Leon Ackermann My grandad’s unbelievable story Leon Ackermann Table of Contents My grandads unbelievable story ......................................................................... 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4 Family tree ............................................................................................................ 5 Years before the War ........................................................................................... 6 The village – childhood ......................................................................................................... 6 The town – school years ....................................................................................................... 8 In the war years ................................................................................................. 10 Expectation of war .............................................................................................................. 10 Breakout of war ................................................................................................................... 10 Sosnowiec ............................................................................................................................ 11 Struggle of Survival – Part 1 ............................................................................ 12 Strzyzow ............................................................................................................................... 12 Return to Sosnowiec ........................................................................................................... 12 Krenau (Chrzanow) ............................................................................................................. 12 The Actions (Aktionen) ........................................................................................................ 14 First rescue of Bela ............................................................................................................. 14 The hiding place .................................................................................................................. 14 Second rescue of Bela ........................................................................................................ 14 Behind a steel door ............................................................................................................. 16 Krenau without Jews ........................................................................................................... 16 Escape from the train ......................................................................................................... 16 The Ghetto ........................................................................................................................... 17 The labour camp ................................................................................................................. 17 Escape from the camp ........................................................................................................ 18 Back in Sosnowiec .............................................................................................................. 19 The new identity .................................................................................................................. 19 Gliwice .................................................................................................................................. 22 The liberation ...................................................................................................................... 23 End of war ............................................................................................................................ 23 Struggle of survival – Part 2 – Years after the war ......................................... 24 2 My grandad’s unbelievable story The final certainty ............................................................................................................... 24 Transition Period ................................................................................................................. 26 At the university ................................................................................................................... 26 First restart .......................................................................................................................... 26 Second restart ..................................................................................................................... 27 Third restart ......................................................................................................................... 27 Family images and last words .......................................................................... 29 3 Leon Ackermann Introduction My TY-project is about my granddad (father of my mother) Mordechai Yehuda Grosskopf later known as Jan Jakubowski. I have dedicated this project to him because he was one of the bravest men I know and his life story is unbelievable. There are a lot of interesting stories in my family but I have got the best information about his survival in the Holocaust from the book he wrote about it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t talk to him about serious topics as he died when I was 8 years old but I still remember him very well as a thoughtful and gentle man. This booklet is a summary of my granddad’s book and more. I have gathered more pictures and used the internet to show maps and to complete his family tree. My aim of this project is to make people remember and honour the people who lost their lives or lost family and friends in WW2. In addition, I want to make people aware that still nowadays people are affected by the Holocaust and its dreadful results. I would hate for members of future generations of my family not to know this story. My grandad’s book is called “Mein Überlebenskampf mit Beteiligung des Himmels” and the English translation is “My Struggle of Survival with Participation of Heaven”. 4 Josef Deworah Pessie Jakob Jekel Wysokier No Name Grosskopf Grosskopf Diamant Jeruchim Chaje Sara Chana Rachel Schlomo Grosskopf Grosskopf Diamant Zalman (Braunstein) (Pasternak) Diamant Feiga Laja Jakob Mayer Jochewed Menachem Abraham Leibisch Akiba Rosa Grosskopf Grosskopf Grosskopf Grosskopf Diamant Diamant Diamant Diamant Diamant story Sara Czype Henie Chaja Josef Nechama Pinkas Jakob Josef Grosskopf Grosskopf Grosskopf Grosskopf Chaim Grosskopf Schwarz Diamant Diamant (Saftles) Grosskopf (Diamant) 5 unbelievable s ’ Moshe Shimon Doli Mordechai Halina Hinia Grosskopf Grosskopf Grosskopf Yehuda Jakubowski Schwarz Grosskopf / (Gonsior) Jan Jakubowski My grandad No No Micheal No Konstantin Susanne Mr. Schiff Barbara Lutz Name Name Grosskopf Name Zalonis Jakubowski Jakubowski Ackermann Male Female No No No Dafna Barak Tamara Leon Name Name Name Zalonis Moyal Schiff Ackermann Family tree Family Leon Ackermann Years before the War The village – childhood My granddad Mordechai Yehuda Grosskopf was born in Krakow on June 1st, 1923, but his real homeland was the little village of Wysoka. His father Josef Chaim Grosskopf was a private teacher who met his mother Nechama Diamant when he taught her younger siblings. Later, he taught my granddad religion and Hebrew. After his parents wedding, they stayed at my granddad’s mother’s parent’s house but they got divorced after 5 years of marriage unfortunately. My grandad’s mother and father At the age of 4 my grandfather started “Kheder” which is the Jewish Elementary School specifically designed for boys. There he learned to read and recognize Hebrew letters and signs. Then in 1929 when my granddad was 6 years old and about to start school he moved with his mother to Katowice. His mom’s sister Rosa and her 3 brothers Akiba, Abraham and Josef stayed at their parents’ house. Her other brothers Leibisch and Mendel had already settled there and her brother Jakob emigrated to Berlin before my granddads birth as he was a victim of a pogrom of 1918 in Strzyzow. (A pogrom is an organized massacre of an ethnic My grandad as a group, in particularly that of Jews in Russia or Eastern Europe.) Kheder student In Katowice, my granddad attended beside the Polish Elementary school the Jewish school and Kheder. Later when he was older he went to the Jewish school “Berka Joselewicza” and the Talmud-Torah school. In school, his teachers noticed my granddads artistic talent as his drawing and painting skills were extraordinary. My granddad couldn’t really remember if he had good manners as a child but he didn’t suffer any punishment in his childhood which means he probably was good mannered. 6 My grandad’s unbelievable story Family of my great-great-grandparents in front of their house in Wysoka. The relationship of my grandad to these family members is described from the left to the right: Mother Natalie, Grandmother Rachel, Uncle Mendel, Uncle Abraham, Uncle Akiba, Grandfather Salomon, Uncle Josef and Aunt Rosa. 7 Leon Ackermann The town – school years After four years of living in Katowice his mother got married for the second time in 1931. Her new husband was a widower, an orthodox Jewish man and a son of a rabbi of Zloty Potok. He brought his 5 children with him as his previous wife died when she gave birth to her last child. My grandad got along very well with his new stepbrother Hermann who was the same age as him. At first, they lived together in a two-room