Chaim Kamelmacher collection

Copyright Holder: Mr. Harry Kamel Consists of documents and photographs related to the experiences of Chaim Kamelmacher (later Harry Kamel) in displaced persons camps after World War II. Includes photographs taken at Kibbutz Tarnow in 1945; photographs taken at the Lechfeld, Landsberg am Lech, Wasseralfingen, and Wetzlar/Lahn displaced persons camps; workbooks, photographs, and certificates from ORT training; and documents attesting to Mr. Kamelmacher's wartime experiences as a Polish Jew inducted into the Red Army. Also includes several pre-war family photographs and material related to the commemoration of the Jews of Maniewicze. The Chaim Kamelmacher collection documents life in smaller displaced persons camps from 1945-1950. The collection includes extensive photography of Mr. Kamelmacher’s friends and life in the various camps and documentation relating to his ORT and other training classes. Though the collection does not focus on Kamelmacher’s wartime experiences in the Red Army, it is an excellent resource for studying life for displaced persons in the Kibbutz Tarnow, Wetzlar-Lahn, Wasseralfingen, and Landsberg am Lech camps. Chaim Kamelmacher was born in Maniewicze, Poland (now Manevychi, Ukraine), on July 1, 1922, to Abram and Leja Kamelmacher. During World War II, he escaped into the Soviet Union and joined the Red Army. As a member of the 370th Infantry Division, he was severely injured in his left femur on June 22, 1944, and was incapacitated for six months. After the war, Kamelmacher lived in a number of displaced persons camp, including Kibbutz Tarnow (1945-1946); Wetzlar-Lahn (1946-1948); Wasseralfingen (1949); and Landsberg am Lech (1950). In the displaced persons camp, Kamelmacher continued his education, taking a number of ORT training classes. He immigrated to the United States from Bremerhaven to New Orleans on the General McRae, sailing on January 8, 1951. In the United States, Kamelmacher changed his name to Harry Kamel.