In one day in January 1942, Nazis and Ukrainian auxiliaries took Allan's father-then his mother, his sister, and her husband. They were all presumably murdered in a nearby forest. Allan was eight years old.
Nazi Germany occupied Allan’s hometown of Kołomyja in present-day Ukraine, in summer 1941. Jews were forced into a ghetto and two more of his sisters were taken and never seen again. With the help of a family friend, Allan and his last surviving sister evaded the roundups and hid in an attic and a wardrobe before being liberated by the Soviet Army. After the war, Allan attended school in Poland but, fearing antisemitic attacks, he, his sister, and her new husband fled, eventually settling in the US. There, Allan would learn for the first time what it meant to be Jewish and also feel safe in a classroom.
Hear Holocaust survivor Allan Firestone’s experiences in his own words recorded on May 18, 2022. First Person is a monthly hour-long discussion featuring a live interview between journalist Bill Benson and a survivor and including questions from the audience, available on the Museum’s RU-vid channel.
Learn about the German-Soviet Pact: encyclopedia.u...
Read about the invasion of the Soviet Union: encyclopedia.u...
Explore Allan’s family papers and photographs: collections.us...
Read about the Zeilsheim Displaced Persons Camp: encyclopedia.u...
29 сен 2024
