Bernard Blustein memoir

Copyright Holder: Bernard Blustein Bernard (Beryl) Blustein (1905-1992) was born in Koscierzyna County, Poland. In 1941 he was living in Belarus and working as a railroad mechanic when he witnessed the onset of Operation Barbarossa in June. Bernard evaded German forces by fleeing his home with his wife and children and hiding in the woods. Eventually, Bernard was arrested and detained in Auschwitz as prisoner number 98812 for a couple years. Sometime around 1945, Bernard was transferred to Mauthausen where he was given prisoner number 123680 and forced to do hard labor. Because he was trained as a mechanic, Bernard was sent to Vienna to clean out and fix over-turned railroad cars. After Vienna was bombed, they returned to Mauthausen where he remained until he was liberated by the Americans in May 1945. Bernard eventually immigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. His wife and children perished in the Holocaust. The Bernard Blustein memoir is a 427 page memoir describing Bernard’s memories of the initial attack by the Germans on Belarus in June 1941, his imprisonment in Auschwitz and Mauthausen, and his liberation in 1945. Written sometime after his arrival in the United States, the memoir recounts details of Bernard’s family and work life in Belarus, efforts to evade capture, assignments as a forced laborer, living conditions in the camps, and details of death marches.