
One day, my friend and I came back from a delivery mission. We used to walk through the main street near the German police station. On that day, one police officer ordered me to approach him. My friend hurried back to the camp and told everybody that I was caught by the German police. It turned out he just wanted me to go and buy him cigarettes.
In spring 1944, another aktzia was executed. The final goal was absolute extermination of all the Jews in town. A German and Ukrainian forces came into the building. Since I knew the house very well, I found a very good hiding place under the stairs. Despite this, one of the German police officers found me and took me to the yard with all the other Jews. The officers explained to us that we would be transferred to Kraków to do a similar job.
We were taken by train that had open carts. Although it was easy to escape, it was very dangerous because the surrounding was hostile.
We arrived to Plaszow camp in Kraków, when we saw the entrance gates; we were astonished, because we had never seen anything like this before. We stayed in long shacks and each morning we stood up for "stocktaking", then we went off to work. I remember being hungry, but thanks to my sister's boyfriend who worked out of town and smuggled us some food, I ate important meals in small amounts.
One day, all the men were asked to step outside. We stood naked in front of a group of S.S's soldiers. They sorted us- all the skinny and little ones were directed to one side. I don’t know how a little skinny and short guy like me stayed with the rest of the group that was transferred to another work camp.
After a few weeks, my sister and I were transferred to Vilichka. We were gathered in a small work camp and the conditions were better than they had been in Plaszow. My sister’s job was sorting military material. Since I was the “smallest” worker, they let me carry coal.
In august 1944, we were evacuated back to Mauthausen. We were loaded; 80-100 people on each cart. The ride lasted 7 days. At first, people died from lack of oxygen and food. After 3 days, they gave us water; each one of us drank at least half a bucket. The ride was continued and because of the heat people started sweating all they had drunk. The carts were filled with moistness, and so people died because of strangulation. Only 30-40 people survived the ride and arrived to Mauthausen.
We worked in the quarry of Mauthausen, every day, two or three workers returned on a stretcher which was carried by the rest who could barely walk. Every night, we had to sleep in unbelievable conditions: the first Jew was brought into the far corner of the hall and seated astride, the other Jew seated between his legs with his back against the belly of the previous person- that’s how we were seated -row after row. Since most Jews were suffering from diarrhea they had two choices: do their body wastes in their pants and increase the stench in the hall or try to go through the rest of the people which was almost impossible. In both cases, the poor got the cruelest punishments: they were beaten merciless with a stick or imprisoned in a cage which was under a can that poured ice cold water. The victim screamed very loudly until he passed out. I was lucky because I was seated near the exit and I had enough space to lie down and have some rest.
After two- three weeks we were transferred to Gozen 2 camp. In the camp there were 12 blocks each one contained 300-400 prisoners, I stayed at block number 12.
The daily routine started with waking up, at about five o'clock, running to the bathroom and washing the face. The “bathroom” was actually dug canal lined with planks, which we could stand or squat to do our needs. The places were limited, compared with the immediate requirement in the morning. The competition was hard but necessary.
These arrangements lasted about half an hour. Then, we stood in line for breakfast. Lunch was a loaf of bread for every eight prisoners and some paste. Drinking was an unspecified fluid which its advantage was the heat.The shortage of food caused a lot of fighting among us. After breakfast, there was a roll call, after which we were taken to the factory where Kapos were in charge of us. I worked as a welder. Every several weeks, we were taken to the showers. We had to strip before going in, regardless of the weather. We had to shower within minutes, after which we were given striped clothes. Because of the hard labor and the bad conditions, many prisoners died at night. Others were bitten to death and each morning we saw piles of dead bodies outside the cabin.
One winter day, in 1944-45, one of the prisoners was missing. Everyone was taken outside until the body of the prisoner was found which took more than 12 hours. Many died; others got ill and died later. Luckily, I stayed healthy. However, my body was constantly covered with furuncles. One of them appeared in my groin, which forced me to walk with spread legs. The Kapo sent me to the clinic. It was well known in the camp that many went to the clinic and never came back. I no longer cared if I lived or died. I slept for 3 or 4 days at the clinic. During this time the furuncle burst and I was sent back to work. I stayed there for 8 months.
In April 1945, we marched for60 km to Gortzkizen camp. We slept on the ground, food was scarce. Towards the end of the war, we received packages of food that saved our lives. Later, we found out that the Germans' intention was to poison us.
On May 5th- 6th, 1945, when we woke up in the morning, the guards were gone. We all broke into the food storage. The commotion was big, people trampled each other. However, I managed to reach some bread and a bag of sugar. When I went outside, I was beaten over my head and passed away. When I woke up, the food was stolen. I joined two youngsters and we started walking towards the village. On the way we ran into two dead German soldiers lying next to a German military truck. The truck was full of Nazi uniforms from which we took three suits. Nearby we found a storage cabin with flour, sugar and margarine. We mixed everything together and swallowed it. After that, we walked to the village, I don’t remember what happened next, but I woke up in a clinic in Austria unable to even reach a glass of water. I fainted again. When I woke up, I was among Jews. We were given one of two options: return to our home town or immigrate to America. Since I believed that my sister had managed to survive, I returned to Boryslaw.
One winter day, in 1944-45, one of the prisoners was missing. Everyone was taken outside until the body of the prisoner was found which took more than 12 hours. Many died; others got ill and died later. Luckily, I stayed healthy. However, my body was constantly covered with furuncles. One of them appeared in my groin, which forced me to walk with spread legs. The Kapo sent me to the clinic. It was well known in the camp that many went to the clinic and never came back. I no longer cared if I lived or died. I slept for 3 or 4 days at the clinic. During this time the furuncle burst and I was sent back to work. I stayed there for 8 months.
In April 1945, we marched for
On May 5th- 6th, 1945, when we woke up in the morning, the guards were gone. We all broke into the food storage. The commotion was big, people trampled each other. However, I managed to reach some bread and a bag of sugar. When I went outside, I was beaten over my head and passed away. When I woke up, the food was stolen. I joined two youngsters and we started walking towards the village. On the way we ran into two dead German soldiers lying next to a German military truck. The truck was full of Nazi uniforms from which we took three suits. Nearby we found a storage cabin with flour, sugar and margarine. We mixed everything together and swallowed it. After that, we walked to the village, I don’t remember what happened next, but I woke up in a clinic in Austria unable to even reach a glass of water. I fainted again. When I woke up, I was among Jews. We were given one of two options: return to our home town or immigrate to America. Since I believed that my sister had managed to survive, I returned to Boryslaw.
We left Wvols, Austria, heading towards Boryslaw. The ride began in summer 1945 and ended in the winter of 1946. I arrived to Boryslaw and stayed there for a couple of days until I got some information about my cousin, Ada and her husband Mondak, who lived in Drohobych. They welcomed me warmly and kindly, however the standard of living was poor.
I never found my sister.
My sister
After a few weeks, I was offered to go to Wroclaw. I took with me a small handbag with minimal clothes. When I arrived to the border, I was asked to show my identify documents. Since I didn't have any, I had to lie about my age and claim that I was 15 years old (while I was really 17) because ID documents were not needed until the age of 15. To this day, I am two years younger in my ID.
At the train station at Wroclaw, 3 representatives of youth movements approached me and offered to join them. I joined the "Hashomer Hatzair" and since I was considered a minor. I was brought to a Holocaust Survivors Children's House in Lodoyko.
In 1946, a group of 40 children (including myself) was organized secretly, in order to reach Germany. We arrived to hotel "Audonvald" in Lindenfels. We learned math, history, Hebrew, geography, and about Israel. The atmosphere was pleasent; many children were singing and dancing to Israeli songs in the streets.
In 1947, a chosen group of Audonvald's children joined to 4,500 other Jews on the "President warfilled" ship which was heading towards Israel from French.
On the 7th night, our ship was lightened by British battleships. They demanded that we surrender. The British forces overpowered us and directed us towards Haifa's port. However, we weren't allowed to get into Israel, instead, we were devided to three other ships. I was aboard to the "Empire Rival" and drifted towards French again.
When we arrived to "Port du bok" port, we didn't agree to get off the ship and so we stayed abroad for four weeks under bad conditions. As a result, the British transferred us to Germany. We had to stay there until March 1948, and so we built social lives and learned judo, face- to- face combat as a preparation to dealing with our lives in Israel.
In April 1948, I made "alia" to Israel which called "alia dalet" (עלייה ד') with fake IDs which soon were taken from me. Later, I received a new certificate as a new immigrant.In April 1948, I made "alia" to Israel which called "alia dalet" (עלייה ד') with fake IDs which soon were taken from me. Later, I received a new certificate as a new immigrant.
On October 23, 1952 I got married with Ahuva, whom I had met in kibbutz Evron. We have two children, Yossi and Mira. They both got married. From Yossi we have 3 grandchildren and from Mira we have 2 grandchildren.
Arie today
Borysław
Borysław lies 5.9 miles (9.6 kilometers) south-west of its historic sister town Drohobycz (Drogobycz) and 120 km SSW from the provincial and regional capital Lwów (Lviv), in the valley carved by Tyśmienica (Tyśmienytsia) River.
This area of modern Western Ukraine is known geographically as Prikarpatye or Podkarpatye
Until the mid nineteenth century, Borysław was a quiet village outside of the larger town of Drohobycz, the capital of the Drohobycz Administrative District and the seat of justice and local government. With the discovery of oil and the development of the petroleum industry, Borysław began to absorb the surrounding villages of Upper and Lower Potok, Upper and Lower Wolanka and Ratoczyn.
The famous Borysław Most (bridge) over the river Tyśmienica is found in the middle of the town.
All the main roads in Borysław originated at the bridge. Pańska Ulica (Street), later re-named Kosciuszko Street, began at and continued west. To the east of the bridge, Drohobycki Trakt (Drohobycz Trail), laterchanged to Mickiewicza Street, led to the villages of Gubicze (Hubyche), Dereźyce and Drohobycz. To the north, Zielinski Street led to Wolanka, Tustanowice and further to Truskawiec and Stebnik. To the south of the bridge, a road leads to Potok, Bania Kotowska, Ratoczyn and Popiele.
Before the middle of the nineteenth century, Borysław was a small, sleepy village outside of Drohobycz, a market town, the seat of justice and the administrative center of the Austrian administrative district. The little community changed with the discovery first crude oil and ozokerite or natural wax, a related substance.
Life in Borysław revolved around the petroleum industry. By the 1880's the landscape, which earlier had been pocked with shafts dug by hand, was cluttered with oil derricks between which ran rivulets of dirty ground water iridescent with oil slicks pumped from the shafts. The air reeked of oil and paraffin. The streets were unpaved with crude boardwalks providing the only paths through the yellow mud.
