Ben Sonnenschein and Alex Reifer recall their memories about pre-war Oswiecim and the relationship of Jewish and non-Jewish inhabitants. Listen to their testimonies, then read their short biographies.
Ben Sonnenschein was born in Oświęcim in 1928. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family of seven. He survived the Sosnowiec Ghetto and the concentration camps: Blechhammer, Sakrau, Ohrdruf, Gräditz, Faulbrück, Gross Rosen, Klettendorf and Buchenwald. Of his family of seven, only he and one of his sisters survived the war. After the war he emigrated to the USA. He was interviewed on Jan. 2, 1996 in Aventura, Florida, U.S.A.
Alex Reifer was born in Oświęcim in 1921. He grew up in the Hasidic community of Bobowa. Both of his grandfathers were rabbis. After Germany attacked Poland, his family fled to the East. When the Third Reich invaded the USSR, Alex was drafted into the Soviet army and he walked the entire front, all the way to Berlin. After the war, he emigrated to the United States. He was interviewed on Jun 22, 1996 in Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.A.
After watching the testimonies, try to explain the nature of Jewish and non-Jewish relationships in prewar Oswiecim with your own words.