In search of a new beginning
Jack Adler
In Foehrenwald, Jack finds a job at the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), where he delivers mail, runs errands and helps in the office. He and his friends talk about where they will go when they leave the camp. They know going back to their homes is not an option: their families are gone, and they are not welcome there by many Poles. Organizers in the camp tell these orphaned young people – many of them still children – about programs that will support their travel and place them with foster families in a new country.
Excerpt from Jack's memoir, Y? A Holocaust Narrative:
The news was welcoming but intimidating. Starting over hadn’t seemed a valid next step until then. We grew up in countries where we expected our futures to unfold. Then, during the Holocaust, we stopped imagining what a future might actually look like. While slaving through at [sic] twelve-hour work days for a bowl of soup and a thin slice of bread, thoughts of home, professions, and having children of our own weren’t realistic. Pain was realistic. And hunger. And sorrow. All of my optimism and hope had been dedicated to seeing the next day, surviving a little longer.
With the help of an employee at the camp’s UNRRA office, Jack applies to go to the United States. In his memoir, he writes, “It didn’t take long and I didn’t second guess my decision. It was the men from the United States who had restored me to my freedom; I couldn’t think of another place I wanted to live.”
He is accepted for immigration to the United States as a war orphan. Near the end of 1946 Jack travels from Foehrenwald to Bremen, where he boards the S.S. Marine Marlin bound for New York on December 9th with 927 other passengers, eager to find a new life in the United States.
Transcript
Jack Adler: Well, we were notified-- and the UNRRA knew first, because they were in charge of the displaced persons camps. So we-- in the office, and I worked in the office. And we were told that Mayer, of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-- very few people know about it. You see, in order to come to the United States, you needed a sponsor to guarantee that you would not become a public liability.
Interviewer: Mhm?
Jack Adler: So Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sponsored, signed for, about 2,000 war orphans-- and I was one of them-- to come to the United States. Very few people know about it.
Interviewer: And when did you arrive?
Jack Adler: I arrived here on Apr-- 'on April!'-- December 22, 1946. I should have been here in July, but there was a strike in between. So we came right afterwards.
Interviewer: And how did you-- how were you transported here?
Jack Adler: By boat. We came on the S.S. Marine Marlin. We arrived at New York, at night. It was, like, 10 o'clock at night. I remember it was dark, and looking up-- we got on top-- on boat, we could see the-- you know, the skyline, the lights. We'd never saw such high-rises and so on.
We had to stay overnight. And the next morning, we were released-- disembarked. And I-- we went to Ellis Island, for a few days. And then, I remember, on boat, on the boat over here, I helped the guy who was in charge of the kitchen set up the table, put the dishes-- silverware. So, when we got off the boat, he gave me a $2 bill-- my first American currency.
And when we went to Ellis Island, they had all kinds of vending machines-- candies and what have you-- goodies, that we hadn't had for a year. So I got $2 worth of nickels and bought as much candy as I could. [LAUGHS]
"... he gave me a $2 bill-- my first American currency."
USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive, Interview 18433
Photograph of S.S. Marine Marlin, June 1948.
Passenger Manifest of the S.S. Marine Marlin, sailing from Bremen to New York on December 9, 1946. Jack is #5, under the name Szlama Adler.
Excerpt from Jack's memoir, Y? A Holocaust Narrative:
On the ship, we passed time the best we could. We spoke about what the United States would be like. Some talked of Hollywood, others Ford and Chevy. Tall buildings and baseball. The conversations were as various as our own backgrounds. When we didn’t talk, we played cards or other games.
We also had freedom to move about the boat at our leisure. I saw the ocean and for days I could look in all directions and see no land. It was simultaneously overwhelming and exciting. For the most part, I had been deprived of the use of my five senses for any creative or free purpose. For years I smelled death. For years I saw hate cripple an entire community. For years I heard the cries and screams of the damned. But now I could breathe the fresh air without fear of a blow from a broomstick driven through with a nail. I could taste the saltwater on my lips and smile with the freedom of it all. It was truly an adventure of a sort, but I still had no home and no way to know what would happen to me next.
I worked on the ship in the mess hall, setting up the tables there with silverware, salt and pepper, and other necessities—things that hadn’t been necessities for too long. It was easy work, but gave me purpose and took up some of my time during our voyage.
[...]
The days passed in relative comfort when one day the sailors told us we would see land in only a few hours. They were both right and wrong. We came close to land, but couldn’t see it that well. We arrived outside of New York in the middle of a cloudy night. We couldn’t make land as there was no one to take us once we left the ship, so we had to wait.
I walked up from below deck on a thin metal version of a staircase, my hand gliding up the rail in a firm grip, eager to see whatever I could. Maybe I thought I would see hills and flowing grasses, green with the reality of life. Instead, it was something far more amazing. The darkness of night only highlighted the glorious magnitude that was the city. I saw high-rises and lights beyond counting. It looked like a wall that rose beyond any ever built, riddled with holes and lit from the other side like a lantern. I was in awe.
I couldn’t sleep that night, instead deciding to stay on the deck as long as they would let me.
In New York, Jack and the other orphans are taken to a temporary home in the Bronx. More than a year after the end of the war, they are still learning to navigate their freedom, and the skyscrapers and bustling streets of New York are like nothing they have ever seen. The young survivors are among the first war refugees to arrive in the United States, and as public awareness of the horrors of the camps grows, they receive visits from concerned citizens, many of them earlier immigrants who escaped the war and a similar fate.
Jack spends a year and a half in New York, during which time he explores the city and begins to learn English, awaiting his placement with a foster family.
Transcript
Interviewer: Back to post- coming to the United States, and when you first arrived, what were your initial feelings of being on American soil, do you recall?
Jack Adler: Oh, yes, I was very happy. And it was unbelievable, you know, the freedom and-- people-- you know, we-- we were the-- on the second boat after the war. The first one came, I think, in June, and the second one. Then there was a strike. We came in December.
And people used to come in, sign in, on weekends, just to talk to us, to see us. They heard so much about it, and they just wanted to see a living witness of it. You know? By the hundreds, they used to line up.
We were in a reception camp. It was a hotel, not a camp-- a reception area, where we waited to be sent to various foster homes. And people would come in, every weekend. They line up. And they could sign up-- if the people felt comfortable that the child would be safe with someone, they would sign them out, and people would take them to a movie or what have you.
Interviewer: And, at that time, what languages did you speak?
Jack Adler: I could speak Polish, I could speak Yiddish, and that's about the only language, at that particular time, that I could communicate in. Because most of the people who did come in were from Europe, originally, who escaped, some of them. Or those who were Jewish and spoke the Jewish language.
"They heard so much about it, and they just wanted to see a living witness of it."
USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive, Interview 18433
Jack Adler's Timeline
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Jack Adler is born in Pabianice, Poland
Yakuv Szlama [or Szlomo] Adler (later: Jack Adler) is born to Cemach and Faiga Adler in Pabianice, a small city on the outskirts of Lodz in western Poland.
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Europe's Jewish population is c. 9.5 million
This number represents 1.7% of the total population of Europe, and accounts for >60% of the world's Jewish population. Most Jews are in eastern Europe: Poland is home to 3.3 million Jews, some 2.5 million Jews live in the USSR, and around 756,000 Jews live in Romania. The Jewish population of the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia numbers c. 255,000. In central Europe, Germany is home to c. 523,000. Some 445,000 Jews live in Hungary, 357,000 in Czechoslovakia, and 191,000 in Austria. There are also large Jewish communities in Great Britain (300,000), France (250,000, and the Netherlands (156,000). Some 60,000 Jews live in Belgium. The Scandinavian countries are home to c. 16,000 Jews. In the South, the Jewish community in Greece numbers c. 73,000. Yugoslavian Jews number c. 68,000, Italy and Bulgaria each have communities of c. 48,000.
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Dachau concentration camp established
Hitler's paramilitary SS (Schutzstaffel) establish the first concentration camp near Dachau for political opponents of the regime. Dachau remains in operation from 1933-1945. Over 200,000 people are imprisoned and estimated 41,500 are murdered during this period.
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Polish Jews number c. 3.3 million
Jews have been living in Poland for 800 years. On the eve of World War II, Polish Jews constitute the largest Jewish community in Europe, accounting for 10% of the country's total population.
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U.S.S.R. and Nazi Germany agree to non-aggression pact
Germany and the Soviet Union negotiate a non-aggression pact. This agreement, often called the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact after its chief negotiators, divides eastern Europe between the Nazi and Soviet powers and results in the partition of Poland.
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Nazi Germany invades Poland, sparking World War II
Nazi forces invade and swiftly defeat Polish forces using the "Blitzkrieg"--a rapid and combined forces attack. Within days, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.
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Nazi forces occupy Lodz and Pabianice, Poland
Invading German troops reach the city of Lodz and nearby Pabianice. They immediately introduce strict measures restricting the freedom of the Jewish population, in particular.
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U.S.S.R. invades Poland
The Soviet military occupies eastern Poland, as secretly agreed with Germany in the non-aggression pact signed by the two countries on August 23, 1939 (Molotov-Ribbentrop pact).
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Concentration of Polish Jews into ghettos ordered
Nazi officials order the concentration of Polish Jews in designated, often enclosed districts in major population centers in preparation for their deportation and murder. Ghettos are established throughout Nazi-occupied Poland.
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Annexation of western Poland
Following the Nazi occupation of Poland, territories in the western part of Poland are annexed to Germany. Danzig-West Prussia and Warthegau are incorporated as new provinces of the Reich; the provinces of East Prussia and Silesia are expanded to incorporate newly gained Polish lands.
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Generalgouvernement established in Nazi-occupied Poland
Nazis establish civilian administration over areas of Poland under German control that are not annexed to the Reich. The "Generalgouvernement" under the autocratic rule of Governor General Hans Frank encompasses four districts: Warsaw, Lublin, Krakow, and Radom.
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Pabianice Ghetto established
Beginning in November 1939, Jews residing in wealthier areas of Pabianice are ordered to leave their homes, which are intended for Germans. In February 1940, the Jewish population is condensed into a designated area of the town. Jews are not permitted to leave the ghetto, the perimeter of which is indicated by signs.
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Germanization of names in incorporated Poland
In areas of Poland under German administration, the names of Polish cities in the newly annexed territories are Germanized. Lodz is therefore also known as "Litzmannstadt."
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Lodz ghetto established
Approximately 164,000 Jews are concentrated in a ghetto in the Polish industrial city of Lodz. They perform forced labor for the Nazi war effort, living under squalid conditions of severe overcrowding and insufficient sanitation, food and water.
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Lodz ghetto sealed
The Lodz ghetto is sealed off from the rest of the city with barbed wire and fencing. Passage by Jews between ghetto and outside world is strictly controlled. Inside the ghetto, residents are forced to work in factories producing goods for the Nazi war effort. Many die of starvation and disease.
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Jews deported from Lodz ghetto to Chelmno
Nazi forces and collaborators begin the deportation of Jews from the Lodz ghetto to the Chelmno killing center, where deportees are gassed in vans. Approximately 65,000 Jews are ultimately deported and murdered.
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Wannsee Conference on the "Final Solution"
Leading Nazi officials convene at " href="https://survivalandwitness.org/glossary/wannsee-conference/" data-mobile-support="0" data-gt-translate-attributes='[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]' tabindex="0" role="link">Wannsee to plan and implement the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question." At this meeting, operational preparations for the extermination of European Jewry are outlined.
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Deadline for "Final Solution" in occupied Poland
Heinrich Himmler orders that by December 31, 1942 there should be no Jews remaining in the Generalgouvernement, calling for a "total purge" to secure the German Reich.
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Nazi surrender at Stalingrad
After months of bitter fighting, the Soviet army is finally able to surround and trap German forces besieging the city. Of the nearly 250,000 troops that attacked the city in August 1942, some 90,000 surrender to the Soviets. The German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad marks a turning point in the war; Soviet forces will now advance and push the Axis to retreat.
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First prisoners arrive in Kaufering concentration camp
The first concentration camp at Kaufering is established with the arrival of 1,000 Jewish Hungarian men from Auschwitz. Kaufering will eventually become the largest subcamp complex in the Dachau system, with eleven camps located near Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria. It is also one of the most deadly Nazi labor camps: around half of the c. 30,000 prisoners sent to the Kaufering camps between June 1944 and April 1945 will die there. Prisoners in the Kaufering camps supply labor for the construction of underground aircraft production sites for the German airline industry, which has suffered heavy damage from Allied bombs.
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Liberation of Majdanek
Advancing Soviet troops reach the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp. They find gas chambers and other evidence of genocide. Approximately 2,500 survivors provide details of the camp to their liberators, who document the horrors. Majdanek is the first concentration camp to be liberated by the Allies.
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Liquidation of Lodz ghetto
Nazi forces liquidate the Lodz ghetto and deport between 60,000-75,000 Jews, as well as an unknown number of Roma, to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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American forces liberate Dachau
American troops reach Dachau and find approximately 32,000 inmates still alive, as well as 30 railroad cars with the corpses of prisoners who died in transport to the camp.
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Unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany's High Command unconditionally surrenders on 7 May to the Allies and 9 May to the Soviets. May 8 is proclaimed "Victory in Europe Day."
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US military opens hearings in Dachau trials
Between November 1945 and August 1948, the United States military holds hearings of camp guards, SS officials, and other personnel from the camps at Dachau, Flossenburg, Mauthausen, Nordhausen, Buchenwald, and Mühldorf. Of the 1,672 individuals tried before a military panel rather than a jury, some 1,400 are convicted. 297 are sentenced to death and nearly the same number to life imprisonment. Jack Adler provides testimony in advance of the trials.
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Truman Directive prioritizes displaced persons for U.S. visas
President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order granting priority to displaced persons (DPs) for visas to enter the U.S. The order is expressly intended to help orphaned children. While it does not expand the restrictive U.S. immigration quotas, it enables some 41,000 DPs from Central and Eastern Europe – many of them Jewish – to enter the country between December 1945-July 1948.
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Attacks on Jewish survivors in Poland
Attackers kill more than 40 Jewish survivors in Kielce, Poland. The attack spurs returning Jews to once again flee. Many find sanctuary in Allied displaced persons (DP) camps.
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Jack Adler sails from Bremen to New York
Sailing on the S.S. Marine Marlin from northern Germany, Jack is one of 928 passengers on one of the first post-war transports of refugees from Europe to the United States. They arrive in New York harbor during the night of December 22 and disembark at Ellis Island the next day.
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Jack Adler leaves New York for Chicago
After nearly a year and a half in New York, Jack learns that he has been placed with a foster family in Chicago and travels by train to meet them.
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Korean War begins
After World War II, Korea is partitioned at the 38th parallel, creating a socialist state under Soviet influence in the North and a Western-style democracy in the South. In June 1950, North Korea invades South Korea, armed by the Soviet Union. Under the banner of fighting the spread of communism, the United States leads a UN coalition in the conflict against North Korea, which is backed by communist Russia and China. An armistice agreement in July 1953 puts an end to the military conflict, but the division of Korea persists until today.
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U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Village of Skokie v. National Socialist Party of America
When a request by the National Socialist Party of America (NSPA) to hold a White Power rally in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, IL, is denied at the insistence of the town’s large Jewish community, which includes many Holocaust survivors, the NSPA files a claim for infringement of their right to free speech under the 2nd Amendment. The NSPA is represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, who successfully argue in favor of the universality of free speech under the Constitution, maintaining that the government does not have the authority to selectively suppress voices, no matter how unpopular the opinion.