Life in Pabianice before the war
Jack Adler
Throughout its history, Poland has been claimed by many different powers, its borders changing with its rulers. After the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles restored Polish autonomy, and in 1929 the country is wedged between two major powers, Germany in the west and the Soviet Union to the east.
At the time of Jack’s birth, Poland is home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, comprising some three million people in 1933. Jews have been living in Poland since the Middle Ages. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the majority of Jews lived in shtetls ( small Jewish towns) and made their living as traders, shopkeepers and craftspeople. In the early 19th century, they began to move to urban centers.
Europe in 1933
Poland in 1933, Pabianice indicated
The town of Pabianice dates back to the 11th century. Jews first settled here in the early 19th century, and with the development of the textile industry around nearby Lodz, the Jewish population grew. Up until the outbreak of World War II, many of the mills and workshops established in the mid-19th century are owned and run by Jewish manufacturers and businessmen, and Jews continue to be represented in all aspects of the industry. In 1938, Jews make up some 16% (approximately 9,000 people) of the city’s population of 55,000.
Cemach Adler’s extended family is employed in the textile trade, and he himself is a salesman. His wife, Faiga, works in the home and cares for their four children, each born three years apart: Chaim, the oldest son, is followed by Ester, then comes Jack, and Pema (also called Peska). The Adlers practice Hasidic Judaism, but Jack, who characterizes himself as a rebel, pushes back against the Orthodox traditions from an early age.
Transcript
Jack Adler: Well, as I stated, my father was one of 10 children. And he was the only one who belonged to the Hasidic sect of the Judaism. The rest did not. So-- and in my grandfather's home, it was primarily like in a Reform Jewish household. Whereas at my house, it was more Orthodox oriented.
[...]
Personally, I remember, probably since age six or seven, I was very rebellious to-- towards the Hasidic movement per se, because they had certain traditions which, to me, did not appeal. So I was a little rebel, I would describe myself. I was more apt to look up to the Reform movement of Judaism than the Hasidic movement.
Interviewer: When you say you were rebellious, how would you describe your rebellion?
Jack Adler: Well, for instance I wouldn't-- you know those side curls some Hasidic boys wear? I would never-- I would cut them off. I wouldn't wear them. I never cared for them. Stuff like that.
Interviewer: And what did that create for you within your own family? Was there conflict as a result?
Jack Adler: I was known and called as the rebel in the family. Oh, yeah, even at six, seven years of age.
Interviewer: And your sisters and your other brother, how did they respond to—
Jack Adler: They followed the tradition of the Hasidic household.
Interviewer: So you were the only one.
Jack Adler: I was the only one.
"I was known and called as the rebel in the family."
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 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.