Dr.Karl
Targownik a former psychiatrist from Topeka remembers the Holocaust. Targownik
was living in Bochina, Poland and studying medicine. On July 17, 1942 the
Germans arrived killing people in the streets and remaining jews were loaded
onto trains and taken to a concentration camp. That day he lost his parents.
Targownikes goal was to survive no matter what. During his time in Auschwitz
he work on cleaning the [dead bodies] out of the trains. Everyday was spent
living in horrible conditions with on going fear the next time he could
be the one shot. Finally in the fall of 1944 order came to stop the killing
of Jews at Auschwitz.When ever a man would even approch the door to relieve
his bladder he was shot.Targowinik endured the unbelieveable pain and wait
for two days and two nights to relieve himself in 5ft of snow at the next
camp. Dr.Karl Targownik was liberated by American soldiers on April 27,
1945-he finished his medical degree. He arrived in the US in 1949 - came
to Topeka to study psychiatry in 1951. He believed his survival was one
- in- a- billon chances.
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Elie Wiesel
was born Sept. 30, 1928 to the parents of Shlomo and Sarah in Sighet.As
a child he loved to learn about his religon from Moshe from his synagogue
and his grand father Dodey Feig who lived on a farm and told him stories.
Elie and his familly were removed from their homes and were loaded on cattle
cars and taken to the Auschwitz Concentraion Camps in Poland. Nazi guards
ordered men to the left - women to the right . He held tight to his father's
hand as he watched his mother and sister move away from them. His mother
and sister were killed .He wouldn't know for many years his other sister
survived. He and his father did months of heavy work with little food and
often being beating and constantly fearful of being killed. On Jan. 1945
they were moved to Buchenwald Camp where later Elies father died of diseases
and starvation. Now he was all alone. On April 11, 1945 Americans came
at last and freed the prisoners. Later Elie ended up in Paris, France where
he learned French and studied at the Sorbonne University. Elie kept his
memories and stories of all those horrible times in the Concentration camps
to himself for ten years . During this time he worked as a journalist.
His interview with Francis Mauriac was special and for the first time he
shared his stories . With Mauriacs helped Elie wrote ''Against Silence''
Published in America in 1956 in memory of his parents and little sister.
He was the first to use the word ''Holocaust'' for what had happen to the
jews. He received many other awards over the years.
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