Skip to main content

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Site
    • English home page
    • المصادر بالعربية
    • Πηγές στα Ελληνικά
    • Recursos en español
    • منابع موجود به زبان فارسی
    • Ressources en français
    • Gyűjtemény és tudástár magyar nyelven
    • Sumber Bahasa Indonesia
    • Materiali e risorse in italiano
    • 日本語のリソース
    • 한국어 자료
    • Recursos em Português (do Brasil)
    • Материалы на русском языке
    • Türkçe Kaynaklar
    • اُردو ری سورسز
    • 中文参考资料
  • Events
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Support the Museum
  • Connect
  • Donate
  • Learn About The Holocaust
  • Remember Survivors and Victims
  • Confront Genocide and Antisemitism

  • Home
  • Learn about The Holocaust
Holocaust Encyclopedia

We’ve been reworking our Holocaust Encyclopedia, and we would love for you to explore the new experience. Click the button at right to start using the new version. The version you are viewing now will remain online until June 30, 2018.

  • Introduction to the Holocaust
  • Information for Students
  • Timeline of Events
  • Holocaust Encyclopedia
  • Holocaust and Related Maps
  • The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students
This page is also available in:
  • عربيArabic
  • فارسیFarsi
  • TürkçeTurkish

Stanislawów (now Ivano-Frankivsk) — ID Card

Back to Article

Lila Lam

Born: November 24, 1924, Stanislawow, Poland

Lila Lam

Lila was born to a Jewish family in the largely Jewish city of Stanislawow. The Lam family owned an oil field and refinery, and Lila's father, who was trained as a lawyer, helped to manage the business. When it came time for Lila to begin first grade, her parents decided to have her tutored privately at home rather than have her attend an elementary school.

1933-39: The Jewish holidays were always special times. Although my family wasn't religious, the holidays were wonderful opportunities for my five aunts and uncles and all of my cousins to gather at my grandfather's house. In 1939, when I was 15, the war broke out and Soviet troops invaded Stanislawow. My final two years of secondary school were spent in a Soviet school.

1940-44: German troops invaded our town and established a ghetto in 1941. By summer 1942 my mother, brother, uncle and I escaped and, using bribes, got to Warsaw. Each Sunday we'd leave our house and pretend we were going to church. One Sunday, as my mother and I went out, we were stopped by a Polish policeman, who said he suspected that we were Jews. For a fee, he agreed not to turn us in. When my mother ran to fetch the money, he dragged me to a house and tried to rape me. Luckily, he let me go.

During the August 1944 Warsaw uprising, Lila was among the Polish civilians deported to concentration camps. After the war, she lived in Poland.

Browse all ID Cards

Browse all Oral Histories

Related Holocaust Encyclopedia Articles

  • Stanislawów (now Ivano-Frankivsk)
  •  
  • Next

Copyright © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

This page is also available in:

  • عربيArabic
  • فارسیFarsi
  • TürkçeTurkish

Museum Information

  • Today at the Museum
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Exhibitions and Collections
  • Traveling Exhibitions

Resources for Academics and Research

  • Ask a Research Question
  • Research in Collections
  • Research about Survivors and Victims
  • Academic Programs

Resources for Educators

  • Teaching about the Holocaust
  • Programs for Teachers
  • Teaching Materials
  • Holocaust Encyclopedia

Resources for Professionals and Student Leaders

  • Law Enforcement
  • Military
  • Judiciary
  • Faith and Interfaith Communities
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Main telephone: 202.488.0400
TTY: 202.488.0406

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • About the Museum
  • Contact the Museum
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Legal
×

#USHMM #AskWhy

FirstPerson

Conversations with Survivors
of the Holocaust

Watch Now

Join us right now to watch a live interview with a survivor, followed by a question-and-answer session.