Oral History

Fred Bachner describes flight to eastern Poland upon the German invasion of Poland in September 1939

Fred was born to Polish Jewish parents in Berlin, where his father owned a factory. After the Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass") pogrom in November 1938, Fred's father and brother were deported to Poland. It was not until June 1939, when Poland allowed Fred and his mother to enter the country, that the family was reunited in Krakow. Fred and his family tried to flee upon the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 but were told to return to their homes. They were forced into the Krakow ghetto, and Fred was later deported to forced-labor camps. He was also imprisoned in Auschwitz and a subcamp of Dachau. Fred survived the camps, and was reunited with his father and brother. The three moved to the United States in 1947.

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