Oral History Interview with Jacques Lipetz

Dr. Norman G. Schneeberg served in the 6th Armoured Division of the United States Army in Southern Germany during World War II. He very briefly describes what he saw at Buchenwald concentration camp two weeks after liberation: the emaciated condition of the survivors, signs prisoners had posted in hospital barracks, and the ovens. Because of language barriers he did not have conversations with the survivors he encountered there. He describes the 20 – 30 survivors that he encountered. He briefly mentions a German citizen who wrote him a letter trying to absolve the German people of guilt.

Murray Granger, a Jewish American soldier later captured as a prisoner of war, served with the Third Ranger Batallion of the United States Army. He was captured by the Germans in the south of France, September 1, 1944. During a brutal interrogation, he gave his name as Aloysius O’Brien instead of Goldstein to avoid Jewish identification and was reported as Missing in Action for 14 months, which he believes was an attempt to protect him and other POW's from greater cruelties.

He was interned at Stalag 2-B Hammerstein, working a 17-hour day in heavy road work, on a diet of six potatoes and water once a day. Caught stealing coal during a freezing winter, he endured public lashing as punishment. After six months of brutal degradation, he was sent to a prison farm near Strausberg and worked under a sadistic female German guard and six SS men. He describes the staging of a fatal dehumanizing conflict for food consumption by starving POWs and a farcical show of benign treatment staged for the International Red Cross visit.

In a secret camp for Jewish prisoners, he discovered 200 survivors out of a group of 1200 who were kept chained and beaten. When the Russian forces liberated the farm camp and killed the German guards, he remained with the other POWs until they were mentally and physically prepared to return home. On July 1, 1945, he was repatriated to the USA.

Ida Firestone, née Hoffman, born February 19, 1929, in Pont-a-Moussou, France, attended public schools and studied music privately, aspiring to be a concert pianist. In 1942, her father was falsely accused of being a Communist and was sent to Drancy concentration camp. He was later released.

In March, 1944, Ida and her family went into hiding. They were sheltered by a teacher, a grocer, a baker, a prostitute and several farmers. Separated from her family, she posed as an orphan, working for a farmer’s wife who treated her cruelly.

Ida hid in forests and in a barn, sleeping with animals and stealing food to survive. Before liberation by the Americans in December, 1944, she found protection on the Gouy family farm. She had lost 25 pounds and suffered with stomach problems which persisted throughout her life.

Reunited with her family in 1945, Ida resumed her music studies and graduated from a conservatory. In 1948, she and her family emigrated to the United States, settling in Philadelphia, where she married Herman Firestone in 1949. She became a piano teacher and a Holocaust speaker in schools and synagogues.

YadVashem has recognized as Righteous Among the Nations Victor and CecilleHergott, Germaine Bour, Lucien Louyot, Emile and GenvièveThouvenin and Victor and Marie (Friboug) Guoy, who protected Ida and her family members.

Poetry and a letter to her mother written by Ida during her wartime wandering is included in this interview.

Jerry Jacobs born April 25, 1929 in Lodz, Poland was the youngest son in a wealthy Jewish family. Their father was an accountant, a prosperous property owner and Associate Conductor of the Lodz Symphony Orchestra. One brother was an accomplished violinist, another studied piano and Jerry hoped to join the family "Kinder Orchestra."

He discusses the drastic changes that took place in 1939 with the German occupation: closing of schools, having to stay inside for safety and dangers for Jews on the streets. He describes his family’s deportation from the suburbs to Baluty (the poor section) in the Lodz Ghetto.

He details inhumane conditions experienced in cattle cars to Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Rehmsdorf, after a death march in the snow in 1944. In January 1945 he escaped, and with his knowledge of German poses as an Ostdeutscher (Volksdeutsche) and briefly as a scout for the U.S. Army. After reuniting with his brothers in Lodz, they immigrated to the United States in 1947.

He became a successful realtor in New York City, where he devoted himself to organizing the Interfaith Committee of Remembrance to produce annual Holocaust Memorial concerts, attended by thousands at the Cathedral of St. John the Devine.

Hans Braun was born in Hanover, Germany on June 3, 1923. His family were German Sintis (a gypsy tribe). They had a small carnival and traveled around Germany during the summer and lived in Bernau in the winter. Nazi persecution started in 1939 and they had to wear a patch with the letter "Z". In 1941 Hans and his father were forced to work for the German army in the armament industry. Hans was suspected of sabotage after accidentally breaking a machine. To escape arrest by the Gestapo, he fled to his grandfather's home in Berlin. Pursued by the Gestapo, he went into hiding, first with friends in Berlin then with an uncle in Eger, and finally with Sintis in Luxemburg who gave him false papers. He was arrested and jailed when he returned home but escaped. Hans describes subsequent arrests and escapes-using disguises and false papers-in great detail.

After his final capture he was put on a transport to Auschwitz with other Sinti families. He was put into the Birkenau Gypsy camp where he was reunited with his family. He describes conditions in the Gypsy camp, his work loading and unloading the dead at the crematorium, and his beatings by guards. One by one his entire family died of typhus and starvation. After he got typhus, he was experimented on in the hospital barracks. He describes how Dr. Mengele tortured children and used them for his medical experiments.

Hans was sent to Flossenbürg Labor Camp where he was again beaten. He was on a death march with surviving inmates for four days and nights just before liberation. Hans and two other men escaped and hid in a village which was defended by the SS. They were liberated by the Americans. Hans lived in Germany after the war and emigrated to Canada in 1980.

This document is a 2007 membership invitation and form for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), addressed to Professor Elie Wiesel. It serves as a "Call to Action" for influential leaders, distinguished officials, non-government leaders, and CEOs to join CGI in addressing global challenges. The brochure outlines the initiative's goals, focusing on areas like energy and climate change, global health, poverty alleviation, and education, encouraging members to make personal commitments. It highlights membership benefits, including participation in the 2007 mid-year and annual meetings in New York City, access to web resources, and commitment support. The document features numerous prominent figures, including Bill Clinton (founder), Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey, through images and quotes, emphasizing their involvement and the non-partisan nature of the William J. Clinton Foundation project. The invitation includes a detailed membership form with contact and payment information, demonstrating how CGI catalyzes solutions through global partnerships.