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My WWII Scrapbook

By: Caleb Rosen

My life as a Jew in Europe

August, 1922 •I was Born in Podhajce, in Galizia

September, 1939

Hometown was occupied by Red Army

1941-1943 10’s of thousands of Jews were killed

May, 1943 I escaped from the ghetto

June, 1943 The Ghetto Rohatyn is invaded and all Jews were killed on the spot

September, 1943

Italy signs armistice

June, 1944 Rome is captured by the Allies

November, 1944

Holocaust ends

September, 1945

War officially ends

April, 1959 I immigrated to the U.S.

Alexander Kimel Timeline•Born to a Jewish mother and father

•Able to escape the ghetto before the Jews were killed

•Remained in hiding until the war ended

•Was a holocaust survivor

•Able to immigrate to the U.S. for a better life

The Beginning and End of the war as reported in news papers

Pictures collected during the time period of WWII.

May 12, 1943

Dear Mom,I just escaped from the ghetto. Right after book burning, they just announced that the ghetto is getting liquidated and all the Jews found in this ghetto are going to be shot and killed. Right now I am hiding in the forest and the surrounding villages. The villages are pretty nice, but the good thing is they have food and water unlike the ghetto. I couldn’t take anymore mom; I couldn’t take the punishment of not eating or not drinking for days at a time, I just had to escape, it was the only thing I could do. I don’t even know how I escaped because they have night watchers everywhere. Some how I managed to escape with no burses or cuts. I know I am going to be ok and I know I will be home soon. If I don’t get home soon I will be shocked and very upset. I miss my family, and I would do anything for them, no matter who it i. Whether its you, mom, or my sisters; all I know is I will be there for you no matter what.

Love, Alexander

Document 1

THE ACTION IN THE GHETTO OF ROHATYN, MARCH 1942.

Do I want to remember? The peaceful ghetto, before the raid:

Children shaking like leaves in the wind. Mothers searching for a piece of bread.

Shadows, on swollen legs, moving with fear. No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

Do I want to remember, the creation of hell? The shouts of the Raiders, enjoying the hunt.

Cries of the wounded, begging for life. Faces of mothers carved with pain.

Hiding Children, dripping with fear. No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

Do I want to remember, my fearful return? Families vanished in the midst of the day.

The mass grave steaming with vapor of blood. Mothers searching for children in vain.

The pain of the ghetto, cuts like a knife. No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

Do I want to remember, the wailing of the night? The doors kicked ajar, ripped feathers floating the air.

The night scented with snow-melting blood. While the compassionate moon, is showing the way.

For the faceless shadows, searching for kin. No, I don't want to remember, but I cannot forget.

Do I want to remember this world upside down? Where the departed are blessed with an instant death.

While the living condemned to a short wretched life, And a long tortuous journey into unnamed place,

Converting Living Souls, into ashes and gas. No. I Have to Remember and Never Let You Forget.

Document 2

This is the poem I wrote after escaping from the ghetto.

When Hinda was taken from her bed to be deported to Auschwitz, her shoe was left behind. Upon finding it, her father etched the date on the shoe’s sole. Her parents, Dov and Zipora Cohen, survived the war. They kept their daughter’s shoe, the pair of mittens that Zipora had sewn for her from scraps of material, and her birth certificate, until they died.

This is a military helmet that my friend gave me after he fought in the war. Unfortunately he died a few weeks later due to his war injuries.

German U-Boat

During the war the Germans used U-boats to block the navy from bringing in their war ships.

Under water Tactics

The German Military used the U-Boat as a Submarine to do multiple things such as: Carry food and supply's from one country to the other and to also sneak up on boats and sink them.

Aboard the U-Boat

Workers would need an high education, knowing how to use military weapons and need mechanics and people that knew how to read a map to control the boat.

Blitzkreig referred to as a Mobil army that was able to attack by using speed and by surprising their enemies.

This type of tactic was used by the Germans throughout WWII.

German Blitzkreig

I remember the day that Normandy got invaded by Allied powers which they called D-Day. This was when we were trying to liberate ourselves from Nazi Imprisonment.

D-Day

http://www.hopesite.ca/remember/history/news_archives/news_1939/1101_1939.html

http://kimel.net/poetry.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-boat http://www.2worldwar2.com/blitzkrieg.htm http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/artif

acts/shoe_mittens.asp

Bibliography