Henry Greenbaum (Chuna Grynbaum)
Born April 1, 1928, Starachowice, Poland
Henry Greenbaum was born in Starachowice, Poland, on April 1, 1928, the youngest of nine children. His father passed away before World War II began.
In 1939, when Henry was twelve years old, he and his family were sent to the ghetto in their town. They stayed in the ghetto until October of 1942 when a selection was made. Henry and three of his sisters were chosen to work in the slave labor camp in their town. In the slave labor camp, Henry worked in a munition factory producing springs. In 1943, Henry and his sister Faiga tried to escape from the camp. Henry was shot in the head and his sister was killed.
In 1943, Henry was sent to Auschwitz and placed in the buna Monowitz-satelite camp. There he worked for the I.G. Farben Company. He was sent to the concentration camp of Flossenburg in Germany. After a four month Death March, Henry was liberated in Germany on April 25, 1945.
After liberation, he went to the Zeilsheim bei Frankfurt Displaced Persons Camp in Germany. He was there until 1946 when he moved to the United States where his sister was living. From his family, only Henry, his two brothers and a sister living in the United States survived the Holocaust.
First Person series — Conversation with a Holocaust survivor [2004 season]. View transcript
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