My grandfather, Jozef Kodyra, was born July 7, 1913, in New York. His birth in America made him a U.S. citizen. In 1921, when he was still a young child, his family moved to Poland to build and grow their family farm. My grandmother, Helena Sudol, was born February 2, 1917 in Wiltschawola, Poland, where she too lived on her family farm. They married in 1937 and lived in several towns in Ukraine and Poland. They finally settled in Malynsk. My grandparents had five children. Three of them, Gene, Chester, and Josephine, were born before World War II. My grandfather worked with his father on...

Born Marguerite Lederman to Jewish parents in Brussels, Belgium on May 8, 1941. As a child, Marguerite experienced many difficult changes, the worst of which was being separated from her mother and father. She and her entire family were in danger because of Nazi persecution of the Jews during WWII. Marguerite's family originally came from Poland into Belgium, hoping to escape persecution. When the Nazis took over Belgium in May, 1940, the lives of the Lederman's changed for the worst. On October 31, 1942, Marguerite's father was arrested and taken to Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was...

Leo Israel Samuel (nickname Ezriel Leib) was born in Cherna, Czechoslovakia and raised in a Jewish home. He was the son and grandson of rabbis. His father owned thousands of acres of forest. His town had thousands of Jewish people, and he attended religious school (Catholic) like so many of his Jewish friends. A smart boy, Leo learned how to be a tailor - to make and alter men's suits. This trade would one day save his life. When the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, they began to terrorize the Jewish people. Some were forced to dig long trenches or pits, not realizing they were digging their own...

Inge Auerbacher was born in Germany on December 31, 1934. Sixty Jewish families, including Inge's, had lived there for over 200 years. Inge's father served during World War I. He was wounded and received the German Iron Cross for his bravery. No amount of patriotic service could make the Nazis respect the Jews as human beings. Jews were hated and blamed for Germany's troubles. Inge's grandparents lived a far away, but they visited often. For Inge's second birthday, they gave her a beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed doll. Inge slept with the doll and took her everywhere. One day, Inge leafed...

The Underground Railroad was maintained in the northern states to aid runaway slaves in their attempt to reach freedom in Canada. It wasn't a real railroad and it was not under the ground. It was called "underground" because it was a secret and "railroad" because it seemed to run regularly like a train route. Princeton was possibly the most important "station" in Illinois because of Reverend Owen Lovejoy. He was born in Maine and moved to Alton, Illinois as a young man. Owen studied for the ministry while living with his older brother, Elijah, who was the editor of an abolitionist newspaper....

I was born Esther Stiller in 1925 and was only nine months old when my father died. My brother, sister, and I were raised by our mother with help from the very supportive Jewish community in Kalisz, Poland. In 1940, at age fifteen, I had a new dress which was sent as a gift from relatives in America. This was special and not something that happened every day. I wanted to show my girlfriend, so I went to her home, and as teenagers sometimes do, she wanted me to sleep over. While I was away with my Christian friend, the Jewish families were herded together and locked up in a single large...

Eugene Parmer was born in Iron Hill, Iowa. He moved 40 miles north to the quiet town of Maquoketa before he went to fight in World War II. He joined the 92nd Signal Battalion, which furnished communications for the United States Army. While serving in Europe, Eugene was ordered to join American soldiers liberating the Dachau concentration camp near Munich, Germany. His order was to investigate the camp's communication equipment and report his findings to his commanding officer. When he arrived at Dachau, Eugene didn't want to park his weapons carrier at the main gate, so he drove to the side...

If there were an official position known as "The Holocaust Expert," Ida Kramer would hold that title hands down. For over thirty years, Ida was the Quad Cities voice of Holocaust information for schools, civic groups and the community at large. Ida was born in Philadelphia to Jewish immigrants. Her father's twin sister did not immigrate to the USA and perished in the Holocaust as did many other family members. Little Ida was four when her baby sister was born. Roz and Ida lived with their parents in an area of town called Strawberry Mansion, named for a restaurant famous for serving...