The second of three children, Majlech was born to Jewish parents living 35 miles east of Warsaw in the small, predominantly Jewish town of Kaluszyn. Majlech's father owned a wholesale grocery store, a restaurant and a gas station, all of which were located on the heavily traveled main road. Majlech attended public elementary school and also received religious instruction.

1933-39: My pals, Mindele, Sara, Adam and I loved to discuss politics. We'd heard the Polish propaganda claiming that German tanks were made of cardboard. Then, just after I turned 19, war broke out. My father, brother and I fled eastward towards the USSR because we were afraid that the Germans would send us away to forced labor. But we returned home when we heard that a battle had been fought at Kaluszyn. We found my mother unharmed.